Salads have a healthy reputation, but you can quickly tank your diet if you don’t build them carefully. Dark leafy greens, lean proteins and fiber-rich vegetables are all key ingredients to ensuring a satisfying salad. But that means that you have to avoid a few things to keep things on track. When you build your salad be sure to avoid:

Creamy Dressings

Anything labeled creamy, whether it’s Italian or Bleu, has a high-fat mayo base. It may also contain sour cream, cheese, and other high fat ingredients. Instead, stick to vinaigrettes or go the DIY route by combining lemon and oil or vinegar and oil.

Fat-Free Dressings

When companies take out the fat, they load it up with salt and sugar to replace the lost flavor. As a result, fat-free dressings often have a lot of unhealthy salt and sugar and even chemicals that you don’t want to ingest.

Dried Fruits

If you have a sweet tooth, you may go for the craisins or other dried fruit. But dried fruit is super high in sugar and doesn’t offer as much in the way of nutrition as actual fruit. Try real fruit if you need something sweet.

Crunchy Toppings

Croutons, wontons, tortilla strips may add extra crunch and texture but they also add empty calories. Instead, use crisp lettuce and crunchy vegetables, like cucumbers, to get the crunch without the dough.

Starchy Veggies

Corn and potatoes and even peas may seem healthy, but they’re not all that beneficial. Skip them in favor of beans, legumes, lentils that have a similar texture and a lot more nutrition.

Processed Meats

Bacon bits, bacon toppings, glazed deli meats, etc. are all filled with a lot of fat and sugar that you don’t need in your salad. Instead, go for grilled chicken or shrimp and skip anything processed or fried—even tofu.

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