For Fast Meals and Sides, Salad's in the Bag

A lot of folks must appreciate the convenience of having already-washed and chopped salad greens sitting in the crisper. Bagged salad greens now make up a big part of most supermarket produce sections.

In reality, you're probably saving yourself no more than five minutes by buying these pricey bags. But to many, those five minutes make it a lot more likely that salad will be served.

"If time has been an obstacle keeping you from eating more salad, these bags of salad are a great answer," says Karen Collins, MS, RD, nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research. "On the other hand, you do pay for this convenience."

Still, when you consider all the waste that occurs when you wash and trim a head of lettuce yourself, the extra cost is probably just a few cents.

The Healthiest Choices

So which bagged salad greens give you more bang for your three bucks?

In terms of phytochemicals and nutrients, the spinach and Romaine lettuce options are your best bets. Spinach in particular is a nutritional star; after all, it's a member of the acclaimed "dark leafy green" type of vegetables.

Carol Ann Brannon, MS, RD, a "food coach," author and speaker on functional foods, says she always buys a bag of spinach to mix in with other salad greens.

"Compared to other dark greens, spinach and kale have the highest antioxidant values," she notes.

Check out these numbers:

2 cups spinach leaves, chopped: 25 calories, 3 g fiber, 88 mg sodium; 94% Daily Value for vitamin A; 8% DV for vitamin B1; 16% for vitamin B2; 5% for vitamin B3; 14% for vitamin B6; 121% for folic acid; 52% for vitamin C; 24% for vitamin E; 14% for calcium; 32% for magnesium; 31% for potassium; 20% for iron.

2 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped: 18 calories, 1.5 g fiber, 9 mg sodium; 37% Daily Value for vitamin A; 10% DV for vitamin B1; 8% for vitamin B2; 4% for vitamin B3; 3%, for vitamin B6; 85% for folic acid; 45% for vitamin C; 6% for vitamin E; 5% for calcium; 8% for iron; 16% for potassium.