As I declared and made official in my last post, summer is not over.

It’s still August (I think?). And it’s still warm. And Labor Day is still a few days out.

Since I know you don’t mind, I will carry on with my summer-related nonsense. Sorry I didn’t get my act together for you guys about three months ago, but you can just pin this little number on your “Summer 2013” board and get pumped for next June.

I usually don’t eat salad with dressing (I know, I know, it’s weird), but when I make salads for dinner, I feel like I should provide Nick with a dressing option that actually complements the salad (he will typically just balsamic-vinegar-and-oil anything in a bowl). And then I just do a teeny, tiny drizzle on mine just to test it out.

The last time my mom was in town, she took me on an amazing throw-anything-in-the-cart-because-I-am-the-best-mom-ever Whole Foods shopping trip (love you, Mama!). While we were there, she recommended the O Citrus Champagne Vinegar that I used for the dressing. It’s light, fresh and not too sharp- you can taste it, but it doesn’t interfere with the other flavors of the salad.

What can I say? My mom and I are a couple of geniuses.

Before I go, have we talked about getting kids to eat salad?

It is one of my great quests as a parent to have my children enjoy salads. I was completely against salads as a child. My cousin used to eat lettuce straight from the bag and I thought she was IN-SANE. (Turns out she was the smart one and the healthy one- can’t imagine why.)

Sometimes the whole idea seems futile, but I hope they’ll appreciate the effort someday.

I try to make salads as meals pretty frequently, so when I fix a toddler plate, I just use a smaller bed of lettuce and more of the toppings. Then, gradually, as the kids grow and get used to it, they will get more greens. I also try to sneak spinach or kale into everything- eggs, smoothies, wraps/sandwiches, desserts- I think that helps with flavor recognition (which is totally a real thing, I’m sure).

This particular salad was a toddler win for us- you really can’t go wrong if you’ve got fruit and bacon in the mix. If you want your kids to eat salad, just try adding a leaf or two of spinach to their plate each time. Eventually, they will wonder what it is and put it in their mouth.