How I Con My Toddler into Eating Spinach EVERY Morning – Recipe: Gemma’s GREEN Smoothie

We are officially in the toddler picky-eating stage. It’s brutal. One moment she’s stuffing her face with what I’ve made for her, the next moment the whole plate is on the floor, on her head, or even better, all over mommy.  Last night for dinner Matt and I had hot dogs – Gemma, on the other hand, LITERALLY ate  ketchup by the handful. Tell me you can relate. Please, tell me.

So when I find a meal that is healthy that Gemma will consistently eat, I’m sure to put it in the rotation frequently.

Although Gemma is great at eating her fruits, and not bad at eating veggies (meat is a whole other story), I like to feed her smoothies for breakfast to make sure she’s getting all her nutrients. Lately I’ve been making this green smoothie for her, and its fast becoming a favourite for her. I know some toddlers have an aversion to eating anything green, but Gemma hasn’t developed this yet. I’m hoping that as long as I keep offering her some green foods that she enjoys, that she’ll continue to try other green foods I serve.

Gemma’s GREEN Smoothie

Blend all the following ingredients well to ensure there are no chunks and serve immediately. Serves 2-3 (or one Gemma – she keeps asking for “mo”).

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other preferred milk)

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1 pear or apple

1 peach or ½ mango

1 banana

2-3 pitted dates*

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or chia seed

3-4 ice cubes

*dates are an awesome way to sweeten smoothies without using sugar

Yum!

To conning children into eating their veggies,

♥ Dion