Kid friendly, non boring salads

[Alakazam8]

Sorry if this is obvious or already been done. Dd is a bit picky over salad veg, won’t eat raw tomatoes ( think it’s the texture) spring or raw onions, coleslaw and struggles with coloured leaves. (Sensory needs not just picky really)
I’m so bored of a basic green salad or cous cous with veg through it.
please help me out with salad recipes that have more to them than a few leaves on a plate!!

Sugar snap peas have a nice crisp texture.

Puy lentils, diced bacon, scatter of pine nuts, vinaigrette dressing.

Lettuce, watercress, diced apple, diced cucumber, yoghurt dressing.

Carotte râpée, grated carrot with vinaigrette dressing, make ahead so carrot 🥕 🥕 🥕 is softened and juicy.

Beetroot salad....Or is that a colour too far?

Oh, mixed bean salad?

You could do any of:
New potatoes, hot or cold. If hot, butter & maybe next time try some herbs. If cold, mayonnaise.
Leftover bread, cut up into cubes next time you have the oven on, with a drizzle of oil & maybe some garlic = croutons. Croutons will keep a few days in a sealed box in the fridge.
Chopped chicken, ham, egg, any leftover meat really. Also fish, tinned or fresh.
Cut up pork pie. Try warming it up slightly, some people don't like the jelly.
Cheese, investigate your local cheese counter & see what they have.
Veg sticks, dip into hummus, sour cream & chives, mayonnaise, what other dips do you think she might try? Dipping things is more fun than just cut up pieces on a plate (for example boiled egg & soldiers).
Have you tried using wraps or bread as a pinwheel sandwich, you could put just a little bit of cress or finely chopped lettuce in with some cream cheese etc, to introduce a new taste.

Don't overwhelm her. Our DD used to be tremendously picky over vegetables too, although she's always liked tomatoes. We just used to put things out, no pressure to eat them but they had to be there & we encouraged her to touch & smell them. Sometimes we had success with something. If she feels like she has choice over her food it's less likely to be a battle.

Mine liked rice and pasta salads.

Rice with chopped up peppers, cucumber, apples, oranges and pineapple stirred through with some mayo to bind

PAsta with grated carrot, diced cucumber, celery, peppers, radish, cold peas, sweetcorn stirred through with some mayo

Adjust veg to taste and/or whatever is lurking in the fridge

They are great ideas. Unfortunately she won’t eat beetroot or beans but might try those again as she’s just said she tried baked beans at school and liked them!

YY to rice or pasta salads. And definitely try her again with beans, there are lots of Spanish/Italian/Greek salads that involve beans, & could be made in advance so you could just offer a spoonful so it wouldn't be a big wasye if she's not keen - you could eat some later or the next day.

A lot of American style salads use fruit, they're not as common in the UK but some are very nice, especially for kids as a way to encourage them if they're not keen.

Roasted butternut squash?

Corn on the cob with the salad?

Add grapes and strawberries to the salad.

Ours will go for just about anything rice, pasta, potato or cous cous based, especially if it's t has pesto in it! They'll east lots more veggies in these salads than they would if they didn't have the carb element, I think it helps that the veggies are cut up very Small perhaps? They and will be much more adventurous with dressings- salsa verde/citrus/herby vinaigrettes etc. they also love nuts eg almonds/pistachios through salads, as well as pomegranate seeds, maybe texture is an important element? Can't get them on quinoa though!!

Greek salad is also a sure fire hit here, (although only 1 of the 3 eats the olives!) as is roasted sweet potato/butternut squash. They're a bit iffy on chickpeas/beans/lentils/pulses, but will devour a loaded hummus with flatbread or an antipasti salad platter, both perfect for hotter weather.

As per @MrsMoastyToasty we add fruit to DS4 salad I also do salad and fruit kebabs just a couple to add to the salad which sometimes works 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Chop things to the same size. We do sweetcorn, apple, celery, cucumber all cut to similar size as the sweetcorn. Add some nuts or grated cheese. You can arrange it in coloured circles over leaves, or just mix it all in together. Top with hard boiled egg, or chunks of sausage.

Bulgur wheat, with cucumber, spring onions, chopped fresh parsley and mint. Then dressed in balsamic, olive oil and lemon juice.
I use a Tana Ramsay recipe but I can't find it online.

Dry fried sweetcorn (instead of boiling) is lovely in salad.

Olives, cheese (feta?), grated carrots , hard boiled eggs, tuna, chicken
Can be added to pasta, roasted or boiled potatoes, couscous, rice or flatbreads.

Greek salad. Anything with cheese helps. Mine love it with a lemony dressing and eat it all, they wouldn't look at a lettuce leaf otherwise

We have been doing a type of poke bowl - brown rice, tinned tuna, grated carrot, spiralized cucumber, avocado, sweetcorn and hard boiled egg. My DD (12) doesn't really eat salads but loves this.

Roasted butternut squash could work and the poke bowl, Greek salad and bulgar wheat sound good. Also maybe a wider range of dressings. Bought a mini cheeseboard for Sunday to give some a try!

I think the spiralizer is a good idea, as it will make things look different and interesting. If you have time you could perhaps try things like cutting radishes into flowers, soak in iced water to open them up, Chinese cookery has a lot of decorative cutting.
Sometimes children can get stuck in a certain mindset about their food, but give it a new slant or different look and they will try things they've previously rejected.

Thanks think I have a spiraliser somewhere so will try to dig it out!

My 2 year old loved the salad we had tonight - he had his without the dressing. It was cooked corn on the cob with the corn sliced off, mixed with chopped pepper, cucumber, avocado and peach. Squeeze of lime mixed in. Helps that he really loves corn on the cob.

I like roasted butternut squash with rocket and parmesan and pine nuts

Also fried red onion and cherry tomatoes (thereby avoiding the raw tomato thing) with leftover roast butternut squash, rocket and feta with croutons.

Can switch out/do a mix of rocket and baby spinach if she's not a fan of rocket.

We enjoy a kind of 'Mexican' (as inauthentic as it gets). The draw to kids is the tortilla 'bowl'. Basically use a wrap to make a bowl. Moisten the wraps slightly and wrap over upside down oven proof bowl and spray with oil, then bake until crisp.

Then fill with a base of shredded little gem. Mix together sweetcorn, pinto beans, finely chopped peppers, celery and cucumber (I add red onion but you could always leave that out.) Then add lime juice, coriander and seasoning. Add to the tortilla 'bowl'. Top with chicken and peppers cooked in fajita spices. Then serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream and grated cheese. Sprinkle over a few crushed tortilla chips for bonus crunch.

Cubes of watermelon, cucumber, feta cheese, mint and olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing.
A little more expensive on the ingredients for everyday but it’s the right time of year at the moment for watermelon and it’s delicious.

My boys love a Waldorf salad and a Greek salad.