Do Your Kids Eat Salad?

My girls LOOOOOOVE salad. My MILs jaw hit the floor in McDonalds one time when both the girls ordered salad without me prompting them (score one for the daughter in law!)... They're like little bunnies, they love it! They don't even KNOW salad dressing...

HOWEVER... come to find out, my 5 year old is (get this)...

ALLERGIC TO FREAKIN LETTUCE!!

So yeah, that kind of put the kabosh on eating healthy when eating at fast food places :( Now, at home, I make baby spinach salads that we can all eat and enjoy :)

My daughter, 5 years old, does not eat salad. She has munched on a piece of lettuce and the carrots but that is about it. I always have carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers and such to snack on and she would rather wait till the next meal then snack on them.

I do know other kids that LOVE it and actaully ask for it. Those kids usually have it plain with a little dressing, maybe a few carrots & sprinkled with cheese. I have also soon kids snack on bell peppers, but I think that is also rare. Wish my kid was like.

My son loves salad as long as there are no tomatoes in it.
(I keep telling him to think of tomatoes as way under processed ketchup but he's not buying it.)
Ranch dressing is his favorite.

My dd loves it. No dressing though, just a blob of mayo on the side. :-) She is not a huge fan of lettuce though but she will eat all the rest no problem. LOVES tomatoes!!! She will eat them like apples. And she loves when we throw some chopped up grapes or apples in the salad too.

Certain kinds... absolutely. Others, not so much. Same is true with myself. There are flavors and textures I *love*, some I can tolerate, and some I won't touch unless paid well to do so.

My son's favorites tend to be the kinds he can make himself (aka choose what goes into them and their quantity depending on his mood).

Commonly eaten salads in our house:
- Spinach Bacon & Shredded Egg
- Cobb Salad
- Bay Shrimp Caesar
- Chicken Caesar
- Chopped Salad (chopped; iceberg, basil, tomato, italian salami, chicken, mozzerella, green onion, chickpeas)
- Caprese w/ Arugula
- American Asain salad (w/ deepfried tortilla strips, god knows why)

My 8yo has eaten all of these since he was a toddler. As long as he gets to direct how much of what ends up on his plate (and then we dump the plate in a large bowl and stir over dressing and replate) he'll eat them until the cows come home.

Other salads (primarilly those with uncooked veggies or fungus) he avoids like the plague. Carrots, broccoli, mushrooms... he loves them cooked but can't abide them plain. Ditto anything with ham in it. Or cheddar cheese. Or cucumber. Or olives. Or........

My son, almost 4, likes unassembled salad. I put all the cut up veggies on his plate with a dip cup and he will eat all of them and ask for more. If I give him a salad, he'll only take a bite or two. It's all about presentation, I guess.

His favorite cut up veggies are broccoli, cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, and grape tomatoes. He won't eat most of those, except tomatoes, cooked but loves them raw.

Oh, and of course he LOVES croutons!

My son (7) LOVES salad. Souper Salad is one of his favorite restaurants! But he eats his salads raw. No dressing. Raw veggies only. Carrots, bell peppers, lettuce and celery are his favorites.

My son LOVES salads (he's 8) and he always has! He's never met a raw veggie he didn't like. Right now he's on an artichoke hearts kick.
The stronger flavor the dressing , the more he loves it.

my 8 year old (almost 9) LOVES LOVES LOVES salad...he doesn't like cucumbers and tomatoes in it - but he loves the celery, lettuce, carrots, etc. he prefers ranch dressing...so I let them choose, I do NOT choose for them.

My 11 year old? prefers fruit salad to veggie salad..he will eat it..but it's not his #1 choice.

Mine both loved salad. One was a vinegar and oil boy the other was ranch. They would eat anything I slipped into the salad. Throwing kidney beans in, raisins, slivered almonds, hard boiled eggs, etc. As long as lettuce and tomatoes were there they were on it.

My son loves salad with Italian dressing. My daughter prefers her veggies separate and then she will dip them in dressing or sour cream- she doesn't really like lettuce, which is fine with me.

My kids do like salad -- it's actually one of the preferred vegetables. My oldest prefers just about any raw veggie to cooked (with a few exceptions) so we have salad a few times a week. He actually likes to use spicy Thai peanut sauce instead of dressing, but he also like blue cheese, ranch, and even just a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar on it. My middle child likes it without dressing. My youngest, 2, doesn't really go for the lettuce yet, but he likes the various other veggies in the salad.

My daughter loves salad. I think it might be the crunchiness of the lettuce. She only likes iceberg lettuce though. I can mix other lettuce but have to have iceberg if I expect her to eat it. She will also eat raw carrots and celery. My daughter will not eat romaine if its just romaine so maybe try mixing it with iceberg.

My 6 year old does, but my 2 year old doesnt. I usually just make spinach salads, and my daughter loves it with ranch. I love watching her eat it all and she just thinks its lettuce. Ha!

i was thinking th same as someone else...you chose a strong dressing...my daughters 4 and is obsessed with salads...but i let her pick the dressing...she loves salad works and picking the ingredients too

Yes, my kids adore salads, all types. Usually about once a week or so we have "Big Salad Night" for dinner & that's their favorite because I'll buy a rotisserie chicken & cut it into chunks, a bag with 3 hearts of romaine to chop, homemade croutons, a can of black olives, a can of chick peas, fresh mini mozzerella balls, cucumber, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, etc., etc., etc., all chopped up & in separate bowls on the counter. Combine that with 3 or 4 different dressings & I let them make their own dinner. We always offer creamy Caesar, ranch & Italian dressings, but will try something new every few weeks to throw into the mix.

My daughter loves spinach salads with Bolthouse yogurt ranch dressing. I let her choose the toppings and it is one of her staples. She requests it almost daily so I always have it on hand. I use spinach in place of lettuce on basically everything so we go through alot of it.

My kids(2 and 5) love salad. Their favorite is a simple Caesar salad. We often do a grilled chicken caesar for dinner. Sesame and ginger has strong flavors, maybe it was just a bit too much for their palette??

Mine started coming around to salad around those ages, too. They didn't do dressing on it at all, but would ask for some ranch to dip the pieces into. Over time our eldest (now almost 13) started to just put the dressing directly onto the salad. The younger child still mostly eats hers separately (like finger food) not "put together". She loves cucumbers. Between the 2 of them, they'll eat: raw spinach, any of the lettuces, cucumber, red bell pepper, black and green olives, radishes, pumpkin and sunflower seeds/nuts, and carrots. But no onion or tomato.
Our elder will order salads at restaurants (eats around the tomatoes or anything he doesn't like) and really likes a good grilled chicken salad. Also loves the grilled chicken and fruit salad from ChikFilA.
Give them some time, and keep offering them new things on their salad. And let them sample a variety of dressings... my son is getting where he likes the spicier dressings my husband enjoys (Chipotle ranch or Southwest ranch), but is still turned off by the appearance of the balsamic vinagrette, lol.

My 2.5yo will eat carrots, (frozen) peas, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, but won't eat spinach or snap peas. I put other veg in front of him (cherry tomatoes, cut up, small slices of sweet peppers, spinach) but so far, he won't eat them.

Oddly, he'll eat a lot of veggies frozen (and has since he was little), including frozen chopped onion and chopped spinach. I think frozen it has a different texture (and he likes things cold anyway), plus the taste is much less strong (because it's cold??).

My 3 yr old loves salad, especially with grilled chicken and ranch dressing or even poppy seed dressing if it is a spinach and berry salad. If I have a salad I better make it a big one or I won't get much. One of my older girls also loves salad, the other 2 will eat it with dinner but no dressing. But none of them will touch raddichio or any kind of peppers.

Mine love chef salads or side salads with ranch dressing. They haven't found any other type of dressing they like.

Yes both my kids eat salad. They are 7 and 4 and have eaten them for a while. I usually just do plain salads; lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and then I let them pick the dressing. My daughter loves Ranch or Caesar and my son likes French or Caesar. I will sometimes add other veggies if I have them on hand and they LOVE croutons. Also sometimes I have all the different veggies and let them build their own. They love doing this even more.

I am so jealous! My kid will not come within a mile of a salad! I've tried everything- having her help make it, yummy dressings, making it unassembled, putting things like egg and cheese in it (her favorites). I have a difficult time getting her to eat any veggies except corn and the stalks of broccoli. Other then that- forget it! I offer her veggies or a salad with every lunch and dinner but usually it's a waste of food. Sigh.

Yep our daughter has always loved salad, but still prefers it with dressing on the side.

We have to mix it up so we may add, green or black olives, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, beets, Italian pepperocini peppers... Jicama....

Yes, we do a simple salad every night that I serve as a side along with dinner. I have been doing this since my daughter, now 3.5, was about 1. Although, now she will only do ranch dressing, earlier, I was getting away with vinaigrettes. But, she does like it! I use the red-leaf lettuce :)

My middle guy loves to eat it. It doesnt matter what kind though, for some reason when he goes to chew or swallow it he will gag and ultimately throw it up.

We have learned he can not eat it. The last time he did we were out at a very nice classy place with the Gpops....and holy cow. I will just leave it at that.

My other two love it. The like anything from Romaine to mixed greens...Croutons are a must. and they love Ranch with it!!

2 out of my 4 "real food" eaters love salad. 1 hates it. Another is on the fence. I just throw whatever greens and other vegetables we have in the house and throw it on their plates, usually with a bit of whatever dressing they've picked out on the most recent shopping trip.

My DD is only 17 months and just started to eat salad with us. I dont put it in front of her for her to eat herself because I cut it up really fine so she doesnt choke but when she sees that we are eating salad she constantly asks for bites from our bowls

All 3 of my kids LOVE salad and have since they were old enough for food. Even with baby foods my kids loved veggies over fruit. :).

Yes! My kids are 9, 5 and 4 and they all love salad. Especially spinach leaves with feta and ranch dressing. :)

My oldest will eat veggies no other way. Well i mean if i made her then she would but id rather her enjoy her food so that she can make good choices when she is old enough to decide them on her own. She wont eat cooked vegetables, she likes them raw, on lettuce with a vinegarette. Ive found that my mandoline slicer has come in handy this way. I slice zucchini, squash cauliflower....etc, really thin and pair it with spinache tomatos cucumbers avocados etc... and she will gobble it down.

My 2 year old just now started liking salad, but she will eat any steamed veggies i give her.

Lettuce isn't that important - not much nutrition, only cellulose and water! You could always do cut-up veggies and skip the lettuce, or make a "salad bar" and let them take whatever veggies they want. It's fun and all the kids in our family do it. We let them dip in dressing if they want it. We use a little side dish right on the plate, and we have some small appetizer plates with a dip cup built in. Salads are also difficult to eat mechanically when kids haven't mastered the fork thing - lettuce is difficult to pick up. If they take a dish full of peppers and carrots and cut up grape tomatoes, maybe some cucumbers and chick peas, then I don't care if the lettuce doesn't go down.

My kids will not eat salad. My husband and I love it. I have been serving salad as a side to them since they started eating family meals. I must admit, I didn't like it as a littlie either. We try to make up with other veggie dishes and fruit (and multivitamins!).

Yes my kids eat veggies.
They like:
lettuce
asparagus
artichokes
Corn
onions (my daughter only)
tomatoes
Grilled veggies
eggplant

If a kid eats any veggies. Great.
They do not have to have, seconds.
Not even some adults do that.

My son does not like dressing.
My daughter does.
Fine.

Salads can be all kinds. Not just lettuce.
It can be raw or cooked/steamed too.
Pasta salads
Grilled veggies
Veggies with mandarin oranges in it.
Salads with veggies and dried fruit or nuts in it
Salads with chicken in it.
Tomato & Mozzarella cheese with olive oil drizzled over it.
Lots of variations.

My kids eat salad! They are almost 8, almost 4, and 20 months (he doesn't).

It's hit or miss with them. I try to have it available with dinner most nights. Sometimes they want it with dressing, sometimes not, sometimes they just want to pick out the cucumbers and carrots. But they always want the croutons!!! ;)

I don't push the issue, but I encourage eating it.
Good For You!
KATIE

www.cochranfarmlife.blogspot.com

My 3yo lOVES salad, any type, any dressing, but She loves ranch the best (go figure) and she prefers veggies over anything, and she doesn't eat any bread... But she does eat meat. But when we go to resturants, she asks for a salad, and she will eat the whole thing. And when we go to olive garden... She shuts it down with unlimited salad, lol. My 2yo on the other hand she eats salad like most kids, only a little bit at a time.

He eats it, but to be honest, it's all about the dressing for him.

Only if it's raw spinach. My kids won't touch romaine or leaf or Bibb lettuce with a ten foot pole!
They like olives, raw sunflower seeds, peppers and tomatoes on their salad. My son is a Ranch man and my daughter likes creamy poppyseed.

My nephew eats his salad naked too! :) Lettuce, shredded cheese and croutons. Funny kid!

My kiddos LOVE salad. My youngest loves Ranch and my oldest loves hers with a L. bit of lemon juice (fresh or from the bottle). They sometimes have 2nds and 3rds. I take advantage of that with my oldest because getting her to eat veggies is very hard. Salad is a guarenteed hit!

Yes mine do. We tend to have salad at each meal. I personally love all salads...but my family can be picky.

I put out my salad like a salad bar so they can pick and choose what they want. They enjpy having freedom to make it to their liking. I don't make them eat all of it but they have to clear most of it if they want seconds on the main dinner item. Sometimes they go back for seconds. Ranch is the favorite in our house and I make it from scratch. They use it to dip most veggies into...it is my magic sauce!!