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?

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!

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.
Make it fun–add fruit and veggies.
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.
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.)
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!

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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