Make-Your-Own Kale Salad Bar

Getting kids to try new foods—even kale—is easy if you (a) involve them in the preparation process and (b) give them lots of choices.

I work with a program in Lexington, MA called Kids Cooking Green, and last month during this preschool class, the kids made a kale salad, which they happily ate.

The trick to our kale salad success?: The kids got to (a) get messy by massaging olive oil into the kale leaves (this makes the fibrous leaves more tender) and (b) choose from a number of toppings including hard-cooked eggs, goat cheese, and sliced veggies. And yes, the kids scrubbed their hands first, and yes, evoo smells great 😉

All of those adorable kiddos got me thinking that it was time to shake up my salad routine at home, so I ditched my usual romaine lettuce and “cooked up” this Make-Your-Own Kale Salad Bar instead.

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To make the salad, set out a bunch of salad toppers and let everyone grab whatever floats their boat. The choice is totally yours, but here’s what I used: roasted delicata squash slices, feta cheese, dried cranberries, cooked edamame, chickpeas, pecans, and sliced pears.

Next up, take a small head of kale or half a large bunch and strip the leaves from the stalks, chop the leaves into bite-size pieces, rinse well, and dry. (You’ll have about 4 cups of kale, which should make 4 salads.) Place in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a few pinches of kosher salt and massage the leaves until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. (This is good exercise.)

Set out a favorite salad dressing or two …

AND GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED!

That’s it. You don’t really need a recipe; it’s just fun to lay out the toppings and see how everyone builds their salad. Here’s what my salad looked like .. filled with flavorful fall ingredients.

What are your favorite salad mix-ins?