Before you think your picky eater will turn their nose up to spinach in a smoothie please listen to my story first! My 8-year-old daughter had a friend over the other night - a friend whose mother has told me she is incredibly "selective" when it comes to food - and I offered her some of this breakfast smoothie in one of the little pouches pictured below. She was a little apprehensive, but after her first sip she quickly figured out it actually tasted good and went on to tell me it was "the best smoothie she'd ever had!"
After she finished her second helping (thank you very much!) I asked her if she'd ever had spinach before. She said she'd never tried it (by choice, of course!) and as it turns out she'd never tried lettuce or any leafy greens before. So I informed her that spinach was the secret ingredient in the smoothie I just gave her ...and so now she can say she's tried it and likes it! She continued to have a rather surprised look on her face LOL. I'm only okay with "hiding" secret ingredients as long as you tell your picky eaters about it afterward so they know that particular vegetable (or whatever it is they supposedly don't like) isn't so bad after all! I hope this trick works on your little ones as well. For more information, check out these red fruits!
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For more quick ideas, check out these Easy Breakfast Ideas!
Raspberry Delight Breakfast Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 bananas (the riper the better)
- 1 cup spinach (fresh)
- 1 cup coconut water (or regular water)
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- ½ cup plain yogurt
Instructions
- Blend ingredients together until smooth. Serve cold.
Charlie says
I just get new one here.
I always have my own way :
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Organic Raspberries
1/2 cup Organic Blueberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup water or your favorite liquid base
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Betty says
Don't like. Rasperries whT else could I use
Thanks
Jessica Ray says
I adore that you continued attempting the green smoothies! It's anything but difficult to surrender after two or three endeavors when kiddos turn their nose up at whatever it is we're attempting to motivate them to eat.
I have a demanding minimal one, however he'll generally drink smoothies (for the time being, at any rate!) He particularly enjoys the ones that incorporate banana and squeezed orange. I think those are two enchantment elements for making kids into green smoothie partners ;- )
Regards
Jessica Ray
Jamie says
SPINACH, WATER, MANGO, PINEAPPLE AND BANANA
SIMPLEGREENSMOOTHIES.COM HAS A LOT OF RECIPES
Aaaaahhhh, this post makes me want to buy all the fruits and leafy greens! If I'm not careful I'll have more smoothie than I know what to do with. Gotta pace myself.
Angelina says
I love that a great IdeaGet good banana recipe for your sexual pleasure
Jenny says
My husband was forever trying to get the kids to try a green smoothie but they would always make a face after the tiniest sip and declare it gross. So I bought purple kale and blended it with blueberries and blackberries, bananas and some orange juice. I let them know there was a secret ingredient. They drank huge glasses of it while they tried to figure out what the secret ingredient was and talked about how delicious it was. After I told them that it was kale, they were surprised but in a good way. Now we blend all sorts of green leafy veggies into smoothies and they love it. I always freeze the leftovers into popsicles they love as a treat.
Funny story- One day I made a smoothie with a bunch of spinach and a lot of chard. My husband and I thought it was too strong veggie tasting for us but we drank ours without a word. The kids asked for seconds. The next day I made the same smoothie with about half the chard and all three kids wouldn't drink much and said that the smoothie from the day before was much better.
My basic recipe:
Fill blender with leafy veggies and add enough liquid to blend it. Then I add a couple bananas and fill it to the top with any other fruit and blend it again. Easy!
Katie says
I love that you kept trying the green smoothies! It's easy to give up after a couple attempts when kiddos turn their nose up at whatever it is we're trying to get them to eat.
I have a picky little one, but he'll always drink smoothies (for now, at least!) He especially likes the ones that include banana and orange juice. I think those are two magic ingredients for making kids into green smoothie lovers ;-)
Stacey Bradford says
Love smoothies for breakfast! This morning I made this one:
1/2 c water
1/2 c OJ
handful of spinach
handful of frozen pineapples
handful of frozen strawberries
2 frozen bananas
Sandi says
Here's our favorite smoothie "recipe" (such as it is)
Fruit - bananas, berries, whatever fruit I need to use up (everything frozen, makes it thicker)
Yogurt (usually homemade, I get whey as a bonus)
Milk (or whey from the yogurt) if needed to thin it a bit
A scoop of frozen orange juice concentrate (Trader Joe's makes an organic one)
Seeds - chia, flax, whatever we have on hand
Greens - spinach, chard, kale, etc
I just throw in whatever quantity I want, and if there's any left over I make smoothie pops. IKEA has great molds that are inexpensive.
Delisa says
Bravo! Enjoyed your story. Love this nutritious and simple recipe.
When my children were small I would hide (puree) vegetables in many of our meals. Right or wrong, I chose to not tell them back then because I thought they would refuse to eat that dish again.
My son is now 24 years old and my daughter is 22 years old. When I told them they were thankful that I did this although surprised.
Nina says
Great idea! I love the thought of putting spinach into smoothies for your kiddos. We do it all the time too! I've even put spinach in our pancake recipe...https://focusedonfit.com/recipe/simply-perfect-spinach-pancakes/. Always looking for more ideas for our picky eater!
Lauren K says
Purple Superfood Smoothie - from Real Food Real Fit Mom
2 bananas (Chill them in the freezer for 10 minutes first, if you can.)
5 cubes of frozen pomegranate juice*
Large handful of organic baby spinach
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 handfuls of organic blackberries
1 T chia seeds
http://realfitrealfoodmom.com/2014/01/02/purple-superfood-smoothie/
Sara says
My kids gulp down this breakfast smoothie packed with fruits and veggies + protein in the yogurt and honey for a little energy boost. I make the same thing minus the chia seeds and freeze for summer popsicles! To be honest, I don't measure so much as just fill up the bullet blender. :) My kids love the idea of "eating the rainbow" so we do red-raspberries, orange-carrot juice, yellow-honey, green-spinach/kale, blue-blueberries, purple-blackberries!
~ 1-1/2 cup Carrot Juice (I used to mix apple or orange but they've gotten used to this without it)
2-3 big scoops plain yogurt (we use goat milk yogurt - easier on tummies)
1/2-1 cup greens (spinach is the sweetest, but they'll even do kale)
2 cups frozen mixed berries (or whatever fruit you like)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1-2 Tbsp honey