Salad Bar 101: How to get your family to enjoy a salad!

I don’t eat GREEN Salad!

Can you imagine my kid said that to me.  “Mommy, I don’t eat green food.”  Really?  Your Mom is a food writer, vegan chef, food photographer, micro farmer–how can you not eat green?

salad bar

Respect

I respect that my kid doesn’t like to eat green food.  He really means he doesn’t like salad.  And what he really, really, really means is that when he eats salad he feels like he will choke.  Cooked spinach, the same thing.  Kale?  Takes too long to chew.  I almost get it–in our house, you can not like something but you need to try it and tell me why you don’t like it.  If I suspect that he isn’t being less than sincere in his actions I will ask him to write a 500 word paragraph on why he doesn’t want to eat . . . . fill in the blank.  If he doesn’t feel like explaining it to me, he eats it.  Usually, I get a nice essay on “the dressing is a bit too acidic for my liking.”  My kids probably watch a little too much Cutthroat Kitchen . . .

Renee’s How-To:

My how to get your family to eat salad is really simple!  Like most things in life we tend to complicate the issues!

  1. Model the behavior.  If you eat salad or try new things, your kids will too.  Please do NOT hold your children to a standard that you don’t uphold yourself.
  2. Make it fun–add fruit and veggies.
  3. Make it colorful!  Red strawberries next to yellow peppers make the plate visually interesting–it gives us a pause . . . when we pause new ideas have the chance to form.
  4. Plan ahead–if you cut up broccoli and peppers for the salad and no one eats them . . . plan on adding them to a stir fry.  (the other dinner options are on the downloadable pdf below.)
  5. Creating a salad bar is a great way to introduce a new food with a familiar food.  I have found that I’m more receptive to trying a new food if I have a comforting familiar food on the plate as well.  Try it!

[Tweet “Renee has great tips on eating more salad! #plantbased #veganRenee”]

The Show!

 

Do you want my show notes?  My cheat sheet?  Salad101  Click on the link to download your own .pdf cheat sheet.  Or you can read a few of my other articles on salad!

1. Make your own salad dressing.

2.  Sweet Potato Salad (a great summer salad!)

3.  Make Ahead Salad (great for lunches)

 

Be Blessed as you eat and live with L.O.V.E.,

oxox,  Renee

 

veggies

What’s in my Fridge?

What’s in my fridge?

Dirt.  Like real dirt from the veggies.  Probably a rogue carrot that fell behind the crisper drawer.  A couple of times a year I clean everything out, check dates, clean the shelves and put back what I know I will use.  Then I vow to never again buy the Ginger/Soy/Pineapple Marinade that was horrible.  (Honestly, why do I keep buying stuff that I know won’t be nearly as good as my own ginger, soy, pineapple marinade?)

What’s REALLY in my fridge!

I am asked all.the.time. “what is in your fridge?”

Yes, dirt is always my first answer.  Apples is my second.  Did you know you can store apples in the fridge for something crazy like 6 months?  That is what the lady at the farmers market said!  We eat 5 pounds of apples a week–I keep them in the bottom drawer for lunches and snacking.  What else is in my fridge?

  • lots and lots of salad blends.  I buy what looks best–conventional or organic and hopefully it will be on sale.
  • romaine–the turtles love romaine and so do the kids.
  • greens–like spinach and kale
  • carrots–from my CSA, farmers market and the grocery store
  • cabbage–I store them in the fridge.  I still have two from my CSA in October.
  • celery
  • celery root (celeriac)
  • broccoli
  • peppers
  • lemons
  • limes

What do I make with all of that?

If you follow me on instagram or in the sidebar of this blog post, you can see lots and lots of:

  • stir fry with noodles and rice
  • mexican style foods–tacos, burritos, bowls
  • soups!!!  I love soup.
  • salads–leafy greens, cooked salads, slaws . . .
  • simple side dishes like vegan mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes

[Tweet “Vegan essentials in the pantry, fridge and on the counter! #vegan”]

What’s on my counter?

You know I LOVE my onions.  I always have onions, garlic, ginger and bananas in a bowl on my counter.

  • onions
  • garlic
  • ginger
  • bananas

Eat and live with L.O.V.E.,

oxox  Renee

Superfood Slaw–Blab Cooking show

Vegan Superfood Slaw

Today I had the amazing opportunity to join Chef Dennis on Blab.  I was nervous, you know, cooking in front of a real chef.

My kids are loving the super foods slaw that I’ve been making and of course it is one of my favorite go-to salads to make because the combinations are endless.  The only recipe that I will give you is a guide for the dressing/slaw juice–the rest will be a list of ingredients that you can mix and match to your liking.

Slaw Sauce

3 tablespoons fat (olive oil or vegan mayo)

3 teaspoons sour (vinegar, lemon juice)

salt, pepper, spices to taste

How easy is that?

superfood salad

 

Superfoods

  • kale
  • apples
  • super greens mix–swiss chard, spinach, arugula, tai soi,
  • radicchio
  • blueberries
  • broccoli
  • carrots
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • ginger
  • hemp seeds
  • pistachios
  • chia seeds

I use any or all of these super yummy foods to make this salad.  I love the versatility.

[Tweet “Renee and Chef Dennis just showed me how to make a incredible salad! I have no excuses!”]