Five Tricks To Getting Your Kids to Drink Green Smoothies
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I know how hard it can be to get kids to eat their veggies—especially the green leafy sort. It seems at any point in time, one, two, or even all of my three boys are off a particular veg. Their palates and preferences are constantly changing and their desire for autonomy ever growing.
Also ever-present is their need for healthful, nourishing foods, and I know how beneficial those disease-fighting green veggies can be.
But how do we get reluctant eaters to eat their veggies on a consistent basis without threats, frustration, and tears—theirs and ours!?!
Enter the green smoothie.
A green smoothie can be a fun and easy way for our kids—and for us!—to up our veggies everyday.
Here are five things to consider when easing kids into enjoying green smoothies.
How to get your kids to drink green smoothies:
Ease them into it. Don’t start them off with a shot of wheat-grass and lemon juice. Ease them into green smoothies by starting off with more fruit than greens. Choose mildly flavored greens such as spinach and swiss chard, rather than kale and collards. A ratio of 40% greens to 60% fruit is a good place to start. Gradually work to flip the ratio.
Make them part of the process. Kids often will buy into a concept that they have some ownership in. Allowing kids to choose the fruits and put them in the blender may make them more willing to try a new thing.
Prioritize presentation. We taste first with our eyes, and kids are no exception to this. Bright vibrant smoothies are more appealing to both the eye and the palate, so consider color as you choose which fruits and veggies to combine in the blender. Keeping a cool cup and straw on hand can make the green smoothie experience more fun. And an opaque cup can be helpful when the smoothie combination is dull in color.
Blend as smooth as possible. Texture is the key in the green smoothie game, and the smoothest of smoothies is always the winner. Use a high-powered blender for the ultimate smoothie or follow these tips for optimizing smoothness with a lower-powered blender.
When all else fails, freeze it. Around here, nobody can resist a popsicle, and on days when the kids are just not feeling their smoothies, I turn them into smoothie-pops. Silicon molds are great for make-ahead pops, but we of little-delayed-gratification absolutely rely on our Zoku Quick Pop Maker which turns out frozen smoothie-pop treats in minutes. Game. Changer.
What tricks and tips do you have for encouraging kids to enjoy green smoothies?
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