Children take pride in what they create, whether it’s a picture colored with crayons or a meal they helped prepare for themselves and their family. When encouraging healthy eating, participation is a key to success.
Creating a salad bar as a family meal is an easy and fun way to allow each member of your family to have creative control over their meal, while encouraging exploration and adventure of their taste buds. In addition, children can help in multiple ways to prepare the meal and take pride in the variety and choices they’ve helped to make for the family.
Your salad bar can have many ingredients, but to ensure you are preparing a balanced meal, you can use MyPlate as your guide. It is a simple way to think about choosing ingredients from each of the food groups including: vegetables, fruits, proteins, grains and dairy.
When creating your salad bar feast remember:
* Make half your plates vegetables and fruits
* Take time to enjoy eating the meal you’ve prepared
* Eat low-fat dairy
* Make half your grains, whole grains
* Choose lean proteins
* Use a smaller plate to help with portion control
Themed Salad Bars
Creating a theme for your salad bar will make it fun! It will also encourage your children to try new flavors and foods, while allowing them to explore at their own pace.
Once you have chosen a theme, select foods from the list of ingredients in each column. We suggest 4 vegetables, 2 fruits, 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 dairy and 1-2 salad dressing (store-bought or homemade). Set up foods on the table in bowls or small plates. At meal time, each person can choose foods to build their own personal salad! Enjoy a wonderful and healthy family meal!
Asian
| Vegetables | Fruits | Proteins | Grains | Dairy |
| Bamboo Shoots Bean Sprouts Bean Sprouts Edamame Bok Choy Celery Cilantro Napa or Green Cabbage Scallions Snow Peas Water Chestnuts |
Asian Pear Lychees Mandarin Oranges Melon Pineapple |
Cashews Firm Tofu Cubes Stir-fried chicken, beef or pork (thin sliced) |
Cooked or Fried rice Crushed Ramen noodles (dry) Soba Noodles |
Asian Cuisine doesn’t often include dairy, so try green tea ice cream for a special treat as your desert. |
Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp. brown sugar
Directions:
Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in an air-tight container. Cover and shake well.
Mediterranean
| Vegetables | Fruits | Proteins | Grains | Dairy |
| Artichoke Hearts Cucumbers Hearts of Palm Kalamata/Green Olives Mushrooms Red Onions Red Peppers Romaine Lettuce Spinach Tomatoes Yellow Peppers |
Cranberries Dates Figs Pears Pomegranate Raisins Shredded Coconut |
Chicken Garbanzo Beans Hard-cooked eggs Pistachio Sardines Tuna White Beans |
Couscous Crispy pita chips Quinoa |
Feta Cheese Parmesan Cheese |
Lemon Dressing:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
Pinch of salt & pepper
Directions:
Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in an air-tight container. Cover and shake well.
Creamy Dill Dressing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. chives or scallions, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth and creamy. Chill until ready to serve.
Mexican
| Vegetables | Fruits | Proteins | Grains | Dairy |
| Avocado Carrots Chiles Cilantro Corn Green Peppers Olives Onions Romaine Lettuce Tomatoes |
Guava Mango Oranges Papaya |
Chicken Ground Beef Pinto, Kidney or Black Beans Shredded Pork Tip: cook meat or beans with taco-seasoning. |
Brown Rice Crushed Corn Tortillas Chips Whole Wheat Tortillas |
Shredded Cheese (Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack Sour Cream |
Cilantro Lime Dressing
Ingredients:
1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 garlic clove
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth.
Simple dressing Idea:
Use store-bought salsa for your Mexican themed salad bar.
Fruit & Nut
| Vegetables | Fruits | Proteins | Grains | Dairy |
| Mixed Greens Romaine Lettuce Spinach Arugula Purple Cabbage Sugar Snap Peas Shredded Carrots |
Sliced Apples Sliced Pears Strawberries Blueberries Raspberries Raisins Dried Cranberries Oranges Shredded Coconut |
Pecans Walnuts Almonds Pistachios |
Granola | Yogurt Dressing (recipe below) |
Yogurt Dressing:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp. honey
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4 cup milk
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth and creamy. Chill until ready to serve.
Cheryl Moellenbeck Tallman
Cheryl Moellenbeck Tallman is the founder of Fresh Baby (www.FreshBaby.com). Since Starting Fresh Baby in 2002, Cheryl Tallman has been honored with many prestigious awards, and is a US Department of Agriculture National Nutrition Education Strategic Partner. As the head of product and content development for her company, Cheryl develops innovative products and authors materials that inspire parents to raise healthier children. She serves as both a parenting and cooking expert for many high-profile online communities. Cheryl's ultimate vision is to make the task of raising a healthy eater easier for all parents.
