Healthy Rainbow Vegetable Salad with Turmeric Roasted Chickpeas

Ali Segersten Jul 13, 2017 6 comments

If you have children and are in need of some inspiration on getting them to love their veggies, then this kid-friendly recipe is for you. I'm visiting my family in Wisconsin now. My children love to play with my brother's four children who are all in a similar age range as my children. My children love their vegetables, but my brother's children are a little more hesitant to have a gigantic pile of raw vegetables on their plates. My oldest niece is the most adventuresome when it comes to new vegetables; she always asks what I'm eating and wants to try it. The other day she tasted purple daikon radish for the first time and loved it, as well as sliced raw kohlrabi. So when I introduced her to this salad, she literally could not stop eating it. Even before dinner was served, she was stealing the lettuce and vegetables off the platter!

Beautiful, bright colors excite children. Why do you think candy is dyed with the most brilliant colors? A platter of fruits and vegetables arranged in a beautiful way is pleasing to the eyes, and even before we eat, our eyes send messages to our brain to begin producing digestive juices in preparation for what is before us. If you make the vegetable presentation appetizing to your children, you might be more likely to naturally gain their acceptance in eating a plate of fresh vegetables. The key to children trying something new, and enjoying it, is patience and persistence (keep offering it)!

Choose their favorite rainbow-colored fruits and vegetables for the salad! For the red color, try diced red bell pepper, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red radishes, or diced red apple. For the orange color, try chopped orange carrots, diced orange bell peppers, cubed roasted sweet potatoes, or cubed roasted winter squash. For yellow, try Turmeric-Roasted Chickpeas (recipe below), raw corn from the cob, yellow bell peppers, yellow carrots, sliced yellow zucchini, or grated yellow beets. For the green color there are so many options! Try chopped cucumber, blanched green beans, diced avocado, chopped celery, chopped raw broccoli, blanched frozen peas, diced green bell peppers, or thinly sliced green kale. For the blue/purple color, try diced red onion, grated raw beets, fresh blueberries, diced purple bell peppers, or roasted purple potatoes. Let me know in the comment section below which vegetable combination you used and how your children liked it. 

ALI-2023-PHOTO-VERTICAL-2

About the Author

Ali Segersten

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.

See More

Nourishing Meals Newsletter

Email updates.

Add Comment

Comments

Great info!

I made your delicious creamy cashew dressing -- like tahini, but lighter. I've never used cashew butter before. Your website was recommended by the naturopath that worked in the healthcare clinic I go to -- thought you'd like to know. Looking forward to trying more recipes.

Made your creamy cashew dressing -- wonderful! Like tahini, but lighter. Btw, your website was recommended by the naturopath at the health clinic I go to here in Berkeley. I'm looking forwarding to trying more of your recipes. Thanks, Alissa!

I love your website and the recipes. It does take offering those vegetables time and time again....much patience and persistence. I think you and Tom are such an inspiration especially to young families in the thick of busy days!! I take my hat off to you. Keep blazing the trail!!

So exciting that you were in Wisconsin in July. Were you anywhere close to the Appleton area? I would have loved to bump into you at the local health food grocery store!

Many Blessings!! Charlotte

I love your website and the recipes that you share. It does take a lot of patience and persistence to teach healthy eating habits to our kids. I think you and Tom are an inspiration and especially for young families. Keep doing what your doing!

So exciting that you were in Wisconsin to visit. Were you anywhere close to Appleton? I might have run into you and not even know. It's a small world....

I've followed your blog since the beginning and use a bunch of your recipes as staples in our weekly rotations. However, my kids still are not as adventurous on the vegetable front. I serve them religiously in every way all the time, so they get some, but when I set a veggie platter on the table like that, the kids will eat all the garbanzo beans, all the dip (using a piece of celery as a spoon!), kale chips and maybe a cucumber. The "exotic" things like home grown radishes and carrots will sit untouched until a hungry adult passes through. I've tried dipping them in boiling water to soften them a bit, all to no avail. The same things happen with school lunches. The vegetable matter gets sent to school in artful ways and sent home in slightly worse for wear artful ways. I don't know what I've done to create this weird dynamic with vegetables, but it's not for lack of trying! Granted, they will plow down broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, green beans, bell peppers and most other vegetables that are cooked apart from other things. My middle daughter ate two servings of spinach this morning, so you never can tell what they'll be up for unless you keep trying, I guess!

Related Posts

Oct 04, 2016

Raw Thai Kale Slaw with a Creamy Ginger-Almond Butter Dressing

You are going to love this nutritious raw kale slaw. It's full of detoxification and antioxidant compounds, and just bursting with the fresh, bright flavors of basil, mint, and cilantro. All tossed in a slightly spicy and gingery, creamy almond butter dressing. What I love about this salad is that it lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator!

Read More
Dec 21, 2009

Orange-Wasabi Cabbage Salad

I absolutely love raw cabbage. I love the crispy crunch with every bite. I love the way it makes me feel...healthy and alive, my digestion strong. It feels cleansing. Luckily my children like cabbage too, though my girls have decided they like their cabbage plain, no dressing please.

Read More
Aug 18, 2009

Spicy Summer Black Bean Salad

The days of overflowing gardens and refrigerators full of produce are upon us! What to do with all of those peppers, tomatoes, and onions? I got it! A fresh black bean salad!

Read More