Battle of the Salads

The ideal diet for the fastest possible weight loss (and good health generally) features as many vegetables and fruits as you can eat. One of the easiest ways to load up on produce is to eat a salad with (or for) lunch or dinner. Or both. Unfortunately, quite a few of the fast-food outlets dish up salads that are higher in salt than just about anything on the main menu. They aren’t always so great on the fat and calories, either. Take Burger King’s Tender Crisp Salads. Those fried chicken strips served over greens drive the calorie count to more than 500 and the total fat to 22 grams. Eat a few of those “healthy” salads a week, and you’ll gain as much weight as you would if you stuck to the burgers and shakes.

There are some good (and good-tasting) salads to be found, and I highly recommend them. Just don’t ruin a good thing by slathering on the high-fat ranch, blue cheese, Thousand Island, or other creamy dressings. You’ll do better to stick with vinaigrette—or at least use as little of the other dressings as you can. Here’s a look at how the salads compare at the different chains.