Eating your vegetables and, possibly, liking them, too!

My husband always had a rule in our household, all the vegetables on the dinner plate have to be eaten before you can leave the table. Sure, we had a few confrontations but it paid off as my almost-grown children will eat most any vegetable and actually have come to like a great many of them. One of the favorite ways to get vegetables into them was in salads. I'm not talking about iceberg lettuce salads as that lettuce doesn't have a lot of fiber and is usually merely a way to get tasty salad dressing into your mouth. Often, it seemed the closer I could serve vegetables in their 'natural' state, the more likely the more vegetables would get eaten. This is a fun salad and very adaptable to whatever you might have on hand. Basically . . .

3-5 small zucchini, sliced as thin as possible
2 yellow squash, sliced equally as thin
1 small head of cauliflower broken down into bite-sized pieces
1 red or green bell pepper, diced (You can use yellow, orange, or purple bell peppers, too!)
1/2 red onion, finely minced
1/4 cup slivered almond (or chopped pecans or walnuts - toasting them only makes it even better.)
1 8-ounce bottle of salad dressing, your choice
Seasoned croutons

Combine all your vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a good pinch of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and toss to mix. Add the dressing according to your tastes. Some people like it thoroughly covering the vegetables, while others might like a thinner 'coat'. Refrigerate for an hour to meld the flavors. Toss with croutons just before serving.

Ideas . . .
A cup of roughly shredded, fresh spinach is tasty.
Either add or substitute sliced cucumbers for some of the squash.
Gourment? Add a drained, small can of mushrooms.
1/4 cup of Feta cheese would be most welcome.
Chopped green onions instead of the red onion.
Broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
Chinese pea pods are good.