Your favorite salad bar is a do-it-yourself feast, a successor to the traditional Scandinavian smorgasbord. Most salad bars are served buffet-style and offer a wide variety of cold salads, foods, dressings and toppings. Some add hot soup. The United States Department of Agriculture sets standards for nutrition, variety and food safety for salad bars in school cafeterias. Typically, selections include highly nutritious foods and calorie-laden treats. The choice is yours.
Regulations
The USDA encourages use of salad bars for high nutrition offerings in school meal programs. For example, the New Hampshire Department of Education cites the U.S. Institute of Medicine's report and the "2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans" in documenting that "salad bar programs in public schools indicate positive effects on fruit and vegetable consumption." Strict standards are in place for portion size and nutritional analysis. In 2007, the USDA published a 71-page document outlining salad bar nutritional guidelines.
Varieties
The variety of foods available at salad bars is almost unlimited. KimBensen.com's brief list of ingredients includes 55 varieties of salads, pastas, meats, toppings, dressings, cheeses and veggies. The traditional smorgasbord adds variety. For instance it often offers korv, or Swedish sausage, sylta, or head cheese, jellied veal, sill, or pickled herring and knackebrod, or hardtack. With such variety you can select highly nutritious foods, high-calorie treats or you might even bypass good nutrition entirely if you are not careful.
Low Calorie/High Nutrition
The staple of salad bars is crisp, fresh lettuce. USDA nutrition tables list ordinary Boston lettuce nutrition as only 7 calories per cup and 1g of carbohydrates. For extra nutrition, look for Romaine lettuce, which delivers more vitamins and minerals than other varieties. Cold meat is often served. Cubed ham gives a salad only 70 calories and 4 1/2 g of protein per oz., but each oz. also adds almost 400 mg of sodium. Popular pastas are nutritious but require caution. Macaroni salad, 1/2 cup, adds a moderate 215 calories with 480 mg of sodium.
High Calorie/Low Nutrition
Many salad bar dressings and toppings pile on calories out of proportion to their nutritional value. For instance 1/4 cup, or 4 level tbsp., of crumbled bacon adds about 100 calories and almost 900 mg of sodium to your salad, with very little protein or vitamins. Two tbsp. of French or blue cheese dressings add 150 calories, 14 g of fat, up to 5 g of sugar and no more than a trace of other nutrients.
Do Not Sneeze
Salad bar food sits in the open air, exposed to airborne contaminants. You are the most important source of foreign material that can end up in the food and on your plate. Your hands touch utensils whose handles may touch the food. Dust, lint and even your hair and dandruff can drift over the food. The most recognized protection is the "sneeze guard," a clear, slanting canopy that covers the serving table and extends outward. USDA regulations also require the table be refrigerated to keep food cold and bacterial growth low. Contaminated salad bar food cannot be considered nutritious
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