The most important thing to remember when you are cooking with your children in the kitchen is safety. The kitchen can be a dangerous place for small children, and you have to take extra precautions to ensure their safety. Children get bored easily and lose interest. I find that the best way to hold their attention during kitchen time is to prep most of the ingredients beforehand, and to gather all of the equipment together. This also ensures that you will not have to leave your child's side while cooking.
Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. One of the best ways to get them to eat more fruits and vegetables is to involve them in food preparation. Too many choices is overwhelming, but sometimes a question as simple as, "Would you like to make a blueberry or grape smoothie?" is enough to keep them interested from the beginning of the prep to the bottom of the glass.
These ingredients and pieces of equipment are crucial:
Blender
Flexible Slanted Spatula
Milk or Soymilk, Fresh Fruit and Produce of your choosing
Ice
Tervis Tumblers
Clean artist smock
You may add food coloring if you want to
Vitamix Power Blender
There are great mixing cups if you want to use smoothie powder to make your smoothies, but if you want to use fresh fruit and vegetables then you will need a powerful blender to pulverize and mix together all of the fresh ingredients. You can find blenders in almost any discount superstore, and sometimes even at the drugstore. If you are new to making smoothies you can always use a cheaper one first, and then if you decide to incorporate smoothies into your daily routine you can purchase a more powerful blender that will last longer.
Pointed Spatula
When you add fruits and vegetables to your liquid of choice, the blender will throw small chunks of produce against the walls of the blender. If you want to avoid having chunks in your smoothie (gross!) then you will need to spend a few dollars on a silicone spatula to scrape the sides down into the blender.
Smoothie Ingredients
This varies greatly on what kind of smoothie you are trying to make. You can use fresh or frozen ingredients. Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are very popular for smoothies. Green smoothies are growing in popularity. Green smoothies are made by using vegetables such as baby spinach, celery, and cucumbers. Most smoothies are made with a liquid ingredient as well. You can use milk, fruit juice, or even yogurt as your liquid ingredient. I get most of my smoothie ingredients from the local grocery stores here (Lowes Foods, Food Lion, and Whole Foods), and I use a combination of fresh, seasonal and frozen ingredients.
Ice
Adding a little bit of ice to the blender during the smoothie process will keep your smoothie colder longer - which is always a good thing. As smoothies warm to room temperature they can separate and be less visually appealing.
Plastic Shatterproof Cups
You can use a regular cup, insulated cup, or travel mug depending on when and where you plan on drinking your smoothie. In the Summer, you may opt for an insulated cup to help keep your smoothie cold, or you may want to use a travel mug if you drink your breakfast smoothie in the car. Children also like fun straws to drink their smoothies! I like to use a Tervis Tumblers because they are double wall insulated and don't sweat, but I use my own straws that I get at the dollar store or Walmart. Reusable straws just get too dirty for me.
Old Tee Shirt
Even though making smoothies is not an especially messy task, somehow children always find a way to get dirty! Some fruits and juices can stain so it's better to wear an apron just in case.
Natural Food Coloring
Most smoothies that you make will not require the use of food coloring, however, a bit of natural food coloring can be a festive addition around holidays. Kids will think that its very fun to drink pink or red smoothies for Valentines Day, orange smoothies for Halloween, red, white, and blue smoothies for July Fourth, and red and green smoothies for Christmas. Making smoothies appealing to young children is the first step towards getting them to drink their fruits and vegetables!
Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. One of the best ways to get them to eat more fruits and vegetables is to involve them in food preparation. Too many choices is overwhelming, but sometimes a question as simple as, "Would you like to make a blueberry or grape smoothie?" is enough to keep them interested from the beginning of the prep to the bottom of the glass.
These ingredients and pieces of equipment are crucial:
Blender
Flexible Slanted Spatula
Milk or Soymilk, Fresh Fruit and Produce of your choosing
Ice
Tervis Tumblers
Clean artist smock
You may add food coloring if you want to
Vitamix Power Blender
There are great mixing cups if you want to use smoothie powder to make your smoothies, but if you want to use fresh fruit and vegetables then you will need a powerful blender to pulverize and mix together all of the fresh ingredients. You can find blenders in almost any discount superstore, and sometimes even at the drugstore. If you are new to making smoothies you can always use a cheaper one first, and then if you decide to incorporate smoothies into your daily routine you can purchase a more powerful blender that will last longer.
Pointed Spatula
When you add fruits and vegetables to your liquid of choice, the blender will throw small chunks of produce against the walls of the blender. If you want to avoid having chunks in your smoothie (gross!) then you will need to spend a few dollars on a silicone spatula to scrape the sides down into the blender.
Smoothie Ingredients
This varies greatly on what kind of smoothie you are trying to make. You can use fresh or frozen ingredients. Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are very popular for smoothies. Green smoothies are growing in popularity. Green smoothies are made by using vegetables such as baby spinach, celery, and cucumbers. Most smoothies are made with a liquid ingredient as well. You can use milk, fruit juice, or even yogurt as your liquid ingredient. I get most of my smoothie ingredients from the local grocery stores here (Lowes Foods, Food Lion, and Whole Foods), and I use a combination of fresh, seasonal and frozen ingredients.
Ice
Adding a little bit of ice to the blender during the smoothie process will keep your smoothie colder longer - which is always a good thing. As smoothies warm to room temperature they can separate and be less visually appealing.
Plastic Shatterproof Cups
You can use a regular cup, insulated cup, or travel mug depending on when and where you plan on drinking your smoothie. In the Summer, you may opt for an insulated cup to help keep your smoothie cold, or you may want to use a travel mug if you drink your breakfast smoothie in the car. Children also like fun straws to drink their smoothies! I like to use a Tervis Tumblers because they are double wall insulated and don't sweat, but I use my own straws that I get at the dollar store or Walmart. Reusable straws just get too dirty for me.
Old Tee Shirt
Even though making smoothies is not an especially messy task, somehow children always find a way to get dirty! Some fruits and juices can stain so it's better to wear an apron just in case.
Natural Food Coloring
Most smoothies that you make will not require the use of food coloring, however, a bit of natural food coloring can be a festive addition around holidays. Kids will think that its very fun to drink pink or red smoothies for Valentines Day, orange smoothies for Halloween, red, white, and blue smoothies for July Fourth, and red and green smoothies for Christmas. Making smoothies appealing to young children is the first step towards getting them to drink their fruits and vegetables!
About the Author:
smoothie recipes for kids is where I find most of my inspiration. Be sure to check out smoothie recipes for kids if you need more ideas.
