How many calories are in a salad is a topic of interest to many, especially those who are dieting. Although salads are commonly found in clean eating and vegetarian menus, many still do not fully understand the benefits of this dish. Let’s explore the benefits and some important notes when preparing a salad.
What’s in a salad?
Before looking into how many calories are in a salad, it’s important to understand what this dish is. Salad originated from the Mediterranean region, was introduced to France, and then spread worldwide.
Nowadays, a salad is a mixture of various vegetables and fruits tossed with a type of dressing to stimulate the taste buds. The main ingredients for this dish are raw vegetables like lettuce, cilantro; legumes like black beans, white beans; meat; seafood like shrimp, tuna; and fruits like tomatoes, cucumbers. Additionally, the salad dressing is mainly made from butter, milk, mayonnaise…
Popular Types of Salad
Today, salads can be served as appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts. Let’s look at some popular types of salads!
Caesar Salad
Caesar Salad is a famous appetizer originating from Italy. The main ingredients are various vegetables, commonly lettuce, avocado… Additionally, Caesar dressing makes the dish creamy and rich.
Pasta Salad
This dish is especially suitable for hot summer days. The main components of a pasta salad, besides familiar vegetables, include pasta. Short slices of pasta, about 4-5 cm, mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, and dressing create an irresistible taste.
Chef Salad
Chef Salad, also humorously known as the Chef’s Salad, is prepared with various meats like ham, chicken breast, grilled beef, and common vegetables. The fresh flavor of the dish mixed with dressing can make you temporarily forget about the calorie count.
Greek Salad
Greek Salad is a blend of Mediterranean and Eastern European flavors. The main ingredients are tomatoes and the familiar oregano leaves from Mediterranean cuisine, combined with Greece’s famous Feta cheese. The eye-catching color and the creamy, salty taste of the cheese will surely appeal to many food lovers.
Cobb Salad
Cobb Salad originated from an American chef. The ingredients include bacon, chicken breast, lettuce, and boiled eggs mixed with dressing. Nowadays, this dish is popular worldwide, especially in high-end restaurants.
What are the benefits of eating salad?
Besides focusing on how many calories are in a salad, one should also pay attention to its health benefits. Especially, if you regularly enjoy this dish, the benefits you receive can increase significantly, such as:
Vibrant and Healthy Skin
Salads contain a lot of greens, which help the body absorb more water, improving hydration. This is essential for maintaining smooth, youthful, and vibrant skin.
Enhanced Heart Health
Lettuce, a common ingredient in salads, is rich in Vitamin B. This nutrient helps increase red blood cell production. Consequently, it enhances the body’s ability to prevent the risk of stroke and heart disease.
Improved Vision
Regular consumption of greens like spinach and lettuce increases the body’s ability to absorb Vitamin A. This helps effectively improve vision over time.
How many calories are in a salad?
According to many experts, to lose weight effectively, it’s crucial to strictly control the calorie intake. Therefore, in diet plans, there is a lot of interest in how many calories are in various salads. Here’s a look at the calorie content in some popular salad dishes:
Mayonnaise Salad
A salad made with Mayonnaise dressing is a common part of clean eating menus. Main ingredients include lettuce, tomatoes, etc., combined with savory and sweet Mayonnaise dressing. This dish contains about 145 calories, specifically:
- 2 tablespoons of Mayonnaise: 115 calories
- 100g lettuce: 15 calories
- 100g tomatoes: 15 calories
Tuna Salad
Tuna salad is made from tuna, celery, onions, and other ingredients like bok choy, cucumber… The mixture is made more appealing with the creamy flavor of Mayonnaise dressing. In reality, this dish contains only 350 calories, including:
- 100g tuna: 130 calories
- 100g onions: 39 calories
- 100g celery: 16 calories
- 100g bok choy: 50 calories
- 100g cucumber: 15 calories
Egg Salad
How many calories are in an egg salad? The main components of egg salad are boiled eggs, green onions, dill, and celery. This dish contains about 182 calories, including:
- 2 boiled eggs: 150 calories
- 50g green onions: 16 calories
- 100g celery: 16 calories
Chicken Salad
Chicken salad is primarily made from chicken breast, mixed with ingredients like red grapes, pickles, green onions… Additionally, the chicken breast can be prepared in various ways such as grilled or sautéed in oil. So, how many calories are in a chicken salad?
- 100g chicken breast (skinless): 165 calories
- 50g red grapes: 32 calories
- 50g pickles: 8 calories
- 50g green onions: 16 calories Therefore, a chicken salad contains about 221 calories. Choosing the right ingredients in a salad helps minimize calorie intake and promote weight loss.
Macaroni Salad
The main ingredient in Macaroni salad is elbow macaroni, combined with vegetables like carrots, olives, bell peppers… This dish contains low calories, about 278 for a weight loss dinner:
- 100g elbow macaroni: 167 calories
- 50g carrots: 20 calories
- 10 olives: about 60 calories
- 1 bell pepper: 31 calories
Potato Salad
Potato salad is very popular due to its easily accessible ingredients, including potatoes, carrots, cucumbers. So, how many calories are in these ingredients in a salad? This dish provides about 112 calories, specifically:
- 100g potatoes: 76 calories
- 50g carrots: 20 calories
- 2 cucumbers: 16 calories
Bacon Salad
Bacon salad is a harmonious combination of bacon with fresh vegetables like olives, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes. This dish provides about 249 calories, including:
- 100g bacon: 140 calories
- 10 olives: about 60 calories
- 1 bell pepper: 31 calories
- 100g cherry tomatoes: 22 calories
Crispy Bread Salad
A salad with the main ingredient of crispy toasted dark bread, combined with fresh vegetables like cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, offers an unforgettable taste. The dish contains about 299 calories, suitable for those on a diet:
- 100g dark bread: 250 calories
- 2 cucumbers: 16 calories
- 100g lettuce: 15 calories
- 100g tomatoes: 18 calories
Cream Dressing Salad
What’s special about this dish is the creamy dressing, combined with ingredients like butter, cilantro, tomatoes. Cream dressing salad contains about 200 calories, included in many clean eating menus:
- 100g butter: 160 calories
- 50g cilantro: 22 calories
- 100g tomatoes: 18 calories
Beef Salad
The beef in the salad can be prepared in various ways such as grilled, pan-seared along with ingredients like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes. How many calories are in beef mixed with salad ingredients? Good news is that this dish contains only 339 calories, suitable for a weight loss menu:
- 100g beef: 250 calories
- 1 onion: 40 calories
- 1 bell pepper: 31 calories
- 100g tomatoes: 18 calories
Cheese Salad
A cheese salad combined with ingredients like cherry tomatoes, black beans, onions, cucumbers. This dish contains 636.5 calories, suitable for hot summer days:
- 100g cheese: 402.5 calories
- 100g cherry tomatoes: 22 calories
- 50g black beans: 172 calories
- 1 onion: 40 calories
Vinegar Oil Salad
Another dish for hot summer days! Vinegar oil salad is made from fresh vegetables like lettuce, onions, tomatoes mixed with vinegar oil dressing. Vinegar oil salad can be easily prepared at home, providing about 80 calories:
- 100g lettuce: 15 calories
- 1 onion: 40 calories
- 100g tomatoes: 18 calories
- 20g vinegar oil: 7 calories”
Commercial Salad
Commercial salad refers to canned salads that meet specific product and quality standards and are sold in supermarkets and convenience stores. In reality, a standard serving of salad containing lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, and dressing contains about 125-140 calories.
Wendy’s
Wendy’s is an American fast-food brand. Salad is one of the famous dishes of the chain, mainly consisting of chicken, cabbage, and cheese. At Wendy’s, how many calories are in a salad serving? The calorie content in a meal typically ranges from 240-720, depending on the ingredients requested by the customer.
Olive Garden
Olive Garden, one of the famous American restaurant brands, creates various salads in its menu. Typically, a serving of salad at Olive provides about 150 calories. However, depending on the amount of additional ingredients requested by the customer, this number can vary and is difficult to determine precisely.
Subway
One of the most popular items at Subway, a famous fast-food chain in the U.S., is their variety of salads. The main ingredients in Subway salads include familiar items like cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and meat. Subway offers several types of salads with calorie contents ranging from 50-140 calories.
Panera Bread
The Panera Bread fast-food chain is renowned for its delicious and nutritious salads. The main ingredients in their dishes include cherry tomatoes, avocado, cheese, combined with other ingredients like meat, eggs, etc. The calorie content in Panera Bread’s salads ranges from 200-280 calories.
Does eating salad lead to weight loss?
Besides being concerned about how many calories are in a salad serving, many are also interested in the weight loss benefits of this dish. In fact, including salad in a diet plan is a wise decision for many.
Essential ingredients in salads are fresh vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc., which provide very few calories. Regular consumption of salad can also help reduce total calorie intake by up to 12%. However, it’s important not to over-rely on salads for every meal, to avoid a lack of sufficient energy for studying and working
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