Bag Salad is Evil. Learn Why, and You’ll Never Buy It Again.
Big Food is killing us. Bag salad is letting them win.
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Thin, healthy people seem to eat a lot of salad. I want to be thinner and healthier, so I need to eat more salad. On my next trip to the grocery store I swing through the produce section, feeling superior to those assholes in the Oreo aisle. And that’s where I see it…
Why not grab a few bags of prepared salad at the store, and keep them in the fridge? It’ll be so easy to be thin and healthy now! Just pop one open, throw it in a bowl, and splash on some dressing. Oh, and now they have bags that come WITH the dressing, in a little bag inside the bag. Some come with croutons, in another little bag, inside the bag, next to the dressing bag. And raisins! Cheese! Sunflower seeds! It’s healthier than pizza, and cheaper than Door Dash. And so easy! WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT KEEPING A FEW BAGS OF SALAD IN THE FRIDGE?
That’s the argument, anyway, and it’s working. Refrigerated bag salad is white hot right now. According to Nielsen Perishables Group, packaged salad sales have been growing about 6.5% every year since 2011, and according to IRI, household penetration is approaching 90%.
But bag salad is evil, my friends. Here’s why.
It’s expensive.
At the place I shop, a 10 oz. bag of pre-cut, “triple-washed” romaine lettuce is $2.99/lb. A fresh romaine head — about 14 oz. — is $1.69. Even if you end up tossing 15% of the fresh head during prep, that means the pre-packaged stuff is MORE THAN DOUBLE the price of the fresh.
DOUBLE. That’s the difference between a loaded Ford Explorer and a base Range Rover.
Range Rovers are awfully nice, though, some say… much better than Ford Explorers. Are bag salads better, too?
It’s not as good for you, or the planet.
No, in fact. They’re worse.
First off, they’re worse for you. Jo Robinson, author of Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health…
