not only am i mean, but i am crafty

charles can attest to the blog headline, and in a few years it is my hope that my children will second, third, fourth and fifth the statement.

but, my defense will be, to quote harlequin (and really, who doesn't?) "i did it for love".

as you know, les enfants, with the exception of sela are not vegetably-inclined. actually, they are not overly fruit adventurous, with the exception of sela, who eats blueberries like they are m&m's and enjoys pineapple and strawberries and rockmelon and raspberries and laichees, etc.

while it was fun to take a summer hiatus, now we are back in hong kong and i am back in mummy whip cracking mode. and because i don't want to take on a few BIG issues, i decided to have a few small victories first, to make me feel good and warm me up. a facial for the soul.

so, i declared out of the blue to charles in our post dark knight shopping expedition, "get the ingredients for smoothies...tomorrow we start". and with that, i grabbed frozen spinach and chocolate powder.

every morning since, the kids have been enjoying chocolate smoothies that include: blueberries, bananas, strawberries, spinach, yogurt (sometimes), milk, ice and chocolate. i am debating throwing in some flax seed, but am scared to see the results.

it is a small victory, but a good one. it is not teaching them that vegetables are delicious, but hopefully they will learn that later in life. right? please?

if anyone has any other suggestions for other vegetables we could drop in there, we're listening. sebastian caught me thawing the spinach and asked what it was, and charles answered, "vitamins". no lying in this house! i will post the best recipe we find, if you want. in the meantime, this is working really well and we're really grateful. for a while there it seemed the only way we were going to get vegetables into jasper was if we laced his bobs and socks with celery string.

Comments

[Boulder]

Some things that add to smoothies that also add fiber: pears, raspberries, avocado (which is also a nice silkening agent).

You can (if the kids can tolerate it) add walnuts or raw almonds.

Frozen mango (though I know you can get it fresh!) is as good as ice cubes.

As for other meals, have you considered making humus, or other bean dips with fun things to dip into it? Like celery, carrots, jicama, cauliflower, (I think broccoli, unless blanched has too strong a taste, as does green bell peppers), red, yellow or orange bell peppers cut to "scoop" the dip?

Or you can put those kinds of ingredients diced up (same with squash) in to a quesadilla. The cheese hides much! Or pureed in to a sauce for "pizza" on either dough like a real pizza or a tortilla for a "personal" pizza.

I could go on, but I'll stop here!

[Lala]

recipe yes please. As soon as I'm home on mat leave in a few weeks I am introducing a similar regime. Less milk, more potty training etc.
I need all the help I can get.

[Barb]

I used to finely grate carrots into the orange mac 'n' cheese and tell the girls the cheese hadn't melted. LOL! Yogurt, orange juice and chunks of frozen fruit make great smoothies - just match the flavour of yogurt and fruit for the best flavour. You can puree lots of cooked veggies and hide in the spaghetti sauce. You can also use pureed veggies in burgers and meatloaf to bind the meat and add flavour. Chocolate zucchini loaf is another sneaky trick. Have fun cooking :)

[JoeInVegas]

Spinach in smoothies? Oh, you are evil.

[Lowa]

Just buy "Deceptively Delicious" by Jerry Seinfeld's wife. She puts all kinds of veggies in brownies and chicken nuggets and everywhere! Really cool little cookbook.

You are fortunate that your kids drink smoothies. My kids refuse even that. My oldest, at almost 16, now forces himself to eat the odd apple and banana. So there IS hope.

Wow, I am so jealous of the smoothy thing. If only it was that simple over here...

[Sue]

Try South Beach mashed potatoes. I steam cauliflower then put in blender with a little butter and milk until smooth like mashed potatoes. Add butter and milk slowly, else it might be too runny. Season with salt if desired. Sounds gross, but really very good.