Apple-Walnut Salad With Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Lisa Lombardi, executive deputy editor, loves apple-walnut salad with honey-balsamic vinaigrette: romaine lettuce, apples, walnuts, chicken, dried cranberries, goat-cheese crumbles, and honey-balsamic vinaigrette.

Lisa can't resist this sweet, rich salad, which gets most of its calories from walnuts, dressing, and cheese. To cut back, use one of our tricks: Swap the fruit—using fresh instead of dried helps you feel satisfied with fewer calories. Heres how to transform this lunch.

Goat-cheese crumbles
Order 1 tablespoon of cheese (thats a third of the usual amount put on this salad), and youll still have plenty to go around—just toss it in well before you eat. You save: 76 calories, 7 g fat.

Honey-balsamic vinaigrette
Choose fat-free honey Dijon or a similar dressing. You save: 160 calories, 21 g fat.

Dried cranberries
Ask for grapes instead. Dried fruit can inflate a salads calories because its not as filling as the fresh kind. By adding fresh fruit to your salad, youll cut the calories and keep the sweetness. You save: 31 calories, 0 g fat.

Walnuts
Get just a few walnut halves (about 6) instead of the usual ladleful; youll end up with a third of the usual calories. The heart-healthy fat in nuts help you feel full, but a small bit will do the trick. You save: 154 calories, 14 g fat.

*Nutritional analysis is based on typical meal-size salads at chain restaurants.

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