Is Your Salad Making You Fat ?

“I’m having a salad.” It’s amazing how these four simple words can make you feel so virtuous. But whether you choose a vinaigrette that’s loaded with oil or add an overly generous sprinkling of honey-toasted nuts, it’s easy to pile on extra fat and calories without realizing it, says Joan Salge Blake, RD, clinical assistant professor at Boston University and author of Nutrition and You. In fact, a res- taurant salad with dressing can have as many as 1,000 calories. With Blake’s help, we’ve remade a few popular salads, which also happen to be favorites of three Health editors. Find out how to lighten up your greens, too.

Cobb Salad With Blue-Cheese We lightened a salad superhigh in fat, calories, and sodium.
Spinach Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette The healthiest of our three salads—but we made it even healthier.
Apple-Walnut Salad With Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette This sweet, rich salad gets most of its calories from walnuts, dressing, and cheese