Check out 2 easy salad recipes that can be served as quick healthy snacks in between meals!
Who says best salad recipes are only needed by adults looking to lose weight? My little one is in love with his salads. I serve it alongside lunch and dinner meals. However, a good salad recipe can also replace an actual (read ‘proper’) lunch or a dinner food. How and Why?
Some of the easy salads to make includes our favorite colorful vegetable salad (sprinkled with nuts, tofu/cottage cheese). Serve it with a side bread and soup to ensure your little one has got his balanced diet in place. It is healthy, nutritious and an easy salad to make. Packed with proteins (vegetable proteins have essential amino acids), vitamins and minerals from the salad and carbs from the bread. If you add egg, chicken, ham, seafood or any other animal protein to the salad, the child gets all the essential amino acids required by the body as well as Zinc and heme iron. Besides, a wholesome salad can be the best meal ever on a hot summer day and comforting on a lazy winter afternoon. If the kids are really bored of the regular pulses, rice, and chapatti sort of a meal, then make their mealtimes really interesting with colorful vegetable/fruit salad. A dollop of ice cream as an incentive or a reward for a job well-done can just make that salad even more yummy!
So here are 2 easy delicious salads that can become quick healthy snacks too. If made light and presented well, can qualify as best salad recipes in the world that can be eaten between proper meals. If prepared a bit heavy, garnished well, these can be your typical, healthy dinner recipes.
1. Chicken Fruit Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- A cup of diced boneless chicken (roasted chicken breast)
- 1 Small onion – green or red (chopped)
- 1 Apple (diced into small chunks)
- 1/4th Cup of dried cherries/cranberries/strawberries
- 1/4th Cup of orange (each slice cut into half, seedless)
- 1/2 Cup grapes (seedless)
- 1/2 Cup mangoes (sliced into small chunks)
- Ground black pepper, rock salt and mixed herbs to taste
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise (mixed in olive oil)
- Dash of lime juice
- A few dry fruits/nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, raisins- optional)
Preparation: In a big salad bowl, add chunks/dices of chicken, onion, apple, cherries, orange, grapes, and mangoes. Toss for a bit. Now, sprinkle seasoning (ground pepper, salt, and herbs) on top and mix gently. Follow it up with the dressing of mayo (in olive oil) and drizzle it on the salad. Keep it in the fridge to chill. You can garnish the salad with pomegranate pods. And, there you go, the colorful, fruity-chicken salad is ready to be served to your hungry little one!
2. Grilled Vegetable-Tofu-Nutty Summer Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/2 zucchini (thin slices)
- 1 Tomato (small chunks)
- 1/2 Cup of green beans
- 1 Cup of julienne strips of red, green and yellow bell peppers
- 1/2 bar of fresh tofu or cottage cheese (cut into cubes)
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- A few dry fruits/nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, raisins)
- 1 Tbsp of lemon/lime juice
- Ground black pepper and rock salt to taste
- A dash of mixed herbs and coriander (freshly chopped)
- 1 Tbsp of mayonnaise
- A few drops of vinegar (optional)
- Sesame seeds (optional)
Preparation: Cook zucchini, green beans, bell peppers in olive oil for a few minutes. Once soft, mix all the vegetables (pre-cooked and tomato chunks), with tofu in a big salad bowl. Let the veggies cool for a bit (bring it to room temperature). Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on top. Grill them to medium for 10 minutes. Once, at room temperature, toss some nuts in the salad. Add seasoning of herbs, pepper and salt, mayo and lemon juice. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Let the salad rest in the fridge for some time. And, yippee! The nutty-veggie-salad is ready to be served:)
Tip: You can make this recipe more nutritious by adding olives, a few chunks of boiled broccoli and crispy lettuce leaves. But these are the kind of tops that can be added depending on your child’s taste buds.
Hope you enjoyed some of our easy chicken recipes, quick and healthy snack ideas made out from healthy salad recipes that can be served any day, anytime! Have a happy day and healthy kid(s)..
