when you’re trying to eat right on the run, fast food salads can be a healthy option, just know the ingredients before biting in.
Nutritionists warn that the calories and sodium levels in these items may be high, but these are their top picks for salads from our favorite fast food spots:
1) Chick-fil-A’s Grilled Market Salad - This is the top pick for healthiest fast food salad from these nutritionists because it’s high in protein (28 grams) and fiber and isn’t off the charts in sodium (710 mg) and fat (14 grams). To make it even healthier, they suggest skipping the blue cheese and keeping the dressing light, but where’s the fun in that?
2) Subway Turkey Breast Salad - Nutritious greens including spinach, along with veggies like cucumbers, green peppers, red onions and tomatoes make this salad nutrient-dense and low calorie, but the dressing is the thing to watch out for here. The 344 calories and 560 mg of sodium in this salad don’t include dressing, so be aware.
3) McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad - The variety of leafy greens used is a plus, nutritionists like the baby spinach, romaine, baby kale, and more. Plus, it has black beans, roasted tomatoes and poblano peppers. But on the flip side, the salad has a lot of sodium (1,070 mg) and the cilantro lime glaze is made with some questionable ingredients and a lot of preservatives
4) Jack In The Box Grilled Chicken Salad - Nutritionists like that this salad is packed with vegetables and it’s only 350 calories without the dressing, but it’s really high in sodium (1,093 mg). To make it healthier, they suggest not using the dressing and not eating the cheese and black olives.
5) Carl’s Junior Charbroiled Chicken Salad - This salad is low in calories - just 280 without dressing - and has 32 grams of protein, the salad is pretty meh with iceberg lettuce, a few slices of tomato and red onion, chicken, cheese, and croutons.