Consumer Reports ShopSmart just evaluated salads from restaurant chains like Chili's, Panera Bread, and Olive Garden, as well as fast food joints like Wendy's and McDonald's.
"Our testers rated the salads on their overall nutrition. Then we had our taste testers try the healthiest ones to see how good they are," said Sue Perry with Consumer Reports.
Turns out, a meal-based salad is not always the healthiest choice. For example, Chili's Quesadilla Explosion Salad packs 1,400 calories and 88 grams of fat. That's almost as many calories as its Classic Bacon burger. And another salad from Chili's has almost as much sodium as the daily recommended intake.
As you try to eat more healthy food and add more green to your diet, Consumer Reports found some restaurant salads that were tasty too, without a lot of dressing.
One of the best is Panera's Barbecue Chopped Chicken Salad with Barbecue Sauce. It has 350 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 6 grams of dietary fiber -- no dressing needed.
"Our taste testers said the barbecue sauce was plenty. Plus skipping the dressing saves 140 calories and 11 grams of fat."
Also from Panera is the Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. Testers liked the sweet and sour dressing but only used about half of it, saving almost 50 calories and four grams of fat. Cutting back on calories without cutting back on taste.
