# How healthy/unhealthy is a Ceasar Salad?



## ajustana (Jan 20, 2004)

I've eaten a couple ceasar salads with grilled chicken on them at various restaurants over the past couple of weeks.  I'm curious as to if anyone knows how good/bad these are in nutrition.


----------



## M.J.H. (Jan 20, 2004)

This is too broad of a question, because we dont know how many croutons, how much dressing, how much chicken, etc. you are using. Generally though, I dont think Ceasar salads are absolutely horrible, although they can be high-calorie. Especially with the fat in the dressing.


----------



## tucker01 (Jan 20, 2004)

I would say they are OK. minus the croutons.

Just limit the dressing.  Many times there is way too much dressing applied.  If you can apply your own dressing that would probably be the best, usually around 2 tbls


----------



## Jodi (Jan 20, 2004)

The ceasar dressing is so bad for you.  You would be better off with the romaine lettuce, chicken and olive oil & vinegar for dressing.


----------



## I Are Baboon (Jan 20, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by Jodi *_
> The ceasar dressing is so bad for you.



I agree. Ceasar dressing is _terrible_ for you.  Fortunately, I don't like it.


----------



## Leslie (Jan 20, 2004)

Or order the Cesear sald..bu twith no dressing and add your own. Newmans Cesear Dressing (Oilbased) is very yummy. Serving size would depend on your diet plan, it has 16g fat for 2 tbsp.


I have ordered salads galore and only added vinegar and it was still yummy


----------



## M.J.H. (Jan 20, 2004)

You would be better off Jodi, yes, I agree. But is it the worst thing in the world to eat a chicken ceasar salad, no way. Maybe some saturated fat, but just don't overdo it on the dressing and I think you should be fine.


----------



## Rixmon (Jan 20, 2004)

Ceasar Dressing is death in a bottle!


----------



## BabsieGirl (Jan 20, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by Leslie *_
> Or order the Cesear sald..bu twith no dressing and add your own. Newmans Cesear Dressing (Oilbased) is very yummy. Serving size would depend on your diet plan, it has 16g fat for 2 tbsp.
> 
> 
> I have ordered salads galore and only added vinegar and it was still yummy





This is what I do


----------



## Jodi (Jan 20, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by MonStar *_
> You would be better off Jodi, yes, I agree. But is it the worst thing in the world to eat a chicken ceasar salad, no way. Maybe some saturated fat, but just don't overdo it on the dressing and I think you should be fine.


99% of the time the ceasar salads are premade with the dressing mixed in already.  Take a caesar salad from Boston Market for instance:  

710 Cals
50G Fat

Sounds like a big mac is better for you than this too me 

And this is only 1 example I can provide many more


----------



## Premo55 (Jan 20, 2004)

^^ I agree, I'd rather eat a regular dish at a restaurant than a Caesar Salad, those things are absolutely terrible for you, usually they use iceberg lettuce, which is a useless vegetable, and add craploads of cheese, saturated fat dressing and croutons, and it's close to impossible to take it out by hand...

Peace.


----------



## BigBallaGA (Jan 20, 2004)

Ceaser salad is my fav salad,,,,, sooooo delicious

especially if it has the right dressing, the anchovie based ceaser dressing !!!!


----------



## cappo5150 (Jan 20, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by BigBallaGA *_
> Ceaser salad is my fav salad,,,,, sooooo delicious
> 
> especially if it has the right dressing, the anchovie based ceaser dressing !!!!



Ugh anchovies


----------



## donescobar2000 (Jan 21, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by Jodi *_
> 99% of the time the ceasar salads are premade with the dressing mixed in already.  Take a caesar salad from Boston Market for instance:
> 
> 710 Cals
> 50G Fat




   Thats knucking futs!  I'm glad I don't eat dressing period unless I cheat of course.


----------



## uguysridiots (Nov 24, 2009)

*Eat the hell out of it!*

Are you all really that ignorant! Its food, it is not death in a bottle....god it really makes you guys look like raving idiots talking about how many croutons you eat and measuring your salad dressing out exactly. ....

You want to know the true secret to fitness?

Anyone....


Go to the gym and workout, my 8th grade health teacher said it best. If you want to loose weight burn more calories than you eat. If you want to gain weight eat more calories than you burn theres a direct relationship. 

So eat whatever you want who cares! Its not rat poison you aren't going to die from a heartattack because you ate ceaser dressing unless you one of the really wierd creepy types who somehow is allergic to life but still alive....somehow :?/

I can't even read another ridiculous post off of this website with so many ranting idiots. Did any of you even research about ceaser dressing before you posted? Apparently not because non of you could boost any empirical evidence on why you shouldn't eat ceaser dressing. 

So with all that said I have been doing a 27 year study on Ceaser dressing and not to my astonishment it taste good and is good for you. Eat up and enjoy.


----------



## Built (Nov 24, 2009)

calalily1972 said:


> The ceasar dressing is so bad for you.  You would be better off with the romaine lettuce, chicken and olive oil & vinegar for dressing.





I Are Baboon said:


> I agree. Ceasar dressing is _terrible_ for you.  Fortunately, I don't like it.





Rixmon said:


> Ceasar Dressing is death in a bottle!



usguysridiots, you will note that the above comments are six years old! 

I THINK the board may have learned a bit since then.  


uguysridiots said:


> Are you all really that ignorant! Its food, it is not death in a bottle....god it really makes you guys look like raving idiots talking about how many croutons you eat and measuring your salad dressing out exactly. ....
> 
> You want to know the true secret to fitness?
> 
> ...



Thanks for bumping a six year old thread.


----------



## Rucker (Nov 24, 2009)

As stated, the dressing and croûtons are no good.  I'd go for a tossed salad, add a couple chicken breasts and some olive oil/vinaigrette.


----------



## Triple Threat (Nov 25, 2009)

Built said:


> usguysridiots, you will note that the above comments are six years old!
> 
> Thanks for bumping a six year old thread.



Not only that, but it's his/her only post.     So he/she joined just to rant.


----------



## soxmuscle (Nov 25, 2009)

Caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, croutons = no

Romaine lettuce, vegetables = yes

I think the way to go is to just use olive oil and vinegar as your dressing.


----------



## Built (Nov 25, 2009)

Getting back to this ancient topic, what exactly is so lousy about: 

parmesan?
caesar dressing?
croutons?


----------



## fufu (Nov 25, 2009)

I agree, Built.

What is wrong with Ceasar dressing? Some people seem to have very certain views on how bad it is.

It's an oil based dressing, what is so bad about that?


----------



## tucker01 (Nov 25, 2009)

I agree... oh wait I already said that lol.


----------



## Ben dur (Nov 26, 2009)

i would avoid the caesar dressing if it was based on soybean oil, peanut oil, palm oil etc.

otherwise its not so bad

and croutons are a processed carbohydrate...

i personally wouldnt be so hyper conscious about these things...
but from an anal SUPER health standpoint. it all comes down to the ingredients, not the name of the dish...


----------



## Ben dur (Nov 26, 2009)

uguysridiots said:


> So with all that said I have been doing a 27 year study on Ceaser dressing and not to my astonishment it taste good and is good for you. Eat up and enjoy.





i want to see some data...

what brand?
key ingredients?

blood work along the way?
charts and graphs plotting levels of liver enzymes, LDL and HDL levels?
a spreadsheet documenting fasting glucose levels, checked annually?

frequency of administration of said Caesar salad
dosage of dressing?





i mean seriously
have you done a "study"

if you HAD
you could see much different results depending on the type of oils, sugars used...


if a particular brand of dressing used soybean oil, HFCS, soy lecithin, etc.
and it was used frequently enough.

and the control group was 100% free of all soy products, processed carbs, antibodies, artificial sweeteners etc. over a 27 year period...

there would be noticeable differences in overall health from start to finish...


----------



## Built (Nov 26, 2009)

Ben dur said:


> i would avoid the caesar dressing if it was based on soybean oil, peanut oil, palm oil etc.


I'm with you on the soy oil front, but what's wrong with peanut oil or palm kernel oil? Peanuts are a source of monounsaturated fat (almost half the fat in peanut oil monounsaturated), and palm-kernel oil is a source both monounsaturated fat AND MCT. In fact, nearly half the fat in palm kernel oil is the MCT lauric acid, which is also found in human milk. I kinda figure if it's safe enough for babies, it's probably safe enough for healthy athletes. 


Ben dur said:


> ...from an anal SUPER health standpoint. it all comes down to the ingredients, not the name of the dish...


Exactly.


----------



## danzik17 (Nov 26, 2009)

Caesar salad mmm.  Screw that two tablespoon BS, give me like 0.25-0.5 cup of that delicious dressing, it's bulking season.


----------



## Built (Nov 26, 2009)

There's the spirit!


----------



## Ben dur (Nov 27, 2009)

well built i wasnt saying there was anything particularly wrong with any of these ingredients, although soy seems to be generally understood as, well, not exactly healthy.

i was more or less saying that if there is any particular "unwanted" or "unhealthy" ingredient one is avoiding would be the only real reason to avoid a "dish"

and therefor the "dish" isnt to be avoided but the particular ingredient

i dont have anything against peanut oil...

i eat around 6tbsp a day of peanut butter, and i certainly dont poor the oil off when i open a new bottle =D


the only ingredient i actually consciously TRY to avoid is SOY
which is next to impossible to 100% avoid these days


----------



## Built (Nov 27, 2009)

Ben dur said:


> well built i wasnt saying there was anything particularly wrong with any of these ingredients, although soy seems to be generally understood as, well, not exactly healthy.



I agree. However, when you posted, it sounded a lot like you were equally unhappy with the thought of peanut or palm kernel oil - which is understandable in the mainstream given the bad press about tropical oils, but most folks here know how to look up a fatty acid profile on the USDA nutrient database or a research review on pubmed. 

I'm uncomfortable with soy in general, but the little bit that sneaks into the odd dish doesn't cause me much grief - especially if it's fermented (fermented soy is apparently okay).


----------



## Ben dur (Nov 28, 2009)

bad press about tropical oil?

im gunna have to read up on this


----------



## fufu (Nov 28, 2009)

Chicken Caesar salad is my go-to meal when I eat out during a cut. 

(without the croutons for low-carb reasons)


----------

