Renee Baude | vegan meal

How do I get my kids to eat salad?

It just isn’t an option. Eating healthy food, isn’t an option. They start by eating a few “leaves” of “green food” and we work up (it did take longer for some of my kids to eat salad and one still doesn’t like it but . . . see #5.) This is how I started.

Try and get one kid on your side. Kids love to follow other kids–so this might be key. Offer lots of praise for trying the salad.

Have the kids help you pick out the salad–spinach, romaine, the dreaded iceberg (I have on kid who loves the very center yellow leaves–I think they are bitter) red oak, kale . . . This summer time salad is one of their favorites–it isn’t vegan but neither are my kids.

Pick an awesome salad dressing–I love Salad Girl Dressings. I splurge a little bit here and let them get any salad dressing that is made out of natural ingredients–stuff that I can read! or I let them make their own–oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vinegar–a classic.

Offer lots of “decorations” for the salad–orange segments, peppers, cucumbers, roasted pine nuts or walnuts and of course crunchy croutons. (Chocolate chips, jelly beans and popcorn ARE NOT allowed.)

They get dessert. (no salad, no dessert, no negotiating)

For inspiration try this salad idea from Salad Girl Dressings–it is a great meatless meal option. We often have salad for dinner and for those who “don’t eat leaves” I offer a small amount of plain pasta or rice.

Yesterday was a crazy day–we were in the car from 7:30 am until 6:30 pm–except for a 30 minute pit stop to pick up water bottles and soccer bags!

On our travels, I passed by countless fast food places tempting the kids with easy, fast food–but I had a plan. Having a plan is an absolute must if you intend to each healthy while on the road. I didn’t intend to be on the road THAT long but we managed. We had water bottles and talked about where we would stop for lunch.

We also talked about choice–we had several food choices available to us on our journey–I used this opportunity to let my kids decide. They chose the Japanese Food Court–curry udon noodles and sushi filled our table! We would have had the Lychee or Mango ice cream but the machine was broken–bummer.

By the time we were home at 6:30 I was exhausted. I served leftovers! Lotus Heirloom rice, onions, mushrooms, kale, red peppers and butter nut squash–served with carrot slivers and cucumber slices. The meal was Vegan but that was not my intention–it just happens that way a lot in our house.

Do you plan your meals? How can I help you with that?

If you do plan your meals–would you share your insights in the comments! When we work together we can create change!

Be Blessed.

To receive a free copy of my Blessed by Breakfast cookbook, please go to http://blessedbybreakfast.com and sign up! I send updates that include; family tested and approved recipes, video tutorials, tips and tricks on how to begin your day with the blessing of food.