You may well imagine that we ate a lot of salads while I was writing my salad cookbook, sometimes 3-4 per day. And we continue to eat salads often, including main dish salads. While this can be so refreshing and delicious to adults, the little folk don’t always agree.
One reason could be because they don’t always digest raw vegetables as well as adults. It takes a strong digestive system to break down raw vegetables, and young children may not do as well at breaking them down. Cooked vegetables can be easier for them to digest, hence the disdain towards salad.
My little 4 year old girl actually does like salad. In fact, this week we had salad several times at lunch at her request. I find that if I don’t feed her enough vegetables, she will still feel “hungry” despite eating plenty of other foods. Perhaps she likes vegetables because it’s always been an important part of our diet. One time a friend was joking to my dad about our daughter not being able to eat “anything” since she was on a gluten free and dairy diet. He made a sarcastic remark about broccoli. But unknown to him, my little girl overhead him. She rose up in defense, “But I like broccoli!”, she declared emphatically. And it was true. She does love it. But even with her liking salad, she won’t eat the proportion that Joel and I do. And I still have to figure out ways to help her enjoy a meal that is salad based.
Here are some of my tips for eating salad with little ones.
1) Easy on the Greens, Heavy with the Toppings
When I do a main dish salad, with cheese, fruit, meat, nuts, etc on top, I dish up my little girl’s plate differently. Joel’s and my plate will be full of leafy greens and topped with all the goodies. Little girl’s plate will be full of the goodies, with some leafy greens. Having to dive in and out of greens to find the meat or beans or avocados can be a daunting thing when you are 4. This way she feels that she has plenty of filling food, and will still eat some of her leafy greens too.
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