Turtle Salmon Salads

This was a really fun lunch for my kids. As they ate, we read about turtles in our animal encyclopedia. We learned some cool facts. Did you know that the outer segments on a turtle's shell are called "plates?" Did you know turtles don't have teeth? We also found out that they eat fish, birds, worms, insects, and the soft part of plants.



Here's what I used:

Body - wild caught salmon mixed with Trader Joe's regular mayonnaise, shaped into a roundish mound
Plates - organic baby spinach leaves
Head - baby carrot
Eyes - grain-sweetened chocolate chips, cut small
Mouth - tiny piece of raw beet
Feet - cucumbers, cut to shape
Tail - baby carrot, cut into a little triangle shape

I served them with Sweet Mustard Dressing on the side, and organic tortilla chips (which represented desert sand - my boys used them to scoop up the salmon mixture).

Here is a picture of the body without the plates. As you can see, he's already had a few scoops taken out of him at this point, but at least you get the idea of how the base was formed.

Sweet Mustard Dressing

I like to make my own sauces and dressings in order to avoid unwanted additives and refined sugars. Here is my favorite salad dressing recipe:

Sweet Mustard Dressing

6 Tbsp. cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard (any mustard you have on hand will work fine)
2 Tbsp. organic apple cider vinegar (you can substitute a variety of other vinegars if needed - organic white distilled vinegar and white wine vinegar have worked for me in a pinch)
2 Tbsp. agave nectar or honey
1 garlic clove, crushed

Place all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until well-blended. Store in refrigerator and shake before using.