High street salads have come a long way from a bog-standard tuna niçoise.
Many offerings these days have barely a leaf in sight, packed with multiple grains, seeds and a plethora of roasted vegetables, along with any dressing your appetite desires.
You don’t have to make a special trip to a trendy health food spot either – salads are available at virtually every eatery, from McDonald’s to Greggs.
In fact, the popular bakery chain has credited its salad range for record-high sales this year.
But, with endless choice, how do you pick an option that’s best for both your tastebuds and your health?
Nutritionist Rob Hobson warns that many make the common mistake of assuming a salad is healthier than a sandwich.
This isn’t necessarily the case, as some ingredients in salads hike up the calories and fat to rival that of a McDonald’s burger, he says.
Here, experts reveal the best bowls on Britain’s high streets – and the ones that are nutritionally akin to junk food.
There’s an endless choice of salads on UK high streets – but how do you know what to avoid?
M&S Chicken Caesar Salad
Per 261g salad: 551 calories, 8.4g saturated fat, 3.1g sugar, 34.9g protein, 1.6g fibre, 2.6g salt
With more saturated fat than a McDonald’s cheeseburger (thanks to the oil-heavy dressing), this seemingly healthy lunch might not be such a good option.
In the UK, the NHS recommends that women eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day, whereas the limit for men is 30g. Consistently eating too much saturated fat can lead to a build up of bad cholesterol in your arteries, which then raises your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Hobson adds that for 550 calories, this lunch is unlikely to keep you satisfied for long due to the serious lack of fibre, which helps food move more slowly through the gut, triggering feelings of fullness.
There’s also nearly a third of your daily salt limit here, which is bad news for those with high blood pressure.
‘The salad does have a very decent 35g of protein, largely from the chicken and egg. That’s good for muscle building, but overall a caesar salad doesn’t provide nutritional bang for your buck,’ Hobson concludes.
Verdict: 1/5
Asda Cheese Pasta Salad
Per 365g pot: 596 calories, 14g saturated fat, 7.3g sugar, 21.2g protein, 4.4g fibre, 1.6g salt
Not all pasta salads are to be avoided, but many – like this Asda cheese option – contain very few vegetables, and dressings that are packed with fat and sugar.
There’s almost two teaspoons of sweet stuff here, most of which comes from sugar syrup that’s used for extra flavouring.
The ‘healthy’ lunch packs in 70 percent of your recommended daily maximum of saturated fat, largely from the generous amount of cheese, which is more than you’ll find in a Big Mac.
Experts recommend M&S’ plant salad that’s high in fibre and packs in less than 400 calories
Hobson says, in general, avoid salads whereby the vegetable element is classic salad ingredients, like lettuce, carrot, cucumber or sweetcorn. These veggies aren’t as high in fibre as others and are unlikely to satisfy hunger.
‘For a lunch approaching 600 calories, I would want to see much more vegetable variety and fibre, and a lower saturated fat content,’ he adds.
Verdict: 0/5
Itsu Tuna Tartare Poké
Per bowl: 684 calories, 2.9g saturated fat, 22.2g sugar, 25.8g protein, 9.5g fibre, 5.2g salt
Itsu is renowned for its sushi-based salads but they do often come with a huge calorie hit. In this case, it’s around 100 more calories than Pret’s Chicken Caesar Bacon Baguette.
But will it keep you fuller for longer? Probably not. While there’s more than twice the filling fibre here compared to the aforementioned baguette, there’s less protein and seven times more sugar.
Eating large quantities of sugar in the middle of the day has been associated with dramatic peaks and dips in blood sugar which can raise the risk of severe hunger pangs between meals.
Also, there’s a massive 86 per cent of your daily recommended salt allowance here, thanks to the soy-based dressing.
Greggs’ says its salad offering is behind a surge in sales – but experts urge caution
However, Hobson says there are pluses. For instance, tuna which is a low-fat source of protein that’s easily absorbed by the body, and, if you ditch the dressing, you’ll save yourself most of the sugar and salt.
Verdict: 2/5
M&S Nutrient Dense 35 Plants Salad
Per pot: 300 calories, 3.1g saturated fat, 12.9g sugar, 10.9g protein, 7.6g fibre, 1.3g salt
American researchers recently found that eating 30 different plants a week can dramatically boost diversity of the trillions of microbes in our gut. This can have benefits for the immune system, digestion and mental health, studies show.
This colourful M&S salad contains a huge 35 different plants, making it a great choice, according to Hobson.
‘The wide mix of vegetables, wholegrains, pulses, seeds and herbs all count as plants and provide 7.6g of fibre per pack, which is about as much as two-and-a-half slices of wholemeal bread.
‘Including a mixture of plants means you’re getting a wider range of nutrients and different types of fibre.
‘You’ll get soluble fibre, which dissolves in water and can help improve cholesterol and digestion, as well as insoluble fibre, which bulks up stools to keep food moving through the digestive system.
Don’t worry too much about the relatively high sugar count, as most of this is from sweet vegetables like squash and sweet potato, and not the kind we need to limit to 30g a day.
But, with a pretty moderate amount of protein, you may not feel satisfied for long, particularly if you have a larger appetite.
Verdict: 4/5
LEON Golden Beetroot Superfood Salad
Per box: 461 calories, 13g saturated fat, 15g sugar, 13g protein, 10g fibre, 6g salt
If it wasn’t for the huge quantity of salt here, this salad would be an ideal healthy lunch, with a third of your daily fibre needs and enough plant protein to keep you full.
‘But most people wouldn’t realise that this choice contains more than the recommended maximum of salt for an entire day,’ says Ro Huntriss, consultant dietitian and founder of Fertility Dietitian UK.
‘There is also quite a bit of added sugar from ingredients including agave syrup, sugar and dextrose.’ As much sugar as you’ll find in roughly five Hobnobs, in fact.
There’s also more than half of a woman’s daily recommended saturated fat intake due to coconut oil in the plant-based ‘stracciatella’.
Leon’s chicken and avocado salad is filling but the unnecessary sugar is its downfall
‘This salad demonstrates why foods marketed as plant-based or healthy can contain surprising amounts of saturated fat,’ says Huntriss.
Verdict: 2/5
LEON Chicken & Avocado Superfood Salad
Per box: 565 calories, 7g saturated fat, 11g sugar, 27g protein, 8.1g fibre, 1.3g salt
Despite high calories, this generously portioned salad is actually brimming with goodness.
‘I wouldn’t be put off by the 565 calories because a lot of it is coming from foods like avocado and seeds, which provide healthy, unsaturated fats,’ says Hobson.
‘These fats can help lower levels of LDL aka ‘bad’ cholesterol when they replace saturated fats in your diet, helping to protect your heart health.’
The chicken, quinoa, peas and plenty of other vegetables also provide the majority of a woman’s daily intake of protein, and nearly a third of a day’s fibre.
‘Higher-fibre diets are also associated with a lower risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer,’ says Hobson.
One major downside is the sugar, much of which comes from the pickled onion and, oddly, the chicken (likely due to a sweet marinade). Some of it is found naturally in the beetroot and Greek yogurt dressing, however.
Verdict: 3/5
Tesco Finest Middle Eastern Style British Chicken & Tabbouleh Salad
Per pot: 341 calories, 1.3g saturated fat, 9.7g sugar, 17.3g protein, 7.4g fibre, 1.4g salt
Bulgur wheat, cucumber, tomato, onion, parsley, spiced chicken breast, pomegranate chutney, pickled vegetable slaw mix, hummus, a spicy yogurt dressing pot, rocket and beetroot leaves, makes this one of the most colourful salads in the chiller.
If you’re controlling your calories, this could be a good choice with just 341, says Hobson.
But, despite the low energy count, there is still plenty of substance to this salad.
‘Chicken, bulgur wheat, chickpeas and hummus make this a filling option as you get a nice variety of vegetables, herbs and pulses.’
The one downside is the two teaspoons of sugar, which is added to the dressing and the chickpeas. But experts say it’s less than a third of your daily recommended intake, so as long as you cut down on sweet treats, it’s a perfectly healthy option.
Verdict: 4/5
