Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you are trying to eat healthy, popular fast food chains are unlikely to come to mind when looking for a quick and easy meal.

But as Americans have become increasingly concerned about their health and worked to clean up their diets, most fast food eateries have responded by adding salads to their menus.

Eleven fast food eateries in Northeast Ohio offer the "lighter option." Reporters Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez visited them for a taste test and below are their rankings, from worst to best. No. 1 is Chick-fil-A's Cobb Salad.

Do you agree with the rankings? Tell us your favorite fast food salad in the comments.

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No. 11 Penn Station, Chicken Cordon Blue Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Penn Station is known for its subs (and french fries!).

If you have a favorite sub, but want to eat lighter, don't despair. Their menu says they can make any sub into a salad, so we took them up on it and ordered a Chicken Cordon Blue salad.

The vegetables consisted of only a bed of iceberg lettuce and four slices of tomato. It was topped with two whole slices of Swiss cheese, with some hot chopped chicken and ham, which was unseasoned. So bland.

We were very disappointed, to say the least.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 10 Dairy Queen, Grilled Chicken BLT Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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This is what fast food salads looked like before they morphed into the entree salads you get at many eateries today -- iceberg lettuce topped with shredded carrots and diced tomatoes, and a sprinkling of red cabbage and shredded cheese.

Our problem was the lack of freshness of the vegetables -- and the cheese was tough and hard to chew.

The salad was topped with cold grilled chicken, which was dry, and salty, overcooked bacon.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 9 McDonald's, Southwest Chicken Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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The Southwest Chicken Salad at McDonald's was not among the freshest salads we encountered.

The mixed greens had that "bag salad" texture and taste.

It was topped with black beans and a corn salsa, which offered no additional spice, shredded carrots and white and yellow shredded cheeses. The tortilla strips were extra salty.

The shredded chicken was dry and had a shiny appearance.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 8 Burger King, Grilled Chicken Club Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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This salad had been around a while, as evidenced by the bagged iceberg lettuce with "cold burn" around the edges. The sporadic romaine was not fresh either.

The lettuce was topped with halved cherry tomatoes, some red cabbage and shredded cheese.

The bacon and chicken were both cold. They tasted like they had been around for a while and were chewy.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 7 Arby's, Farmhouse Salad with crispy chicken

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Arby's used their fried chicken tenders to top their Farmhouse Salad.

The lettuce was fresh, but the tomatoes not so much. The salad was topped with plenty of bacon and shredded cheddar.

They use a thick-cut peppered bacon, which was crisp and added a lot to the overall flavor, but the chicken was a bit overcooked and on the dry side.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 6 Hardee's, side salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Hardee's does not offer entree salads. Their side salad, however, was made up of fresh ingredients -- iceberg lettuce, red onion and slices of fresh tomato. They were generous with the shredded cheese.

All in all, a solid effort.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 5 Taco Bell, Fiesta Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

If you are a fan of Taco Bell's tacos, this salad is sure to be a favorite.

A light, crisp shell appeared to be filled with lettuce, layers of taco meat, diced tomato, tortilla strips and shredded cheese.

The surprise came when we dug down to find layers of refried beans and rice.

It was served with a side of salsa.

It was tasty.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 4 Steak 'n Shake, Beef Taco Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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If you prefer to control the amount of dressing, be sure to order the Beef Taco Salad at Steak 'n Shake with the dressing on the side.

Ours came already dressed with an overabundance of a thin ranch-style dressing.

The taco meat is the restaurant's steakburger, crumbled and mildly seasoned, atop romaine and iceberg lettuce, diced tomato, shredded cheese and tortilla strips.

The veggies were crunchy and tasted fresher than many of the salads we consumed on this journey.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 3 Culver's, Cashew Grilled Chicken Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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There is truth in advertising in the name of Culver's Cashew Grilled Chicken Salad.

The bed of fresh mixed greens was generous, as were the toppings of cherry tomatoes, skin-on cucumber slices, sharp cheddar cheese and tons of halved cashews.

The chicken was grilled well and still hot when they served it.

It comes with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing on the side.

One of our favorites, for sure!

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 2 Wendy's, Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken Salad is a great option for a light lunch or dinner.

The combo of iceberg lettuce and mixed greens was fresh. It was covered with plenty of chunks of red and green apples, dried cranberries, blue cheese and grilled chicken.

This entree salad had so much packed into the container, it was almost difficult to eat, as pieces spilled over onto the table.

Not too hungry and don't want to deal with leftovers? This salad can be ordered in a half size.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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No. 1 Chick-fil-A, Cobb Salad

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Chick-fil-A not only has nailed the chicken sandwich, but the salad as well.

Topped with plenty of chicken (you choose grilled or crispy), the mixed greens were ultra fresh, as were the grape tomatoes, shredded red cabbage and carrots. Adding to the flavor were roasted corn kernels, a blend of shredded Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, crumbled bacon and sliced egg.

If you want a crunch, the salad is served with a side of charred tomato crispy red peppers, rather than traditional croutons.

This salad is so generous, it is served with two salad dressings.

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

More fast food rankings

Ranking French fries from 24 fast-food chains in Greater Cleveland; No. 1 will surprise many

Ultimate onion rings rankings from 11 fast food chains in Greater Cleveland

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Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland.com

Hungry for more? Check out more food rankings