Don't Fall For The Ol' Salad Trick!

Here’s some fun news...we went to Moe’s last night and I realized that they now have a multi-grain tortilla. I have been getting my burrito “streaker” style which just means I get no tortilla and they dump the contents of my burrito in a bowl. I really like it but the news of the whole grain tortilla is kind of exciting. It means next time I get a REAL burrito...makes me want to go again. Maybe tomorrow. I love when people offer new, healthier things. Moe’s is a good option or really any place that has fajitas and salsa. The veggies in all that really isn’t bad for you...especially if you cut the chips, tortillas, cheese and sour cream. I know that made it seem like you have to take out all the good stuff but the rice and meat and salsa is still pretty filling.

Yesterday, my friend Jordan was going to Logan’s and he didn’t know what to eat. Luckily, I had already estimated some stuff on the menu. The problem was that I couldn’t really tell him exactly because there are STILL major chain restaurants that don’t have their nutrition facts on the internet. So-I wanted to do a bubble bursting blog. I know that you probably know that salads can be fattening but you still choose them when you don’t know what to eat because you figure they have some nutrition and they can’t be THAT bad. I thought about it one day because I LOVE salad. It’s one of my favorite things. My friend Whitney always jokes that she has never seen anyone eat an entire salad, leaving a completely clean plate...but I do. So, if I love them THAT much then there is no way they can be good for you.

The Pecan Chicken Salad at O’Charley’s:


This salad is 48.5 points! That is 4 points more than ANY person on Weight Watchers can get in a day. It is 1,925 calories and 126 grams of fat. Yah, that is ridiculous. You could eat 4 Double Cheeseburgers from McDonalds and a medium fry. Now, the salad DOES have fried chicken so if you MUST get a salad from O’Charley’s, try the California Chicken Salad with NO dressing because if you have the dressing that comes with it...it makes it like 15 or 16 points...it has grilled chicken and strawberries and mandarin oranges. Because...having fruit on a salad sounds so much better than fried chicken and pecans.

Also, beware of salad bars. I got to adding up the points I would use on a salad at Ryan’s and stopped when I got to 20. Let me put it this way. Unless it is fat free, you have to stay away from all WHITE salad dressings. Really, French and Italian are bad too. The best is a fat free or low fat vinaigrette or Italian dressing. Only get a tiny bit. It may only say that the ranch is a few points or not that much fat but remember...that’s for 2 tablespoons. Also, the only meat you can have on your salad is deli ham, turkey OR chicken. Fried chicken, bacon, pepperoni and steak make the salad EXTREMELY fattening. Some things are ok in moderation. If you have a little cheese, a few crackers OR croutons then that’s OK. Believe me, I have had to come to terms with it myself. I love salad. Now, when I go to a salad bar, I get lettuce, onions, broccoli, a light layer of cheese and whatever fat free options they have. It’s not great but I would rather eat a meal then spend a whole day’s worth of points on a salad.

I won’t say who but someone whose voice can carry may or may not have announced that I’m on Weight Watchers so that everyone within a 5 mile radius of me could hear. I don’t really care...just not big on attention being drawn to me. It makes me really nervous for some reason when people make a big deal of the weight loss. Especially because Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up and I have a feeling my tendency to “stock up for winter” might slow the weight loss process down a bit. We will see...I’m going to continue to try.