I’m pretty lucky in that all my children are pretty good eaters…most of the time. Besides my middle child’s aversion to tomatoes and my youngest child’s aversion to most greens (besides lettuce), my children pretty much eat or will at least try any food I put in front of them.
With that being said, I don’t ever think you can eat too many veggies and I try to serve veggies at almost every meal in many different ways. My children have at least two vegetables for lunch every day, mostly carrots and broccoli, and I also try to serve at least one, sometimes two for dinner. All my children love salad, so most of the time a salad serves for our vegetable for the night (I include tomatoes, carrots, etc.).
I don’t get my kids in the kitchen as much as I probably should because most of the time, to be honest, I’m in a rush. They love helping in the kitchen when we have time so I really need to get them in there more and that’s exactly what I did today with my youngest child while my two older children were at school.
We had already eaten lunch and he was wanting something sweet, so I decided to try the Veggie Smoothie recipe from the Birds Eye Kids Website. He loved the idea of helping and he helped with peeling the banana, getting the ice, putting it all into the blender, and pushing the button. He was mighty proud of himself.
- 1 bag (12 oz.) [b]Steamfresh® Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots[/b], cooked according to package directions, cooled
- 1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 large ripe banana
- 3 Tablespoons honey or brown sugar
- 1-1/2 cups ice cubes
- In blender, combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Serve immediately.
As you can see from the above recipe, this Easy Veggie Smoothie is super simple to make and it’s an easy recipe for children to help out with. We followed the recipe almost exactly using just a little more ice to give it a thicker consistency. And instead of using brown sugar, we used honey.
The Veggie Smoothie recipe is just one of many as part of the “iCarly iCook with Birds Eye” initiative. Kids from around the country shared their wild and wacky creations showcasing their love for veggies in awesome fashion, generating 16 thousand recipe concepts gleaned from a virtual kitchen. If you are looking for ideas or recipes for getting your children to get more vegetables in their diet, the Birds Eye Kids Website features some of these recipes, including this one.
While our version didn’t turn out as orange as the version on the website, it still tasted good. I was a little nervous with putting the whole bag of vegetables, but as it turned out, really all I could taste was the banana. Maybe next time I’ll try adding a bit more orange juice to see if it turns out to be more orange.
Courtney says
Oooh very interesting! Banana does wonders! I can sneak in loads of veggies without hubby knowing 🙂
Billie says
Cool way to get your veggies in. I have issues with textures so it would have to be very smooth!
Lolo says
I never would have thought to use frozen veggies.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Interesting! I actually love veggies more than fruit, but in a smoothie I’d want the fruit flavor to dominate, so I’m glad it does!
Sheri says
That looks great! I love smoothies.
Jennifer The Quirky Momma says
This is something that I really need to try at home. My kids have weird eating habits, and I don’t think they eat enough vegetables. Thanks for the recipe, I’m going to try it out on my kids today!
Maryann says
we love green smoothies in our home. this looks like a great idea.
A Time Out for Mommy- Elaina says
Actually sound yummy!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
That is a seriously creative way to get your kids to eat their veggies.
Jenn says
I love ways to hide veggies. Thanks for the idea!
HilLesha says
I might have to try this.
Marcie W. says
I would have been extremely nervous using so many veggies too, but now I’m just itching to try this!
Debrah Reid says
Looks interesting. Might just give it a try.
Zipporah Sandler says
Hmmmm…..think I’d rather eat my veggies than drink them.
Crystal says
You can’t taste the veggies. The power of the banana really surprised me.
Leilani says
I juice my veggies and pour them into the ice cube tray and insert popsicle sticks. It’s the only way I get my girls to eat their veggies.
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
I wish my kids would drink this… it sounds like a great healthy drink!
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says
Sounds very tasty! My kids would love this!
Kathleen says
Definitely interesting, not sure I could get into drinking my veggies though.
Crystal says
If I could of tasted the veggies, I don’t think I would have liked it. I love veggies, just not in liquid form LOL!
Toni says
My kids are extremely picky. You’d think we were trying to make them eat pate when we try to get them to eat their veggies LOL I need to check out the websites for suggestions. Definitely trying this one though.
Stefani says
I love that you used the veggies to make a smoothie. Not sure if my kids would go for it but I would!
Colleen says
I don’t know if I could do a veggie smoothie.
Emily @FamilyNLifeLV says
I would never have thought to use the bag of veggies!! Great idea!
Donna says
This will be a perfect way to get my son to get in his veggies, without him even knowing it! Personally, I’d omit the banana (and maybe add more orange juice) for myself, since I don’t really care for bananas.
Brandy says
I’m going to try this soon. I would’ve never thought to use the bag of veggies. This looks so yummy. I am horrible about getting my son into the kitchen and helping as well but I’m getting better at that.
Mellisa says
This is a great way to get some veggies into your diet. I love smoothies.