Salad is one of the icons of healthy eating and more people are making the attempt to include this meal into their daily eating regimen. However, not all salads are the same and while you think chomping down on some greens is making you healthier, it’s what’s in the salad that will really determine how health conscious you are.

There are plenty of foods out there that are great for the body and considered “healthy.” Salad is one of them. However, too many people make the mistake of trying to have the best of both worlds by having a salad with a ton of stuff that doesn’t necessarily fall into the health category. If you want to make sure your next salad isn’t defeating the purpose of better eating, you’ll want to know what makes up a good salad and what should be avoided.

The salad itself is the healthiest part of the meal. But what ends up actually adding more calories and fat are the extras that go on the salad itself - this includes dressing and your favorite goodies. Let’s take a closer look at how these fixings can make or break your ideal salad.

The items you’ll want to avoid if you want a truly healthy salad include the following: meats, cheese, fatty/heavy dressing, croutons and bacon bits. The best way to create a good salad that won’t set you back in fat and calories is to first choose the right type of green. Regular lettuce or romaine is perfectly fine but a salad made of darker, leafy greens like spinach, herbs and arugula adds an extra health boost. When adding toppings to your salad reach for the veggies first. Feel free to pile on beans, tomatoes, broccoli, shredded carrots, mushrooms or bell peppers. Looking for more fixings that won’t do more harm than good? Then you can also opt to throw on some dried nuts, dried fruit, olives, slices of hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, grilled chicken, avocadoes or low-fat cheese.

When people add salad dressing, it is more often than not overkill. Needless to say, if your salad is swimming in salad dressing then chances are you’re getting more fat and calories than you’re supposed to. The best types of dressing for use on your salad include balsamic vinegar, olive oil, vinaigrette or low-fat dressing. Creamy dressings or those with a heavy mayonnaise base should be avoided if it can be helped. For both types of dressings, the key is portion control. To stay on the safe side, it is recommended to drizzle no more than one or two tablespoons of dressing on your entire salad. If that sounds too dry to you, another option is to get your dressing served on the side. Dip each forkful of salad into the side dish of dressing to control how much dressing you consume - this is especially helpful if you choose a fattier version of salad dressing. It goes without saying that ordering extra dressing should be avoided.

It is also important to be wary of salads like Caesar and coleslaw, which are made with super heavy dressings and contain a ton of fat and calories alone.

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