Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life

Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter

A mother who came up with a healthy alternative for a snack for her children before dinner has sparked a parenting debate.

Kathleen Ashmore recently took to TikTok to share her recipe for “lettuce chips,” which she revealed consists of chopped up heads of romaine lettuce, which are meant to look like chips and be dipped into some type of salad dressing.

“Serve this to your kids before their dinner and be shocked at how much lettuce they will eat,” her clip began. “This is how I get my kids to eat an entire head of lettuce, and if you were offended by my lettuce chips the last time that I posted it, you are going to wanna look away.”

Ashmore explained that she treats the chips as a method for her children to eat salad. “I’m telling you, your kids will have so much fun eating lettuce,” her video concluded.

Soon after posting, the mother’s TikTok received over one million views, with the comments divided over whether or not the snack alternative was a good idea or not. “Before the crazies enter the chat, my kids eat plenty of potato chips and tortilla chips too. K? K,” Ashmore preemptively defended herself in the comments section.

Some commenters praised the mother, thinking the idea was very creative and could provide children with an opportunity to actually enjoy eating vegetables.

“My husband will eat anything that I put in a pretty dish and display it on the kitchen island. Olives, grapes, carrots. Lettuce chips! Great idea!” one commenter wrote.

Another commenter agreed, writing: “My kids love the taste of dressing so this is a great way for them to fill up on veggies. Thank you for this.”

Others ended up questioning exactly what children were supposed to be getting out of the snack, making comparisons to the “almond mom” trend.

The term stems from a 2013 episode of Bravo reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, featuring star Yolanda Hadid and her then-teenage daughter, Gigi.

Gigi, who is now a model, told her mother over the phone that she was “feeling really weak”, having only eaten “half an almond”.

In response, Yolanda advised the 17-year-old to “have a couple of almonds and chew them really well”.

“You do realise lettuce has zero nutritional value, right?” one commenter questioned.

Another commenter agreed, writing: “Isn’t there almost 0 nutritional value in lettuce?”

That comment came up so often that Ashmore went on to create a follow-up video to address the question. “The amount of people that are out here really thinking that lettuce has no nutritional value, romaine in particular, is completely astounding,” her video began.

The mother said that if people had taken the time to Google the nutritional value of lettuce they would have found many articles proving them wrong before she pulled up an article herself.

“This one is from a little place called Harvard,” Ashmore said. “Some of the most nutritious greens include spinach, kale, romaine, watercress, and arugula. They are rich in a combination of vitamins A, C, and K, several B vitamins, and potassium.”

As noted by Ashmore, Harvard University Health states that “most salad greens contain essential dietary nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and even water” and “some of the most nutritious greens include spinach, kale, romaine, watercress, and arugula,” which have a “combination of vitamins A, C, and K; several B vitamins (including folate); and potassium”. However, Harvard notes that some greens are less nutritious than others, such as iceberg lettuce, which “contains folate and vitamin A, but is otherwise known for being the least nutrient-dense salad green”.

She added that the most important part of the snack to her was to expose her children to vegetables and make them “fun” for her children.

“I don’t rely on the romaine lettuce chips before their dinner to provide all of their vitamins,” Ashmore clarified.

Read More