Green smoothies for kids

[workoutaholic]

Does anyone know of a book or have some recipes for smoothies for kids that incorporate leafy greens that they will actually drink?

I have the pickiest 2 year old on the planet. He eats fruits and whole grains but he will eat no vegetables. I found a book called Green Smoothies for Kids but no reviews anywhere of it: http://www.greensmoothiekid.com/

Thank you!

 

[janie1234]

I've never read that book but I have bought a super green smoothie packet from Whole Foods once, . . .my kids hated it. BTW I think our kids are from the same planet of picky veggie eaters. When my kids were younger I'd hide the veggies in their food and redid all the usual kids faves for example, . . I'd put carrots or butternut squash in their mac and cheese and I would buy the organic mac and cheese made from whole grains from whole foods. I would make my own spegetti O's with whole grain O noodles and spegetti sauce and add zuchinni and the tops of brocolli. My chicken nuggets would be made from pre cut chicken tenders and panko bread crumbs and ground up sweet potato that I would microwave and smush up. Also my kids love Odwalla's super food. It has a mix of greens and fruit, . . but it does not look appetizing so put it in a cup with a lid so they can't see it first, . .when they try it they'll like it. Good luck.

 

[kathryn]

I've never seen the book you mentioned, but both Victoria Boutenko's new 'Green Smoothie Revolution" and Robyn Openshaw's new "Green Smoothie Diet" have recipes for kids. They basically are heavier on the fruits, with fewer veggies.

Openshaw (also known as "the green smoothie girl") also has a web site ( www.greensmoothiegirl.com ) and some info in her blog about smoothies for kids:

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/blog/?p=523

There are also quite a few green smoothie videos on youtube, and I'd imagine searching for "green smoothies for kids" might come up with some examples.

A basic green smoothie is a frozen banana, some water and some greens. You can add other frozen fruit (frozen mixed berries or blueberries are dark enought to hide the green color).

It's best to start out (kids or green smoothie newbies!) with the milder greens, like spinach. Before I got into the really healthy green smoothies, I'd make a smoothie out of chocolate soy milk, a handful of frozen blueberries, and a handful of spinach (which you couldn't even taste). Sometimes adding sweetener if necessary (which it wasn't after I drank them more).

 

[janie1234]

It's best to start out (kids or green smoothie newbies!) with the milder greens, like spinach. Before I got into the really healthy green smoothies, I'd make a smoothie out of chocolate soy milk, a handful of frozen blueberries, and a handful of spinach (which you couldn't even taste). Sometimes adding sweetener if necessary (which it wasn't after I drank them more).

Kathryn what great advice!!! This is so true. I also started with spinach and orange juice, and some frozen fruit. My kids love it.

 

[ellesan]

I include a handful of spinach in all my fruit smoothies. If you know it's there you can taste it slightly (not in a bad way IMO) but I've found that adding banana completely hides any hint of it. I make sure I put in at least 1/2 banana in the ones I give my son and you can't taste the spinach at all. He loves 'em!

 

[workoutaholic]

Thanks everyone! I have tried mixing very tiny cut up veggies in his food, but he has an amazing ability to sort out the smallest bit of veggie, spit it out, and eat the rest of the food. : )

Maybe I will see if I can add vegetable purees and see if he'll still eat things like his mac & cheese. That might go over better.

 

[coloradomama]

Does he like spaghetti? Get no sodium added cans of veggies like carrots and puree them and add them to the spaghetti sauce. You could also make spaghetti squash and serve it mixed in with regular spaghetti and he would never know the difference...it looks and tastes like slightly underdone spaghetti.

What about finding a good recipe for pumpkin bread?

 

[kathryn]

You could also make spaghetti squash and serve it mixed in with regular spaghetti and he would never know the difference...it looks and tastes like slightly underdone spaghetti.

Zucchini and yellow squash also make good "spaghetti" noodles. You can either peel them and then slice them thin using a veggie peeler, then cut into thin noodle shapes, or (faster, but requires a tool), get a 'Spralizer'/Saladacco which is a tool that cuts zucchini (or summer squash, or beets, or carrots, or any hard veggie) into angel-hairlike strands. (zucchini and summer squash work best to 'hide', as they turn out the same color as noodles). For standard tastes, lightly steaming the 'noodles' would give them a more typical texture. (for raw fooders, they are eaten as-is, or after marinating a bit to soften).

Saladacco: http://www.amazon.com/Spiral-Slicer...ef=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1250781277&sr=8-4


You could also try making "chips" out of veggies (if you have a dehydrator). I have a tastey recipe for kale chips in my blog (in the 'raw food' section). They are green, but if you don't make a big deal out of it, he might try one and find that he likes them...or not!