If you love making a salad for lunch at a deli or supermarket salad bar, you might be missing some of the great bargains that are hiding in those bins! Every Day with Rachael Ray Editor-in-Chief Liz Vaccariello is showing you how to find the most value at the salad bar!

Lettuce: "They put the cheapest first, the lettuce, the icebergs ... they want you to load up on it!" Liz points out. She suggests skipping the lower-priced greens to get more value from your lunch, as everything at the salad bar is priced per pound at the same rate. "I’m going to go for mesclun."

Vegetables: "I love vegetables, but in terms of value, they’re a disaster. Carrots, beets, even broccoli these days are about $3 a pound, so you can skip those and make those at home if you want," she says. "I’m going to put on my Greek salad a sun dried tomato, which has a nice strong flavor, and can be about $9.99 per pound."

Toppings: "Go to town! Because these are the most expensive ingredients. The nuts, the fancy cheeses, the fruits? All of these are about $8, $9, sometimes $10 a pound," she says. "If you ever see real bacon bits at a salad bar, go for it! Not only because we love bacon, but also because bacon is $21.98 a pound if you would make these bacon bits by yourself."

Chicken: "Chicken is a great value, because if you would buy, like, a piece of grilled chicken at the grocery store or prepared food sections it could be about $6 a pound, so this is a great value."

Dressings: "I’m going to avoid ranch and Italian - all of that is about $4 a pound. I’m going to go for the olive oil," she says. Try mixing it with balsamic vinegar. "It has a stronger taste and a great value." If you're really watching your budget, skip the dressing. "Just buy a bottle of your favorite and keep it at your desk back at work, because the weight of the salad dressing is going to jack up the price!"

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