Healthy Eating With Salads

It is a commonly known fact that the body needs at least 2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits on a daily basis. But not everyone likes to eat fruits or vegetables. Many children as well as adults simply disliked these healthier food options. While some children will slowly learn to like fruits and vegetables as they grow older, others will continue to avoid eating them even as adults. Imagine having to cook for a household with mixed preference, it will be such a daily challenge! I have a friend whom I have known for more than 20 years who simply dislikes vegetable. Whenever we dine out, she will request for any vegetable to be excluded from her food or starts to painstakingly picking out the vegetable from her plate.

Learning to eat vegetable may be easier if one is willing to try out different vegetables, one at a time. Also, eating vegetables as a salad accompanied by a delicious dip or sauce can make the whole eating experience much more pleasant.

I have been lucky as I grew up liking to eat vegetables. Of course as a child, I was a little picky, choosing only safe vegetables like cucumber and cabbages. I was also fortunate that my mom would make a delicious sauce when she tried to get us eating raw vegetables. So here I would like to share this family recipe for a salad that has been a long time family recipe. We usually serve this salad with spicy food like curry, but it is just as delicious when eaten with other main dish.

The ingredients are simple and can be easily found at any of your neighborhood supermarkets.

Salad with Peanut Sauce

You will need: 

Lettuce, cut into 2-inch length 

1 medium sized cucumber, sliced 

1 medium sized tomato, sliced 

2 Hard boiled eggs, sliced 

1 cup of roasted peanuts, grounded 

4 tablespoon of chili sauce 

2 tablespoon of tomato ketchup 

½ cup of hot water

Steps: 

Plate the vegetables and hard boiled eggs in a circular pattern, in this recommended order: Lettuce as the bottom first layer, then the cucumber followed by the sliced tomato and lastly the hard boiled eggs on top. Set aside.

Put the grounded peanuts in a deep bowl. Add the hot water and still well, ensuring that all the clumps are dissolved. Then add in the tomato ketchup and chili sauce. Stir until well combined. If you like more heat in the sauce, add more chili sauce. Drizzle the peanut sauce generously on the salad.

The ingredients in this recipe can be easily substituted and varied to suit your personal preference. For example, use baby cucumbers which are juicer and sweeter. Or add in some sliced boiled potatoes to make this salad a light meal.

To make it more appetizing, try serving the sauce separately as a dip instead.

So I hope you will give this recipe a try and enjoy it like I do.