4 Step Salad

Salads aren’t typically the kind of meal your children get excited about. With these tips you can make your salads more exciting and nutritious! Follow these 4 simple steps for a successful dinner salad.


1. Start your salad off right- Iceberg lettuce is a common go to lettuce for most salads but it is not the most nutritious option. Try replacing Iceberg lettuce with romaine lettuce, arugula, spinach or, even better, a premade spring mix. A spring mix will save you time because everything is already washed, chopped, and ready to eat! It provides vitamin A, vitamin C, Calcium, and fiber.

2. Something filling– Let’s be honest. When was the last time you ate a simple salad and felt full? Salads are great, but they often aren’t very filling. This can lead to you snacking later in the evening and your children complaining before bed that they are still hungry even though they had two servings at dinner. Some things that can add nutrients to your salad and make it more filling include chicken, beans, shrimp, tuna and/or eggs. These five ingredients will add a good amount of protein to your salad.

3. The goods– Once you have your greens and something filling you can start adding the goods. Some good things to add to your salad include tomatoes, red onions, avocados, seeds, berries, and nuts (such as almonds). Tomatoes provide vitamin C, Iron, and Protein. Avocados provide Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, and Protein. Red onions provide vitamin C. Berries and nuts provide a range of nutrients depending on the kind of berries and nuts you add. Use a combination of these ingredients to create a salad your family will love. Common salad ingredients that don’t provide as many good nutrients include olives and croutons.

4. Toppings– Top off your salad with cheese which will provide calcium. You may wish to add salad dressing as well. Try to buy salad dressings that are low in fats and sugars. Try to limit the amount of salad dressing that you put on your salad. Look at the serving size on the back of the bottle.

Lemomade favorite: 

Chicken strawberry salad

Step 1: Spring mix
Step 2: Chicken cut into thin strips
Step 3: chopped strawberries, almonds, poppy seeds
Step 4: Parmesan Cheese, Balsamic, strawberry, or raspberry vinaigrette

Next Week: 

Follow Lemomade on Facebook and Pinterest to see more salad combinations your family will love. We will be posting the recipes next week!