{"id":37082,"date":"2015-02-12T07:15:57","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T12:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=37082"},"modified":"2021-08-26T14:38:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T18:38:44","slug":"worst-salads-healthy-salad-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/worst-salads-healthy-salad-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Shocking Salads Over 1,000 Calories (and Healthier Swaps!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1,000<\/p>\n

Ordering a salad always feels so virtuous, right? After all, when faced with a menu full of rich, fattening pastas, burgers and entr\u00e9es \u2014\u00a0you chose the healthy option<\/a>. What could possible go wrong? Well, apparently, a lot. Just because there are veggies on your plate, doesn\u2019t mean that the cheese, fried chicken or creamy dressing accompanying your carrots got any better for you.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 12 Fast Food Drinks That Aren\u2019t Worth the Calories<\/a><\/p>\n

So if your lettuce is served up with a hefty dose of not-so-healthy add-ons (we\u2019re looking at you, tortilla chip toppings), you might be in trouble. We found nine salads on the menus of your favorite chain restaurants that all contain more than 1,000 calories. Yes, you read that right. Even scarier, some of these options look pretty healthy at first glance.<\/p>\n

Get a load of these calorie catastrophes \u2014 and the healthier homemade options we found to replace them.<\/p>\n

9 Shocking Salads (and Healthy Salad Recipes to Use Instead)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photos: Pond5<\/a>; Blue Apron<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1.\u00a0Chili\u2019s Quesadilla Explosion Salad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts:<\/strong> One salad contains 1,430 calories, 96 g fat (28 g saturated fat), 17 g sugar and 64 g protein.<\/p>\n

We hate to say it, but if your salad comes topped with a quesadilla, you might as well not be ordering a salad at all. Sure, the chicken is grilled, but the three-cheese quesadilla, crispy tortilla strips and creamy ancho chile ranch sauce aren\u2019t doing you any favors. You might as well be eating eight orders of small French Fries from McDonald\u2019s<\/a> \u2014\u00a0because that\u2019s how many grams of fat you\u2019ll be consuming.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Blue Apron\u2019s Two-Cheese Chicken Quesadillas<\/a> with Chive-Sour Cream and Spinach Apple Salad don\u2019t exactly<\/em> qualify as diet food. But with half the calories of the Chili\u2019s option, this dish is still a healthier bet. You\u2019ll get your fix of cheesy goodness, but the simple salad will spare you from a multitude of foods sins.<\/p>\n

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Photos: Pond5<\/a>, skinnytaste.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2.\u00a0IHOP\u2019s Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad w\/Grilled Chicken<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,130 calories, 89 g fat, 27 g saturated fat, 5 g sugar and 70 g protein.<\/p>\n

Beware the Cobb salad. Stuffed with bacon, blue cheese and slathered in ranch dressing, this dish can be calorically dangerous. Even made with grilled chicken, this salad is still a big no-no. So don\u2019t think you can nab a get-out-of-jail free card just for foregoing the fried version of this IHOP dish.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier:<\/strong> Turkey bacon and low-calorie blue cheese or ranch dressing helps make this Skinny Cobb Salad<\/a> less calorically horrifying. You\u2019ll get your fix of veggies from the cucumber and tomato, plus a dose of healthy fats from the ripe avocado you\u2019ll add into the mix.<\/p>\n

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Photos: Pond5<\/a>; Skinnytaste.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3.\u00a0Friendly\u2019s Crispy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,020 calories, 69 g fat (16 g saturated fat), 22 g sugar and 39 g protein.<\/p>\n

If you hoped ordering a salad would allow you to enjoy Friendly\u2019s signature ice cream dishes<\/a> with less guilt, this is going to disappoint you. The restaurant\u2019s \u201ccountry-breaded\u201d chicken is combined with two types of cheese and tortilla trips. But here\u2019s where things really get crazy: Without the dressing, this salad is a more respectable 650 calories. Drizzling on the honey-mustard mix adds a whopping 370 calories.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>The oven-fried chicken in this Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette<\/a> gets its crunchy coating from a mouthwatering combo of breadcrumbs, cornflakes and coconut. Simple salad ingredients like shredded carrots, tomato and cucumber help you avoid extra calories. And the honey mustard vinaigrette is a straightforward mix of oil, honey, vinegar and mustard.<\/p>\n

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Photos: Pond5<\/a>; Skinnytaste.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4.\u00a0Applebee\u2019s Grilled Oriental Chicken Salad with Dressing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,290 calories, 81 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 64 g sugar and 56 g protein.<\/p>\n

Holy sugar rush. This entr\u00e9e seems simple enough: Fried chicken, toasted almonds, crispy noodles and \u201cOriental\u201d vinaigrette. But somewhere along the way, this dish picked up a whopping 64 grams of sugar. That\u2019s about as much as if you were to chow down on 2.5 full size Hershey\u2019s bars in one sitting.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Bitter Truth About Sugar and Its Effects on Our Health<\/a><\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Enjoy this super low-cal Asian Cabbage Mango Slaw<\/a> as a side dish to your next meal (or add some chicken to make it an entree).\u00a0The combo of shredded cabbage, carrots, mango and scallions, with a light sauce, makes this dish a flavor win \u2014 in addition to being gluten-free, low-carb, dairy-free, vegan and egg-free.<\/p>\n

\"1,000
Photos: Pond5<\/a>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5.\u00a0California Pizza Kitchen\u2019s Caramelized Peach Salad with Saut\u00e9ed Salmon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,220 calories, 88 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 51 g sugar and 42 g protein.<\/p>\n

The health benefits<\/a> of ordering this salad with saut\u00e9ed salmon might go out the window, thanks to the other ingredients on your plate. Caramelized peaches and cranberries up the sugar content, while a hefty dose of Gorgonzola cheese is responsible for loading each bite with extra calories and fat.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier:\u00a0<\/strong>By switching to reduced-fat feta cheese, and stripping the sugar-sweetened fruit from this Pan Seared Salmon Citrus Salad<\/a>, you\u2019ll bid adieu to many of the calorie bombs above. Craving something crunchy? Add a crumble of PopChips on top to make each forkful more satisfying.<\/p>\n

\"1,000
Photos: Pond5<\/a>;\u00a0Life by DailyBurn<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6.\u00a0Qdoba Crunch Flour Tortilla Salad Bowl with Grilled Steak & All the Fixings<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,120 calories, 66 g fat (18.5 g saturated fat), 10 g sugar and 49 g protein.<\/p>\n

The crunchy flour tortilla bowl is to your salad what a bread bowl is to soup \u2014an unnecessary blast of calories in an otherwise okay dish. Plus, classic taco toppings like sour cream, guacamole and shredded cheese simply contain way too many calories when combined.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Ditch the bowl made of chips, and your taco salad just got a whole lot healthier. Lean ground beef and low-fat Mexican blend cheese help slash the fat in this Quick and Easy Taco Salad Recipe<\/a>.\u00a0And you can still crumble a cup of tortilla chips on top, as long as they\u2019re baked!<\/p>\n

\"1,000
Photos: Pond5<\/a>;\u00a0Life by DailyBurn<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7.\u00a0Texas Roadhouse\u2019s Chicken Caesar Salad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,030 calories. Fat, saturated fat, sugar and protein counts not available.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by the grilled chicken, and minimalist ingredients in this Caesar salad. A combo of cheese, croutons and creamy, rich dressing \u2014\u00a0with zero veggies aside from lettuce \u2014 make this a nutritional miss.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Get a blast of nutrients by swapping out romaine or iceberg for vitamin-packed kale in our Kale Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe<\/a>. By replacing croutons with roasted chickpeas, you\u2019ll the crunch you desire without all the carbs. Add a Greek yogurt based dressing, and you\u2019re home free.<\/p>\n

\"1,000<\/a>
Photos: Pond5<\/a>; Laaloosh.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8.\u00a0Ruby Tuesday\u2019s Carolina Chicken Salad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,117 calories, 68 g fat, 60 g protein. Grams of sugar and saturated fat not available.<\/p>\n

Chicken tenders, cheddar cheese, bacon, croutons and nuts create the perfect caloric storm in this southern-fried creation. While this salad does feature an array of veggies, including peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots, it\u2019s not enough to make up for the aforementioned issues.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Pick your poison when it comes to adding fatty things to your salad \u2014\u00a0and if bacon\u2019s your go-to, this healthier version will get you your fix. Turkey bacon, combined with broccoli, onion, cranberries and jicama, makes Broccoli and Bacon Salad<\/a> a savory, yet still low-guilt, choice.<\/p>\n

\"1000
Photos: Pond5<\/a>; Life by DailyBurn<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

9.\u00a0Cheesecake Factory\u2019s Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nutrition Facts: <\/strong>One salad contains 1,620 calories and 108\u00a0g. Saturated fat, sugar and protein counts not available.<\/p>\n

Fried tortillas and toppings of avocado cream, salsa and sour cream make this pick a no-go (the supersized servings don’t help, either). Heck, you could eat two slices of the Cheesecake Factory’s Low Carb Cheesecake for about the same amount of calories. In a pinch, order the chain’s Skinnylicious Mexican Tortilla salad, for only 550 calories \u2014 or whip up your own version, below.<\/p>\n

Make It Healthier: <\/strong>Get the same south-of-the-border taste by prepping\u00a0this Corn, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad Recipe<\/a>. The quinoa serves up some extra protein, and a can of black beans makes this dish one that will keep you full \u2018til your next meal. You could even add an avocado on top, if you are craving a hit of something creamy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is your salad as innocent as it seems? These 9 restaurant versions each contain more than 1,000 calories. Try the healthy salad recipes we found instead!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":37140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[51,71,85,341,380,285],"class_list":["post-37082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-food-choices","tag-nutrition","tag-salad","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2diet-advice","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}