5 Tips to Get Your Kids Drinking Their Veggies

     If you think passing a Kale and Cucumber Smoothie off on a non-veggie-loving adult is hard, it can be even MORE challenging to make appealing to a non-veggie-loving TODDLER! Here are my 5 Tips to get your toddlers drinking their veggies.

1. Go Slow

It's unlikely that a two or three-year-old will just love a green monster the first time it's presented. In fact, it takes multiple exposures for young children to decide conclusively if they like any new food. Make a smoothie you love and offer a little bit to your child. If they don't like it, don't sweat! Offer it again another day, and another... and another.

2. Name It

Again, the word "Kale" is probably going to send my twin toddlers running! Currently, however, they are BIG into monster trucks and so our smoothies have more suceessful names like "Carrot Crusher", "Nut Butter Mudder", and "Green Monster-Truck".

3. Color Match

Toddlers have a keen, discerning eye for veggie deception. Hide carrots in a mango smoothie, kale in "limeade", and - when in doubt - add blueberries. Blueberries dye anything purple!

4. Blend, baby. Blend

Dare I leave one small carrot nib in a smoothie, my texture-sensitive kid will passionately declare (with drama only a toddler can muster): "I can't drink like this!!" And then there's the lump-stuck-in-my-straw meltdown that must be avoided at all cost. Blend toddler smoothies FOR.E.VER (or at least on high for 3 minutes.)

5. Involve Them

Once my little guys got used to drinking smoothies with hidden veggies, I started involving them in the process. Helping chop, add, or blend produce made them more open to trying new things!