California Dreaming is a restaurant chain operated by CentraArchy Restaurant Management Company. The first one opened in Columbia, South Carolina in 1984 and is now includes 22 restaurants, with the 23rd in the planning stages. One of their most popular menu items is the California Dreaming House Salad, listed on their menu as having, "Ice-cold mixed greens topped with chopped egg, cured ham, turkey, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, toasted almonds, tomatoes, and finished off with fresh-cooked Hormel bacon and ham." This salad is served with the restaurant's house dressing.
Calories
This salad is meant to be a meal. One California Dreaming House salad contains 661 calories. Your caloric needs for the day vary by your age and gender and how active you are. For example, if you are moderately active woman 31 to 35 years of age, MyPyramid.gov states you will need about 2,000 calories per day. This salad provides approximately 33 percent of the day's calories. Of course, if you are sharing the salad with others, you must divide all nutrition values by the number of people you are sharing it with to get the correct values.
Fat
The nutrition website MyFitnessPal lists one California Dreaming House Salad as having 41 g total fat with 7 g of saturated fat and 1 g of polyunsaturated fat. Although you do need some fat in your diet, having too much saturated and trans fats can increase your risk of heart disease. You should strive to keep your total fat at 44 to 78 g and your saturated fat at 16 to 22 g. This salad alone accounts for most of the day's calories from fat.
The salad also contains 91 mg of cholesterol. Typically, your liver produces most of the cholesterol your body needs. MayoClinic.com recommends you keep your ingestion of cholesterol under 300 mg each day. Keeping it under 200 mg per day can greatly reduce your risk of developing high cholesterol and heart problems.
Carbohydrates, Protein and Fiber
One California Dreaming House Salad contains 40 g of carbohydrates with 25 g of sugar and 36 g of protein. Carbohydrates and protein are your body's main sources of energy, and between, them they should comprise the most calories in your diet. On a 2,000 calorie per day diet, you need to get 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates per day and 50 to 175 g of protein.
The California Dreaming House Salad also provides 6 g of dietary fiber, which can help avoid constipation and lower cholesterol levels. Women need to get 22 to 28 g per day, and men need 28 to 34 g each day.
Sodium
This salad has a whopping 1675 mg of sodium. Although sodium is an essential nutrient required every day because it cannot be manufactured by your body, you only need in very small amounts. The 2010 guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association, or AHA, suggest you limit your intake of sodium to 1,500 mg or less to avoid health problems. This salad exceeds the AHA recommendation by 175 mg.
References
- CentraArchy Restaurant Management Company: About Us
- CentraArchy Restaurant Management Company: California Dreaming Menu
- MyFitnessPal: California Dreaming House Salad
- MyPyramid.gov: MyPyramid Food Intake Pattern Calorie Levels
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with These Nutriton Guidelines; February 2011
- American Heart Association; "American Heart Association Supports New USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines and encourages adherence: AHA also Expresses Disappointment that Sodium, Saturated Fat Guidance is Weak"; January 2011
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