Salad for Dinner–Even for the Wee Ones!

The challenge with eating salad for dinner isn’t just that they tend to be unsatisfying (well, at least to this Hungry Mama!). It’s also that they make feeding a little one hard. How many young children do you know who like eating raw, leafy salad greens? Not many, right? And this mama doesn’t have time to be making multiple meals. So, with summer coming (hello, bathing suit season!), I’ve decided to make more salads that can be served as a satisfying main entree and that also have healthy, hearty proteins that can be served to kids as a meal on their own.
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I’ve started with Cobb Salad. Delicious. Straight forward. Chock full of good stuff you can pull out to make a nutritious meal for your kids: eggs, avocado, chicken, cheese. Save the bacon for yourself. And you get extra points if you have a little one who’ll eat raw tomato!
Check One Hungry Mama all week for more salad-for-dinner recipes that can be shared with the whole family, no matter how young or old!
Cobb Salad, barely adapted from Saveur
serves 4-6
(can be adapted for kids 6 mos)* FOR THE DRESSING:
3/4 c canola oil
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire

1/4 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper FOR THE SALAD:
6 strips bacon
4 chicken cutlets (or 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
salt and pepper
1 head romain lettuce, chopped
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled (I used Roquefort)
3 hard boiled eggs, quartered
2 medium tomatoes, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 Tbsp minced chives

1. Make the dressing: Combine the canola oil, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, sugar and garlic in a blender. Purée the ingredients to make a smooth dressing and season with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside (or refrigerate, covered, for up to 1 week).
2. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet; set aside on paper towels. In the meantime, season chicken with salt and pepper and saute in the bacon fat. Once chicken is cooked through, cut into 1/2″ strips and roughly chop bacon.
3. Toss lettuce, bacon, chicken and all other remaining ingredients in a bowl with dressing, salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped chives.
*Note: Set aside and mash some avocado for eaters as young as 6 months. Slighter older children can also enjoy the blue cheese (if it’s pasteurized), eggs (just yolks or, if your child does not have an egg allergy, the whites, too) and chicken. You can puree some of these things together or, if your little one is an accomplished finger food eater, give them small pieces plain or drizzled with dressing.
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Get more family-friendly recipes and tips on Stacie’s blog, One Hungry Mama

Kids change the way we cook, but they don’t have to change how well we eat.