veggies for the picky eater

India is my picky eater.  She just doesn’t do veggies.  This is the only way I can get her to eat anything green. Spinach in the smoothie.  I swear . . . it’s like magic.  They never notice.  It’s also an easy way to get flax seed in.  Because my girl is not about to eat a fish-oil supplement.  But a sweet, slushie drink?  That she will do. Last year, a couple of our readers at Mama Manifesto asked us to post some smoothie recipes beyond the typical OJ/strawberry/banana routine. I made my kitchen became a smoothie testing lab, and I’m pulling the results out of the vault.  It’s such an easy way to get picky eaters an extra serving of fruits and veggies. For most of my smoothies, I start with a base of orange juice, plain kefir, ground flax seeds, and spinach. I tell you, THEY WILL NEVER NOTICE. The kefir adds a nice tart kick, and is full of healthy probiotics. Plain yogurt works well, too. If your kids are used to sweeter smoothies from sweetened yogurt (which is full of sugar), you could try adding some agave nectar. And about that spinach.  Start with a pinch, and increase every day. If the color is an issue, hide the smoothie in a straw-top sports cup.  But if you use dark berries, the green color will be masked.
Tropical Green Machine (Jafta’s favorite)
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup OJ
1/2 cup kefir
1 cup rainbow chard
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste



Berry Blast with Spinach (India’s favorite)
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup kefir
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
Orange Dream (my favorite)
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup OJ
1/2 cup kefir
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste If you try the spinach, you will have to let me know how it works out! Any other ideas for superfoods I can slip into a smoothie?