We love smoothies here and eat them most days. But these are not just any smoothies. We are talking veggie packed smoothies. It is the best peace of mind for me as a mom. We load them full of veggies and our kids drink them like milkshakes. I no longer stress out about my kids getting their veggies. I still offer veggies at meal times but I no longer have to do the "stay at the table until you finish that carrot" ordeal because I know they've already had some for the day.
It is wonderful.
I hesitated to make them for the longest time. My mind could not wrap around the idea of drinking something green (or brown in some cases). I would start feeling like I was going to gag just thinking about it. I still get a little queasy before I drink a glass of Odwalla Superfood but i've trained myself not to think about it!
I was pretty sure my kids would reject the spinach smoothies but we started slowly (with just a handful of spinach added to a regular berry and banana smoothie and added a little juice to sweeten it up) and then gradually changed them over time. Now we've added carrots, kale, red pepper, and we always add at least 1/2 a blender full of spinach. We no longer have to add juice although they taste a lot better with a little. The color is not always appetizing but my kids will drink it.
Our typical smoothies are:
frozen strawberries or blueberries or both! (from our strawberry picking last summer)
1 or 2 bananas (depending on what veggie we are trying to sneak in. Bananas are great at masking flavor!)
plain yogurt or raspberry probiotic yogurt if we have it
1 carrot
spinach (fill the rest of the blender full)
If we have it I will also add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of superfood which adds a lot of sweetness as well as a lot of goodness.
I don't know what it is about being a mom, but I will go to bed so happy knowing that my kids drank 12 ounces (or more sometimes-they love the stuff) of a veggie smoothie.
I love smoothies.
Now if only my newfound dream of owning a Blendtec ** would come true the possibilities of hiding veggies in things for my kids would be endless!
** You will want one too. I promise. click on the link and you will see why. But only if you have some serious $$$ money handy!
1 comment:
I'm loving your love week Mariss! We LOVE green smoothies over here too and mainly because I love to see those girls guzzle down a bunch of greens! My parents got us a blendtec a couple years ago for Christmas and I can not imagine life without one now. It's so worth it! Love you guys!
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