Salads!

This is the song that my husband sings when I make salads for dinner:



But I have a thick skin. And the fact is, even though he is not a fan of rabbit food, I am able to quite frequently make salads that he happily easts.

I think entree salads as a family meal is under--rated. They are perfect for a picky family, because it is very easy to customize each one. My oldest, for example, will not eat regular cut tomatoes, but will gobble up grape tomatoes. She will also only eat orange cheese, whereas sometimes I want a little mozarella or even feta (which my husband isn't wild about). It is almost no extra effort to mix and match, especially if you are starting with a bag salad mix (which I almost always do).

And on those bags: it's obviously the first and most principal ingredient in a salad. I don't waste my time with iceberg, as it is nutritionally pretty empty. Opt instead for romaine, and your kids will get their daily dose of Vitamin A. Better yet, choose one of those 'veggie lover' mixes that has shredded carrots, cabbage, and sliced radishes, and you've already got a pretty healthy meal before you put anything on top of it.

We're all used to standard salad fare, but be creative with the veggies you add. You can stray far afield for fruits and veggies on a salad. My children loved canned mandarin oranges. Avocados are also a wonderful addition. Chopped zucchini, apples, walnuts...anything that you like, is on season, and on sale, just chop it up, through it on some greens and you have dinners.

Of course, most of my entree salads have meat--usually chicken or bacon. If I'm not being super healthy, I will cook up some frozen popcorn chicken and serve that over the salad (it has green stuff under it, so the fried chicken is healthy, right?) Shredded rotisserie also works. My family gets very excited if I make a spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs and real bacon (the trick really is the real bacon).

Another important part of the salad, of course, is the dressing. I personally love that sesame-ginger stuff that they serve at Japanese restaurants. But everyone can have there own--and it doesn't always have to come from the dressing section. Depending on the other ingredients, salsa can be a great alternative to dressing for a salad. So can barbecue sauce.

So, my husband's Simpsons song notwithstanding, I serve my family salad, and I like doing it. And now, my 4-year-old has gotten used enough to eating salad that she sometimes requests 'green stuff' for her school lunch. It warms my cockles.