Healthy Eating - Salads for Kids

When my kids were young, it was a common belief that you should introduce vegetable baby foods to your baby before fruits.  The thought being that if they get the taste of the sweetness from the fruits first, they will never like the vegetables.  Well, I went by that theory for both of my boys.  My oldest boy never liked vegetables growing up and could never get him to eat them.  He would pick them out of his food if he saw them.  I never got sneaky by disguising them in a puree.  I just figured that he would outgrow it and acquire a taste for them as an adult.  After all, I loved the smell of coffee all my life, but didn't start drinking it until well into my adulthood.  

Now my second son loves vegetables.  He eats them raw, he eats them cooked, he eats salads and is not resistant to trying new veggies.  So, I guess it all goes back to that age old question - is it nurture or nature?  

I created a Pinterest Board with some recipes and ideas for fun and colorful salads for your kids.  

Kids Salads

Kitchen play is also a great way for teaching kids about healthy eating.  They can pretend to toss a salad and serve it up to friends and family.  

Hape Toys Garden Salad play set is a 36 piece wooden toy set that has everything needed to create a beautiful salad of colorful vegetables.  It comes with a bowl, serving utensils, a pepper shaker, oil & vinegar bottles, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers an onions - all sliced, washed and ready to be tossed!

Green Toys has another version of the garden salad but this eco-friendly play food set is made of 100% recycled milk jugs.  This set has 16 pieces: a bowl, plate, serving utensils, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions.  It also comes with a salt & pepper shakers and oil & vinegar bottles that can be folded from cardboard.