A salad is the perfect weight loss meal, right? After getting a Lap Band in Salt Lake City, this isn’t always the truth. Salads are a great low calorie meal choice, but basic lettuce is low in nutrients and can take up a lot of space in the stomach. What’s more, getting salads from fast food restaurants can actually pack on more calories than some hamburgers, as dressings, cheesy toppings and add-on’s like bacon are never a healthy choice to have with your salad.
Many people enjoy healthy salads after Lap Band surgery. Before you attempt to add salads to your post-Lap Band menu, talk with your bariatric surgeon to make sure it is a healthy choice for you.
If you do decide to have a salad, skip the basic iceberg and add more nutrients to your meal by opting for these nutritious leafy greens:
- Spinach. With almost twice the recommended daily value of vitamin K, half the recommended value of vitamin A, tons of calcium and lots of iron, spinach is one of the most valuable foods out there in terms of nutritional richness. A bed of spinach will provide you with the healthiest base for the other fruits and veggies you build your salad with.
- Romaine. For those who want a crunchier texture than the soft leaves of spinach, romaine may be the best alternative to iceberg. With more vitamin A and C than spinach, romaine gives Popeye’s favorite a run for its money, but doesn’t quite live up to the bar of nutritional excellence that spinach sets. Still, with plenty of folate, iron and vitamin K, romaine is a great choice as a salad green.
- Red leaf lettuce. The taste of this leafy green falls somewhere in between spinach and romaine, offering a delicate texture without a lot of crunch. Though its levels of vitamin C and other nutrients don’t reach those of the previous two greens, it’s still a great source of vitamins A and K and is especially low in calories (just 8 calories in two cups). This makes red leaf lettuce perfect for adding some color and nutrition to your salad.
- Arugula. This green is technically a cruciferous vegetable, making it more closely related to broccoli and cabbage than any of the veggies listed above, but its taste and texture are more similar to spinach. It may have the lowest nutritional value of any green on this list, but still contains significant levels of vitamins A, C and K, folate and iron. Like red leaf lettuce, arugula only has 8 calories in a 2 cup serving and is nutritionally superior to iceberg.
Next time you toss a salad, make sure you’re getting the most out of it with one of these great greens. Can’t decide which to use? Some bags of mixed greens offer a combination of the leafy veggies listed above, giving you a great combination of flavors, textures and nutrients.