
Hubs and I are trying to eat more salads regularly, and this was our light lunch a few days ago. We usually eat a more protein-rich dinner, so I felt comfortable serving something light for lunch. To make salads kid-friendly, all I do is separate all the ingredients. Munchkin (4yr) will happily pick and chose what she wants from her plate. Between, I totally forgot to add the kale on her plate, but that was a mistake on my part. I would have added a few kale leaves even if she didn’t eat them to get exposure to kale. For Sweet pea (almost 11 months now,) I made kale-apple sauce and served it with toasts sprinkled with cinnamon.
Kale-apple sauce
2 large apples, peeled and cut
1/2 cup water
one handful of baby kale
2 tbsp hempseeds
- Place apples and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and mix in kale and hempseeds. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Blend the mixture using an immersion blender or by transferring to a blender. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3~4 days.
What’s in the salad:
baby kale
apple
dried cranberries
sliced almonds
*cinnamon croutons (see below for recipe)
poppyseed dressing (recipe card below)

What to do with leftover crusts? Make these cinnamon croutons.
1. Chop the crusts to bite sizes.
2. Place them in a bowl and spray with oil. (I used avocado oil.) Toss and continue until crusts are lightly coated with oil.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar: Toss and taste. Add more to taste.
4. Air-fry at 375F. Start with 5 minutes. Check and shake the basket. Add a minute and check. Continue until croutons are crunchy. Timing will vary depending on the number of croutons. Mine took about 8 minutes.
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purple bowl: https://amzn.to/30V9BhP
pouch: https://amzn.to/3lCR0zd
bunny plates: https://www.wemightbetiny.com
bunny fork: https://amzn.to/2GDpRgN
sauce pitcher: https://amzn.to/30Q21F5
small metal bowls: https://amzn.to/3lslXG2