To think this salad is healthy?

[Azzywhatty]

Watercress, rocket, spinach, canned mackerel in olive oil, red onion, pickled beetroot, spring onion, four baby potatoes, capers, olives, and a sprinkle of ground pumpkin and walnut, flaxseed, and chia seed, with a dressing of the olive oil from the mackerel, tsp Dijon mustard, two tsp honey, and lime juice.

YANBU - Of course that’s healthy
YABU - Not healthy - too much honey/potatoes/pickled food/whatever

@PigInAHouse Apart from a nice lump of cheese or a chicken breast, loads of Pizza Express salad dressing, and possibly tomatoes, I can't think of another salad ingredient that I like.

Not very helpful.

It's not lacking in calories.

It's got a whole tin of mackerel.

It's got potatoes (carb)
Beetroot (carbs)
Nuts and seeds (protein and fat)
Olive oil (fat)

I could easily make that my main meal of the day with either soup, or eggs, or another similar salad and a good bowl of Greek yoghurt for my evening meal.

Compared to a large Big Mac, Fries and a McFlurry it's healthy but not as healthy as one slice of cucumber. All sorted :-)

Well it’s actually a lot more healthy than one slice of cucumber, as a slice of cucumber is fairly devoid of nutrients.
As I said above, some people seem to think healthy = low calorie, so it’s impossible to answer a question like ‘is this healthy’ without knowing what measure of ‘healthy’ we’re looking at.

Human beings evolved to crave sugar so I don't see the addition of a couple of teaspoons of honey to a virtuous salad as unreasonable. Sitting in a corner guzzling from a jar of honey like Pooh Bear might be excessive, although still understandable.

Great but too much honey. The ingredients wouldn't gel for my taste but it's not for me.

I would have thought mackerel is only high in salt if it's smoked.

I think the OP has posted the healthiest salad she could think of just to see if anyone disagrees .

It's sounds gross, but yes healthy. Would be quite high cal though if you were dieting

It's basically a variant of what I eat for nearly every lunch, with tuna instead of mackerel and minus the olives/capers/pickles and with a grated carrot instead. Yum!

It's healthy but hope you have a massive plate for seventeen ingredients .😉

It sounds healthy , but probably more kcal than a big Mac. Depends what your aim is. Not good for weight loss

Bet it lasted all week and she couldn't possibly finish it 😆

Salad sounds delicious.

This thread is hilarious.

Top work, OP.

It's fine. Personally I'd omit both the lime juice and honey and use apple cider vinegar with the mother instead. I'd also leave out the chia seeds, beetroot, nuts and potatoes, and add alfalfa and radish sprouts, along with some other micro greens. But that's just me. Either way, it's protein, fish oils, olive oil, and nuts, so 'good' fats.

Am not really sure what the point of this thread is. Yes, the salad is healthy but would I eat it? No, mostly because I can't digest nuts and beetroot makes me ill, so for me, it's not the healthiest of choices.

Healthy does not necessarily equate good for the individual.

All food is healthy as part of a balanced diet.

if o/p eats nothing but this salad, it’s not healthy.

if she has a varied diet and eats lots of different things including this salad, it’s healthy.

if her overall calorie intake is balanced, it’s healthy. If she’s eating so much of this salad she’s gaining or losing excessive weight it’s not healthy.

even a kitkat is healthy as an occasional treat.

we need to get away from the mindset that there is “good” and “bad” food. I’m sick of hearing at work oh I’ve brought salad today, I need to be good.

eat from scratch ingredients as much as you can, as wide a variety as you can. Enjoy the odd treat. That’s “healthy”.

Sounds lovely.

If I were to improve it any for me, I'd think it needs more potatoes, probably more olives, maybe some chilli (although you can get really nice tinned mackerel with chilli already infused into the oil - or chilli picked garlic - that stuff's amazing). And a hardboiled egg wouldn't hurt.

Wouldn't personally bother with honey in the dressing as I'm not a fan, but if you use some of the pickled vinegar from the beetroot, that adds sweetness.

Is some knob telling you it's unhealthy because of fat and/or salt?

That sounds delicious. Can you make me a massive one with a side order of chips and half a buttered baguette? 🙏

Sounds healthy enough. I just couldn't be arsed to assemble it all!

It entirely depends on the quantity.

I read some of these posts and think, why on earth are you asking that?
The salad is full of nutrients and has a wonder variety of flavours and colours.
If you made it of mostly mackerel and spuds and oil with only a touch of veg, it would be less balanced.
Please say why you are asking, there is a backstory we need to know about.

Well I had cheesy chips for lunch so much healthier than that

Olive oil from a mackerel tin is only good for starting camp fires, it should be discarded, not suitable for human consumption. Tbh, it looks like a right dog's dinner - too much incompatible stuff in it, but perfectly healthy!

That sounds too big and oily for me personally - and too much protein. I would prefer either mackerel or seeds, not both. Also I would only want one pickled thing. Personally I would cut the ingredients to a third of that, but that's to do with preference rather than health. Is it healthy? It obviously has a lot of healthy ingredients but it seems quite high in calories. If it's your main meal for the day then fine but if it's just lunch it's a bit greedy.

How would you know how ‘greedy’ it is, she didn’t give quantities?

Is it?

potatoes- good
oil/fat- ok
cheese- ok

it’s not upf so healthy from that pov, it’s not really much different to o/p’s salad: potatoes, fat, protein.

as long as you aren’t eating it all day every day it’s fine. I remember years ago watching a scientist on tv saying fish and chips, as it goes, is pretty balanced. Protein, fat, carbs, a bit of fibre. Add in some general fruit and veg throughout the day and that’s pretty good.