We’ve all been there … trying to get the kids to eat their veggies. And we all know that saying, “But it’s good for you!” does nothing for it. In a way I have never grown up as I still don’t like green vegetables! However, I was won over by hiding them in a smoothie and the kids in our family were won over this way, too.
How?
Tip 1: Include enough other tasty ingredients that the greens vanishes!
The recipe today comes from Carissa at CreativeGreenLiving and you’ll find the details at the end of the post. Carissa says …
Green smoothies are so good for you. Feeding your kids spinach will give them a high dose of vitamin A as well as a good boost of Vitamin C and Calcium … The problem, of course, is that many kids are averse to eating or drinking green things – even when it doesn’t “taste green”. So what’s a mom to do? Be sneaky of course!
Please click the ‘Next Page’ button below to go to the next page for 8 more tips to getting the kids to drink Green Smoothies …
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Tips to Getting the Kids to Drink Healthy Green Smoothies
Tip 2: Start Off Small!
Include just a little spinach to start off with. You can gradually increase it as your kids get used to the idea. Serve in small glasses. And adding a straw works every time! (Maybe that should be a separate tip as it made a huge difference in our family!)
Tip 3: Blend the Greens First
Carissa at CreativeGreenLiving says she has a ‘sneaky green secret’ …
The trick to successfully hiding spinach in a smoothie is to pre-blend the spinach so that there are no telltale green bits left behind!
Tip 4: Include Flavors you Know they Love
Peanut butter and banana rarely fails. Anything with chocolate worked in our family. Just remember not to add too much spinach otherwise you have a muddy drink … then again look at Tip 7 and see how you can recover from that one, lol!
Tips 5: Go for Strong Colors
Do your kids love blueberries? They make a wonderful smoothie. Trying adding a little red cabbage instead of spinach and you’ll have a vivid, bright purple smoothie – which leads straight on to …
Tip 6: Greens are Not just Green
Add a little cauliflower, carrots or red peppers for a change or to coordinate with the fruit you’re using and enhance the final color.
Tip 7: Come Up with Interesting Names for your Smoothies
Do your kids love dinosaurs? This one could be the Purple Dinosaur Smoothie. Is she into princesses? Princess [Child’s name] Smoothie, or Princess Elsa/Anna’s Smoothie.
How about Cinderella’s Smoothie for one with pumpkin and you can tell how the magic pumpkin was transformed in to something beautiful, just like the food they eat is transformed magically in the body! Or how about the Purple Ninja Smoothie (or whatever is ‘in’ currently?)
One year I made a child’s birthday cake at the last minute, only to discover the center sunk/sank – grrr, had a hole in the middle! I didn’t have time to make another … so it became a Dinosaur Swamp Cake and was a brilliant success! Could that muddy brown smoothie become the Dinosaur Swamp Smoothie?
Tip 8: Hide it!
If it has to be green (or comes out some other yucky color) hide it! Serve it in a cup with a lid and straw. What they can’t see won’t harm them … or rather, put them off, hee-hee!
Tip 9: The Treasure Smoothie!
Hide a Herschey’s kiss in the bottom for them to find when they finish … no digging allowed! I’m all for bribery, lol!
Please click the ‘Next Page’ button below for the recipe …
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Recipe: Carissa’s Sneaky Green Smoothie
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Orange juice
- 2 large handfuls organic raw baby Spinach
- 1 cup full fat* Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1 cup frozen organic Blueberries
- 1/2 frozen Banana
- 1/4 cup 100% Cranberry juice (the unsweetened kind)
If you need it a little more sweet add a spoonful of Maple Syrup – start off with a teaspoonful and work up from there if necessary.
* Fat is necessary for our bodies to get the maximum nutrients from our food. See our post: That Fat-Free Dressing is Robbing Your Body of Nutrients
Source: CreativeGreenLiving
Photo: DrinkMeHealthy
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