How to Get Children to Eat Salads

Getting kids to eat salad can be an uphill battle if they are averse to green, leafy vegetables. However, salad greens, such as spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard and kale are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber that your kids need for healthy development. It may take some patience, but you can get your kids to eat more salads by making them more appealing with healthy, tasty additions and making them a regular mealtime occasion.

Instructions

    • 1

      Involve your kids in making the salad. Your kids may be more inclined to try a salad that they helped put together. Take them to the grocery store or farmer's market with you to pick out the salad greens and the vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Allow them to help you tear up the leaves and mix up the vegetables into the salad. Your kids will likely be proud to put their salad dish on the table and excited to try it.

    • 2

      Add creative salad toppings. A salad with nothing but greens and a few slivers of carrots is not likely to appeal to children. But a salad bursting with bright colors of vegetables and even fruit is much more interesting. Instead of just using red tomato slices in a salad, add green and yellow heirloom tomatoes as well, or add fresh corn kernels, ideal for a child who loves corn on the cob. A fruit-loving child might be intrigued to try a salad with strawberries, blueberries or tangerines.

    • 3

      Load your salad with meat. Perhaps your child happily eats the beef, chicken or turkey on her dinner plate while ignoring the vegetables. Slice up some cooked chicken breast and mix it with romaine lettuce, croutons and Parmesan cheese for a Caesar salad, or cut up her favorite deli meats, like turkey slices or salami, to add to a spinach salad. If taco night is your child's favorite, make a taco salad with ground beef, iceberg lettuce and crumbled taco shells on top. Make sure to include more salad than meat, though.

    • 4

      Make salad fun to eat. Pour different types of salad dressings, preferably fat-free or low-sugar varieties, into small bowls and give them to your child as salad "dipping sauces." Kids love to dip chips and chicken fingers into sauces, and they can do the same with salad greens. This also allows the kids to control the amount of dressing they want. Another idea is to have a salad bar night, giving your kids a choice of the type of salad greens, fruit, vegetable and nut toppings they want for their salad.

    • 5

      Eat your own salad. Serve salad as often as possible and emphasize how tasty and delicious it is when you are eating it. Young children tend to take food cues from their parents. If you look like you are enjoying it, they may be willing to try it. You might also want to try giving salad a "cooler" name. You might consider calling it "muscle greens," or "power spinach," indicating that eating salad will make your kids strong.

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