calories in salads

mullaneder

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Shoppers may think they are going for the healthy option when choosing a green salad but it could be loaded with more calories than a Big Mac and fries.
'Big Mac Healthier Than Some Shop Salads' .A survey by consumer watchdog Which? found Morrisons' Smedleys Atlantic Prawn Marie Rose Salad contained 855 calories and 66.3g fat - more than a McDonald's Big Mac and medium fries and 70% of the fat a man should eat in a day.

Which? bought a selection of 20 pre-packed salads on the high street and found another unhealthy option was Asda's Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, which contained 43g of fat, nearly as much as six Cadbury's Creme eggs.

Almost a quarter of the salad is made up of high-calorie dressing (13% mayonnaise, 10% Caesar dressing).

Which? editor Martyn Hocking said: "If you thought your high-street salad was healthy, you could be in for a surprise.

"Which? has found there were large differences between the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and calories in pre-packaged salads. Check the label or you could end up with egg on your face.

"This latest research backs up what we've been saying for ages - a clear, consistent labelling scheme is important to help people spot how much fat, sugar and salt is in the food they're buying."

The survey found mayonnaise or creamy sauces were often the reason why many of the salads were so high in calories and fat.

Mayonnaise dressing was the second highest ingredient (27%) in a Mark and Spencer Pasta with Tomato and Basil Chicken salad, £3.20 (380g), which had 760 calories and 46g fat.

However there was praise for Sainsbury's and its Rainbow Salad for containing soya beans and lentils, a good source of protein, and also its Thai Chicken Noodle for being low in salt and fats.

Which? wants food companies to adopt one label so shoppers can see at a glance levels of fat, sugar and salt.

It said research by the Food Standards Agency shows a combined label including traffic light colours, guideline daily amounts, grams of nutrients per portion and the words 'high', 'medium' and 'low' worked best for consumers
 

hanadr

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As diabetics, parents and grandparents, we need to read the nutrition panels on everything. I prefer to prepare my own and family's foods from fresh. then I KNOW what's in there. In addition, I watch the carbs, but not necessarily the calories or fats.
 

BillB

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I absolutely agree, Hana. I make my own sauces, salad dressings and desserts just because I want to know exactly what my family are eating. I don't trust manufacturers to be as careful about their ingredients as I am. And it doesn't take much more time and effort to do it myself than to open a jar.
 

phoenix

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As diabetics, parents and grandparents, we need to read the nutrition panels on everything.
And in these roles we probably do, but I would think most of these salads are grabbed by people to eat during a rushed lunch 'hour'. They think that they're doing the right thing and choosing the healthy option. I suspect many people then wonder why they are putting on/can't lose weight, 'I only ever have a salad at lunchtime'
 

hanadr

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Hi phoenix
I rarely buy ready foods, but If I'm stuck in town at lunchtime( I'm retired) I go into M&S, where they sell ready salads, with all the components visible and a reliable "panel"
I have had a green salad with an egg, which was low calorie and low in carbs.
I have also had a deliciou chicken salad at MacDonald's, when out with a teenaged great nephew. He, of course, needed a Big Mac. they ask if you want the plain grilled chicken
When I still ate carbs, I discovered that Waitrose did a pastrami sandwich which was good and full of green suff as well as the meat and no dressing.
These things are out there, but you still have to look. the dressings are usually in a separate pack inside and you don't have to eat that. the danger is to those people who think a container full of pasta, smothered in "sauce"is a salad.
It's true some salads are not good, but it's up to the purchaser to think.
 

suzi

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Have to agree with you all, i stopped Andrew having school dinners, not because of working/guessing the carbs for his insulin, but because of his coeliac disease. Despite numerous talks with the dinner ladies i had a phone call from a concerned teacher that Andrew hadn't eaten his lunch, why? because he'd forgotten to imform them he was going to take dinner that day, they had no meals gluten free to offer so what did they do, cut the breadcrumbs of ham, gave him coleslaw and a half rotten banana, was i furious and did heads roll, hell yes :x I ran to the school with a quickly prepared sandwich and grabbed some fruit.
Sorry for the rant, had to let off the steam, every time i think about it i just want to explode. As school has just finished here for the summer holidays, at least i don't have to think of varying his packed lunches till September.
Happy shopping,
Suzi x
 

hanadr

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It's so difficult with children and school dinners. the dinner ladies usuaally do their best, but they have only limited training and resources.
 

suzi

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Hi Hana,
limited training and resources i can forgive, common sense i cant, they even refused to open a can of beans ( so it was industrial size, but was on the menu for next day!) there were gluten free sausages in the freezer, which they refused to defrost & cook, plus a fish pie that just had to be dinged!. You wouldn't give a peanut suffer a contaminated plate, so why did they think cutting the crumb off the ham was acceptable, arrgggghhh. (apologises, guess i'm still mad)
On the plus side, packed lunches have improved his bs, cos the carb/insulin ratio is so much easier to judge.
Suzi x
 

hanadr

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Even if he gets the right foods, can you be sure he'll eat it? My daughter( perfectly healthy child) was dreadful. You never knew what she'd actually eaten and what she'd given to someone else. She's still dreadful with food, aged almost 30
 

suzi

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Very true Hana,
but what iv'e found with Andrew is that as well as being unable to lie about certain things (must be his innocence) he knows he can't throw anything away, school has no bins deliberately so children take home contents of packed lunch boxes, plus nobody wants to swap his gluten free items. When he comes home and does his bs, and has told me he ate it all and gave correct units or recalculated for what he has eaten, i expect his bs to be 5-9, and 9 times out of 10 he's spot on. Then he gets a treat. Don't know how long it'l last, i expect him to rebel at some stage, but for now i'l just trust and love him as always,
Suzi x
 

hanadr

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Yes Suzi
Aas parents, all we can do is our best and hope it's good enough. I think I did OK, I'm now learning the new ways with granddaughter. I'm sure real nappies were easier :lol:
 

cavelioness

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I always make my own salads as I know what I like. My most favourite dressing is plain mint chopped and mixed in with the lettuce cucumber and tomatoes. It is so refreshing.