I mean, it really depends on the details. I didn't exactly claim these were balanced meals, and honestly I don't think cheese has a significant negative impact on people. But we're comparing it to what the person probably used to eat, to heavy-carb foods (especially "salads" such as potato salad), and to foods that lack nutrition. These salads have a lot of nutrition and not a lot of carbs. Salt and the worse fats are probably the biggest problem here.
Eating 2/3 of a plate generally speaking isn’t a bad idea, and dietary science has advanced since the 1980s to the point where we now know the body can produce fat from dietary intakes other than actual fat.
In fact, a high fat, low carb diet like a plate of 2/3 meat and cheese plus some veggies, is a great way to improve one’s gut biome.
My own anxiety and depression basically disappear when I keep my carb intake below 120 grams a day.
When I was losing weight, I learned it's salad dressing that adds the calories. That shit has a lot of sugar.
Just about everything at the salad bar is okay. Try to have more green than meat. Cheese should be sparse. Harder cheeses are better than soft (e.g. cheddar is better than blue cheese).
If you need to cut the bitterness in the salad, try a few hits of Tabasco or oil and vinegar mix.
A couple times a year I think about the man I watched pour the most dressing I’ve ever seen used in a single serving. He made a comment about healthy eating.
I still wonder if I should’ve said something just in case he truly had no idea eating more ranch than greens for lunch does not mean you’ve had a salad.
That looks like an illustration from a 1950s cookbook. Mystery meat, shredded stuff, crinkle-cut discs, quartered boiled eggs, all in Kodachrome. Yummy! (I would eat it.)