Salad bars are the most awesome things in the world for vegetable lovers.  The display of a variety of raw vegetables that are pre-cut, pre-washed to make your own salads is probably like candy to young children.  Salad bars are usually seen in restaurants, supermarkets, and deli where salad components such as greens, meats, seafood, sliced vegetables, shredded cheese, condiments, and dressings are arranged and the customers assemble their own salad plates.  Purchase usually goes by weight or in some restaurants, an all-you-can eat salad buffet where customers come and go as they please.

Salad bars are a fun and do-it-yourself way to introduce vegetables, especially raw vegetables to young children.  Just like building Lego blocks or playing make-believe cooking, this is like creating their own “meals” by letting them choose ingredients they like, usually carrots, corn, and cold pasta salad, and slowly introducing greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes a little at a time.  Think of it playing chef with no flames or cutting involved.  It also is a healthy way to indulge in favorite foods and a flexible way to follow dietary restrictions – by choosing only the ones allowed by the diet and taking note of the weight of the purchase.

It’s also a healthy alternative to indulge as most vegetables are low in calories and fat and high in fiber.  While filling you in with the vitamins and nutrients the body needs, consuming a lot of vegetables will not give the feeling of fullness to the point of heaviness and bursting.  Raw vegans would be happy too, for since most of these vegetables are in their raw form, the essential micronutrients and enzymes are still present instead of being leeched away in the process of cooking.   Visiting a salad bar during lunch or dinner is a fun way to create your own salad concoctions from the choice ingredients and components in the buffet as well as trying out vegetables that you haven’t tried before.