We’ve been asked several times recently how we get our kids to eat salads. It was not easy! But it’s now been a couple years and our kids will consistently (all six!) eat salads, ask for salads, & make their own salad creations. They get quite elaborate!

We went meat-free five years ago (and I went vegan, as I was nursing a dairy & egg allergic baby.) We knew that it would be crucial for our kids to have a diverse diet if we were going vegetarian. It took some menu shifting and some adjustment on all our parts but I went from frustrated meal time battles to being THRILLED at how fantastic our kids are with eating a variety of foods. If we could do it (there use to be tears at least weekly at our dinner table) then I know you can, too!

First, get your kids involved in the kitchen. Even our two year old helps put away dishes. Though you will need to supervise closely – our helpful little ones also put the groceries away, including the lettuce in the cupboard. And lower your standards – they won’t mop as well as you, and doing dishes will involve way too much soap, bubbles, splashing, and potential floor flooding. But they are enthusiastic at a young age to help so maximize on that excitement before they get older and decide chores are no fun!

Second, get your kids involved in shopping and meal planning! Let them pick the menu one day (anything goes, but it must have at least three food groups.) Have them write up the shopping list for that meal, take them along to look at prices and brands and talk about marketing and shopping the perimeter of the store. There are so many lessons for life in cooking and menu planning and shopping: nutrition, healthy foods vs. “sometimes” foods, budgeting, etc.

Third, get your kids involved in cooking. Buy some kid sized utensils, bowls, even knives. While you may hover anxiously and bite your tongue a lot, little ones CAN cook and be taught safety skills. Also get kid sized clean up – aprons, broom & dustpan, etc.

All of those things combined increases the chances that when those healthy and beautiful foods make it to your dining table your children are going to be excited to try what THEY helped plan, shop for, and create. (Gardening is a whole other fun level of involvement for another post!)

Our deal was when introducing salads we did it almost EVERY night. We picked kid friendly and colorful foods, spread them all out (after the kids helped wash and prep them) and told the kids go at it! By allowing them to explore the foods with no pressure they were able to try (and sometimes reject) the foods. But after awhile they sometimes tried again – and again, and again. And previously rejected foods became favorites! Our most “selective” (we try to not use labels like “picky”) eater just this morning asked if we could go buy some asparagus for dinner! Our six year old asks for artichokes and olives, our two year old asks for her favorite lettuce, our eight year old routinely asks after dinner if he can have another salad! Believe me, I would NEVER have imagined this was possible! It feels HUGE!

Some kid friendly menu ideas:

– baby spinach (they dip it in salad dressing)
– butter leaf lettuce
– romaine (they make salad “boats”)
– sweet peppers: red, yellow, orange, green
– carrots: waffle, grated, baby, etc
– cucumbers (our kids love them salted, peppered, with parmesan cheese)
– tomatoes: cherry, grape, or roma are great for kids
– sunflower seeds (ours prefer honey roasted, of course!)
– croutons
– craisins or raisins
– chopped boiled egg
– chunks of cheese
– sugar snap peas
– slivered almonds
– candied pecans
– diced apples
– salad dressings: honey mustard, ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, and cesar are our kids’ favorites

I hope that helps get you excited about trying salads and getting your kids involved in the kitchen!