A salad question

[UKbob]

...Just found a single entire stinging nettle in my Coop ready made salad. Its got the leaves, stalk, stingers on the leaves and seed pod thingies just like a normal nettle. It didnt sting, praps its just a "cheaper than real lettuce" filler.

Anyhow, Im drinking far less alcohol, eating far less red meat, eating a little more fish and a great deal more chicken in attempts to get into a healthier lifestyle... are these ready made salads good for you? I ask, as Im sure I remember reading a year or more ago that a McDonalds salad was somehow worse for you than one of their burgers.

Admitedly coop salads dont come with deep fried chicken inside them, but in attempts to look after my cholesterol levels and general health, it would be nice to know the instant salads Im buying (tesco, coop) are actually good for one.

[kiwisr]

Salad leaves are good for you no matter how they are packed or sold, it's the crap they mix in or supply with them that makes them bad such as the dressings.

[escargot]

Yup, it was the shit McDonalds put in the dressings that made them worse.

For salad dressings, I tend to use the simple Olive oil/balsamic vinegar combination, or an oil & mustard based one. Really simple and quite healthy.

[UKbob]

escargot said:

use the simple Olive oil/balsamic vinegar combination, or an oil & mustard based one. Really simple and quite healthy.

Ive got both so I'll do that.

What should one look out for, in grams of fat and all that stuff, on the lid? With regards to keeping cholesterol down and looking after the body by feeding it nutrients which will benefit you long term?

[escargot]

If you're buying pre-made dressings, it's generally stuff like saturated fats & salt content that you need to watch out for. As well as artificial stuff. Salad dressings can be really bad for you, but it's like everything, be moderate with it.

I don't really hold with diets per se, I just (in the main) eat healthy fresh stuff. I indulge in the odd pizza or McDonalds once in a while but as long as it's in moderation, there isn't an issue.

[UKbob]

escargot said:

If you're buying pre-made dressings, it's generally stuff like saturated fats & salt content that you need to watch out for. As well as artificial stuff. Salad dressings can be really bad for you, but it's like everything, be moderate with it.

I don't really hold with diets per se, I just (in the main) eat healthy fresh stuff. I indulge in the odd pizza or McDonalds once in a while but as long as it's in moderation, there isn't an issue.

What are saturated and unsaturated fats, compared? I assume one is bad for you, the unsaturated fats?

I know next to nothing about nutrition, other than additives, as Im alergic to non-natural ingredients, so dont tend to eat that many sweets/junkfood, excluding pizzas which are usually 100% natural.

[escargot]

UKbob said:

escargot said:

If you're buying pre-made dressings, it's generally stuff like saturated fats & salt content that you need to watch out for. As well as artificial stuff. Salad dressings can be really bad for you, but it's like everything, be moderate with it.

I don't really hold with diets per se, I just (in the main) eat healthy fresh stuff. I indulge in the odd pizza or McDonalds once in a while but as long as it's in moderation, there isn't an issue.

What are saturated and unsaturated fats, compared? I assume one is bad for you, the unsaturated fats?

I know next to nothing about nutrition, other than additives, as Im alergic to non-natural ingredients, so dont tend to eat that many sweets/junkfood, excluding pizzas which are usually 100% natural.

http://www.tesco.com/health/food/healthy_eating/principles/your_food/fat.html - for info about fats etc.

I just tend to look at the total fat content on the back of the bottle, if a high proportion of that is 'of which saturates', i'd probably leave it.

The daft thing is, if you actually look at the ingrediants on the back of most salad dressings, you can pretty much make them yourself (but without the crap) with minimal effort.

In my mind, pizzas are not only 100% natural, but also 100% healthy too. That's how I justify it to myself anyway.

[TpdNotts]

I say just use a really good virgin olive oil, add a bit of good Balsamic Vinegar and some lemon/lime juice or perhaps a drop of soya sauce/Worcestershire sauce and pepper/salt. Don't know about fats but tastes bloody lovely on a salad..

[drivin_me_nuts]

Nettles are indeed good - lots of vits and minerals. Just the tips and the top leaves and shred them into a stew of caserole and cook them.

[SpydieNut]

TpdNotts said:

I say just use a really good virgin olive oil, add a bit of good Balsamic Vinegar

i used to do this - loved it. then i read somewhere that the vinegar masks the taste of your *very expensive* olive oil. i thought- you know, they're right (don't know why i didn't think of it myself, but there you go). since then i just use a very nice, extra virgin olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. and it's bloody amazing.

[SpydieNut]

drivin_me_nuts said:

Nettles are indeed good - lots of vits and minerals. Just the tips and the top leaves and shred them into a stew of caserole and cook them.

and i found a risotto recipie that uses nettles that i have to try - we have loads of the stinging blighters around at the moment - free food

[TpdNotts]

SpydieNut said:

TpdNotts said:

I say just use a really good virgin olive oil, add a bit of good Balsamic Vinegar

i used to do this - loved it. then i read somewhere that the vinegar masks the taste of your *very expensive* olive oil. i thought- you know, they're right (don't know why i didn't think of it myself, but there you go). since then i just use a very nice, extra virgin olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. and it's bloody amazing.

Think you have to go really light on the Balsamic. Too much and yeah, it's very sharp and you miss out on the smoothness of the olive oil. Talking of which, has anyone tried those garlic or basil infused olive oils? Wasn't sure about them, but excellent to add to a quick salad..

[Tina K]

At this time of year, I tend to buy whole heads of salad leaves, wash them and store them in a lidded plastic box at the bottom of the fridge. Chop a load of fresh herbs into them combined with ripe juicy sliced tomatoes and they don't need any additional dressing.

[Adam_BGT]

it is really just the dressings that are gonna mess up your 'healthy eating' plans.

Basic Vinaigrette recipe: (i've been using this one for years in 4 star restaurants and still get compliments on it)

take the same amount of olive oil and white wine vinegar. put them in a jug. add whatever fresh herbs you fancy (try rosemary and thyme to start with... hard to get wrong) using a blender, whizz the living hell outta the mixture, then give it a damn good squeeze of either lemon or lime juice. whizz it a bit more then taste. it should be akin to sucking on a lemon. add a little castor sugar, whizz then taste again. repeat this until you have a dressing that is neither too sweet or sour. if you go too sweet, just put more lemon/lime juice in!

if you like, you could be adventurous and try using fruit etc in place of just herbs. try strawberry and basil, raspberry & wholegrain mustard, mint & papaya.. its all good!

Hope that helps!

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P.s Another drawback of pre-packed salad leaf is quality. if leaf is not cut with either a serrated or perfectly sharp blade (as industrially, it rarely is!) it will bruise very easily, causing a brown discoloured appearance within a couple of days at the longest. just sharpen a knife, fill your sink up with water to wash it in and cut your own, cheaper and better!!

Edited by Adam_BGT on Wednesday 22 August 23:51

[Toni896]

Dont they use chlorine to keep those bagged salads fresh ?
and yes I know they use chlorine in drinking water.