Dinner doesn’t need to be a big elaborate spread of things. We had a salad bar night and it was a hit. I’ve always wished that I could have someone keep a salad bar always prepared and ready to eat. Well that will likely always be a wish. I prepared this one myself with the help of my kids. I like to include my kids in the meal planning process and ideas for meals each week. That helps me make food they want to eat and also means I don’t have to think of every meal to prepare.
One of my kids choices for this week was a salad bar with various toppings. We eat a lot of salad, but this was a bit more special because I made seasoned chicken and bacon to go on the salad as well. Having a salad bar also allows each person to add what they like and leave off what they would prefer not to eat. I do encourage my kids to eat a little of everything, even if it’s only a small amount.
I’ll be honest, a couple of my kids weren’t super excited about salad bar night, but once they made their own salad, they enjoyed it and even went back for more.
If you need extra food, you can serve baked potatoes on the side or fruit. Make it fun, ask your kids what they would like, and enjoy a healthy meal together. Having a salad bar for your meal is a great way to get in a lot of veggies as well as a variety of veggies for the day. It could be dinner or you could make it the lunch option on the weekend. You can even prepare all of the meat and chopped veggies ahead of time so it’s ready to go when you need it.
I hope these ideas are helpful as you are trying to plan your own healthy meals.
Until next time, fuel your body well.