Salads are making you gain weight and emptying your wallet

Eating salad is nothing more than a mind game.

You think you're being healthy ordering a salad as you watch coworkers scarf down their sandwiches, but it turns out your mean is actually just as fattening.

It might actually be worse!

Take the Cobb salad from Chop't, for example. With all of the recommended ingredients, the salad comes out to more than 700 calories. Plus, it costs $10.99!

Cutting out the blue cheese will save you 130 calories, but will make your salad just a little sadder.

The Berry Blue salad from Bareburger may seem like the healthiest option on the menu until you realize the $14.95 salad packs more than 1,220 calories.

Yes, that is more calories than every signature burger on the menu. The dressing alone is 560 calories!

Drowning your salad in dressing is among the many fatal flaws you're making. Always ask for olive-oil based vinaigrette instead.

While you're at it, skip the calorie-packed croutons in your next salad. These bad boys make your salad just as carb-heavy as the sandwich you're drooling over.

If you need a crunch, add a spoonful of flaked almonds or sunflower seeds.

Or, skip the salad altogether and opt for a cheese-less burger.

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