Salad bars in restaurants can add healthful foods to your meal. A salad bar will typically feature fresh produce such as lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers as well as protein foods such as hard boiled eggs and grated cheese.
Fresh Produce
By filling your plate with plenty of fresh produce, you will be eating low-fat, low calorie foods that have a high-fiber content. Adults should consume between 25 and 35 g of dietary fiber daily. Eating plenty of fiber helps you feel satiated and keeps your blood sugar levels steady, which makes it less likely you will snack. According to the AskDrSears.com, if you are eating foods with a high-fat content, adding high-fiber foods to the meal will decrease the amount of fat your body absorbs. One 5 oz. cup of cherry tomatoes contains about 25 calories and 1.8 g of fiber. A cup of cucumbers contain eight calories and 0.5 g of fiber, and 1 cup of grated carrots provides 45 calories and 3.1 g of dietary fiber.
Protein Choices
Protein foods found at a salad be may include eggs, cheese and seafood such as tuna or prawns. One medium hard-boiled egg contains around 68 calories, and a 4 oz. serving of tuna canned in water has approximately 130 calories. Four ounces of cooked prawns have about 110 calories, and a 4 oz. cup of shredded regular cheddar cheese has about 450 calories, according to CalorieKing.com.
Dressings
When choosing foods from a salad bar, it is possible to ingest more calories from high-fat dressings than from the foods themselves. Full-fat mayonnaise has around 60 calories per tablespoon. A tablespoon of tartar sauce has around 65 calories and Italian style vinaigrette provides around 30 calories per tablespoon, according to CalorieKing.com.
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