Comments on: Disguise Vegetables in Fruity Popsicles

By: rebecca

rebecca — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:21:29 +0000

Greenstylemom, I love the idea of “monster” smoothies and popsicles. I think a bright green popsicle might be preferable to the brown-sludge color of the strawberry-spinach kind, at least for me. Audrey doesn’t seem to care.

Tina, Eileen, and G&C Mom, I agree that it’s just great to be able to sneak in some nutrients. As Eileen said, it’s not deceptive so much as showing kids that spinach (or other rejected foods) can be delicious in a different context. There is really no other way I could get my daughter to eat vegetables. She ate anything until about 15 months, and then she just wouldn’t. There is no reasoning with a 15-month-old (at least mine), so I couldn’t even say something like, “Just try it!”

By: Green and Clean Mom

Green and Clean Mom — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:08:37 +0000

I love it! Ahh, the critics and stuff it! We are moms doing our best and if a monster treat gets some healthy veggies in our kids…so be it! Yeah, moms! I do this with smoothies all the time and sauces. Good for you. It looks and sounds yummy.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:29:14 +0000

I do not understand the controversy about adding healthy ingredients to foods your kids love. What can be wrong about that???? I agree, you don’t need to lie to your kids, but you also don’t need to make a big deal out of it. When they realize they are eating spinach and what they are eating is yummy, they realize that spinach can be yummy and doesn’t have to be yucky. The idea that we all must train our palettes to like bland and bitter foods seems a bit archaic. How about teaching our kids that vegetables are yummy and eating healthy is fun! I don’t think that kids are developmentally able to try and eat things they dislike until maybe 7 or 8 (anecdotal based on observations of my own kids - more than a bite of something that tastes bad was impossible before age 7). Up until then, you will be force-feeding them. But the need for certain nutrients during the critical years from 0-5 will impact the rest of their lives. Get those nutrients in them any way you can and worry about getting them to eat the “yucky” stuff when they are old enough to understand reason. If you make food an issue, your kids will have food issues.

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:14:08 +0000

Great idea. If it works, then I say go for it. I don’t think it’s deceptive at all. I think it’s more important that they are getting the nutrients they need and they like it.

By: Greenstylemom

Greenstylemom — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:31:15 +0000

I put spinach in our popsicles (and smoothies!) also. If you use light colored fruit (bananas, grapes, apples, pineapple, canteloupe, etc) it will stay a nice green color. We call them monster smoothies and monster popsicles!

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:32:54 +0000

Allison, that’s funny about the angry letters to the parenting magazine about sneaking vegetables into kids’ diets. Do you remember any of the arguments? I guess I don’t see the problem in preparing vegetables in creative ways. It seems like several of you (like Frugal Babe and Monica’s friend) are doing it to your OWN food–so why not for the kids?

By: Monica

Monica — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:31:59 +0000

I love it!
Thanks for posting this, my friend and I were talking about this yesterday.

She had a cool suggestion for all the gardeners out there:
She dries her leafy greens to make her own “greens powder”, then she sprinkles it on the bottom layer of sandwiches and pizza’s, right before she layers on the tomato sauce or what have you…

It’s been soooo hot lately and my daughter just is not eating anything but fruit. This is a perfect solution and it keeps me especially happy. Nutrition is my biggest constant consideration

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:49:04 +0000

What a great idea!

It does seem very controversion. In one of my mommy magazines (Parenting? Baby Talk? I don’t remember!) there was an article recently about sneaking veggies into foods, and many people wrote in FURIOUS about it. Personally, I think as long as you don’t LIE to them, it’s not a big deal. If she asks you, “What’s in this?” don’t lie, but you don’t have to go out of your way to tell her exactly what it is made of. I mean, honestly, how often do you tell your kid every single item that is in the meal you are serving them?

By: Frugal Babe

Frugal Babe — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:47:43 +0000

When I was pregnant, I was trying to find ways to get more greens into our diet, and I came across the idea of a green smoothie. My husband and I have been drinking them every day for the last six months. I put whatever I have into the food processor and mix it up, making sure that there’s at least 3 or 4 cups of greens involved. I add bananas, blueberries, cucumber, celery, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans - doesn’t matter, as long as I have 6 or 7 ingredients. We eat veggies with every meal, but by starting the day with a green smoothie, it’s sort of an insurance policy that we’re getting our veggies. Once our son is eating solid food, I’m planning to freeze green smoothies in ice cube trays and give them to him in one of those mesh feeder bags. I love the popsicle idea for when he’s older!

By: Ana

Ana — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:29:29 +0000

I really love this idea! And about disguising the veggies; I think it’s a bad practice if you are giving up trying to get your kids to eat them. But doing something like this while still making veggies in their real form for dinner I don’t see as being a problem. I know my son will avoid them for weeks at time, then eat them as if he’d never rejected them. I don’t want him forgetting veggies exist by hiding them, but I also want him to eat them any way I can when he’s refusing them. So, pull out the spinach popsicles!