My child refuses to eat anything green. She is the biggest fan in the world of just about every fruit known to man, but if you try to slip her a vegetable of any kind, you might as well just end dinner immediately.
It's not happening.
So, my husband has taken it upon himself to try to disguise the vegetables in her favorite foods. We've tried every puree out there, like cauliflower in a cream sauce or squash on her grilled cheese. But nothing has worked. I swear...she's on to us. Even if you can't taste it, she knows it's there.
It would actually be kind of impressive, if it wasn't so darn infuriating.
One of his attempted tricks involved making her a green 'milkshake' (smoothie), consisting of spinach, yogurt, strawberries, and a banana. She hated it.
I, however, LOVED IT!
I honestly couldn't believe how much spinach I was consuming in one sitting, and I've been hooked ever since. So, now I'm on the hunt for new smoothie recipes. My favorite involves A LOT spinach, a little peanut butter, a banana, some Greek yogurt, and a little honey to take away the bitterness of the yogurt. And it's good! I'm excited! I've never minded spinach in the past, but I'm definitely consuming a lot more of it now!
But, I probably need to branch out a little. I'm trying to keep the vegetable/fruit content high, the proteins a little leaner, and the sugar at a minimum, which is actually kind of harder than it looks. Are there any other smoothie fiends out there? Where would you go to find some new combinations?
Pinterest!! :) I'll be trying out this smoothie you mentioned in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI agree, pinterest has lots of great ideas. And not just recipes. I've seen ideas for salads in mason jars (remember those shaker salads from McDonalds?).
ReplyDeleteHave you guys tried zucchini bread/spinach brownies? My best suggestion is to not disguise the veggies from her. Make them as basic and lightly cooked as possible. Have her promise to try a single bite of everything. Tell her she doesn't have to eat it, but just taste it. Kids taste everything - especially bitter flavors a whole lot more intensely than adults and it can take numerous times for kids to not only tolerate, but like certain flavors. Exposure, not masking, is the best form. And just remember, she's not doing it to frustrate you, her tastebuds are just very sensitive as a kid and it's a biological reason for her refusal.
I make my kids a "green" smoothie every day. Luckily they do like them even though they know there is tons of spinach. My base recipe is a cup of coconut water, a bit of flax seed oil, half a frozen banana, BIG handful of spinach and about a cup of frozen berries or peaches and mangoes. Sometimes I go wild and add grated ginger. One time I added beets, which was a little weird but good :) I have also heard you can add straight oats to smoothies for a nuttier taste. Just keep trying with your DD, one of these days you will find the magic combo that she enjoys!
ReplyDeleteOH and I recently started adding cucumber to my smoothies!! You can taste it, but I love the freshness.
ReplyDeleteOh! I just recently made something similar for the kids this weekend. It was OJ, frozen blueberries, a banana and a cup of spinach. My kids absolutely adore fruit, so they scarfed it down!! The spinach didn't turn the smoothie green and it didn't change the taste at all. =)
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