Did you guys know that August is Kid’s Eat Right month? It’s a whole month focused on the importance of eating healthy and staying active…both for children and families. And you know it’s gonna be close to my heart after all the stories I have shared with you about my picky eater and how I try to be creative in my quest to feed him the vitamins and nutrients he needs to grow strong. So it only makes sense that I would continue with this theme by sharing with you how we’re making August a sweet celebration of eating right with the help of PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix. While I was compensated for this post, all opinions on the awesomeness of PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix are my own.
Getting my younger son to eat right has been a challenge since the moment he could actually eat real foods. He’s just so incredibly picky and while (thankfully) he does love his fruit, getting him to eat anything besides fruit, bread and cheese is a struggle to say the least. I’ve come to accept that he’s part of the 93 percent of kids who don’t eat enough vegetables and instead of stressing over it, I’ve been doing something about it! You see, it’s been important to me to fill in the nutritional gaps in my little one’s diet and ensure that he gets enough fiber calcium, vitamin D and potassium. And I’m so excited to share my secrets with you today to help you get more nutrients into your picky eater’s diet!
At first, as I fought that battle that many parents of picky eaters do, I was frustrated. It seemed like no matter what I did he resisted my efforts. I’ll be honest…I cried quite a few tears. And listened to more than one lecture from my mom about the foods that he was eating. But then I decided that instead of doing things the same old way and expecting different results, I would reinvent the
wheel
meal so to speak when it came to healthy eating in my home. Some of my efforts worked. Honestly, some didn’t. But with a little trial and error I figured out ways to ensure my son is getting the nutrients he needs in a way that we can both feel good about.
Disguise Your Food
As I struggled to get my son to eat more fruits and veggies, I heard over and over again just to hide them in his favorite foods. At first I felt deceitful. Then I was curious. Then I thought “Heck yeah! If I can get more veggies into his favorite meals without him knowing it, why wouldn’t I?” So, I devised a plan. Once a week I cook a big batch of veggies – zucchini, carrots, squash, spinach and more – and the puree them to almost a baby food consistency. Then, when he asks for some if his favorite foods – like cheese pizza for example – I make them as I always have but add in a layer of the pureed veggies under the cheese! This works with so many food and can be incorporated into almost any dish and is a great way to start ensuring your child is actually EATING better foods even if they say they can’t stand them.
Make Compromises
I was raised with the thought that the parent always wins and while that may work in some homes, it doesn’t in mine. Somehow my mom’s wish of me birthing the most stubborn child in existence came true and let me tell you, we have some tense moments when it comes to food. But I’ve learned that simply saying “Eat your veggies or else!” doesn’t work too well. Instead, try letting your child pick two items that go on their plate (within reason of course – I won’t be serving my son chocolate bars for dinner!) with the understanding that you get to pick one. Try the items they enjoy as you encourage them to try your selection. Even if they only get one bite in at first, you may just discover a new food that you can add to their daily menu which for this mama, is a total win.
Reward Clean Plates with a Fruit and Veggie Filled Treat
While I’m super excited about the two tricks above, it makes me beyond happy when I can actually reward my little guy with a treat that is filled with fruits and veggies. Over the last few months I’ve been sharing how I’m adding a serving of fruits and veggies to kid-friendly favorites like pancakes, popsicles, jello and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the help of PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix. And today I’m thrilled to be able to share a recipe that your kids will see as a reward and you’ll see as a total win! You see, ice cream in a huge deal in our home. For so long now it’s been the thing that can get my picky eater to clean his plate! But now, it’s also turned into a way to add even more fruits and veggies to his diet thanks to an easy recipe from PediaSure!
Now when I first say this recipe, I thought wow, that would be such a treat for my kids AND it’s got fruit PLUS PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix in it. It just sounded like the perfect solution but I had never made no churn ice cream before and wasn’t sure how it would work or what my son would think. But let me tell you, this is an after dinner treat that honestly, the whole family will love and that you can serve year round!
My experience with making this soft ice cream was not only easy but also fun. I don’t have a food processor (as the instructions suggest) so I tried an alternate method and it worked amazingly well! I simply took my frozen strawberries and fresh banana and chopped them up in to small pieces and then added them to my blender.
Next I added in my sugar and PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix.
Using the whisk attachment for my blender, I mixed the ingredients together until they formed a thick texture.
Then I slowly mixed in my whole whipping cream and continue to mix. Once my mixing was done, I had a slightly thick, frothy concoction that could have been served as is. I was so worried that it was going to be watered down but just by looking at the texture I could tell this was going to make perfect ice cream! Since I wanted a little more of a frozen texture, I quickly poured the mixture out of my bowl and into a container and then put on an air tight lid and put in in the freezer for about an hour.
Once my soft ice cream had frozen slightly, I dipped it into dishes and served it to my waiting picky eater.
From the first bite he was smitten with the texture and flavor and I loved that I had found a super sweet way to celebrate Kid’s Eat Right Month (or any other month of the year) with a treat that was cool, refreshing and made even more nutritious with the addition of PediaSure SideKicks Fruit & Veggie Smoothie mix, made with strawberries, bananas, apples and sweet potatoes!
Thrilled with my success, I decided that while getting enough fruits and veggies in my picky eater may be a daily challenge, it’s one that’s worth tackling. And while I know each new day will have it’s new challenges and I’ll likely have to adjust my tricks over the years, for now I’ve got the perfect way to ensure my son is getting the nutrients he needs, one bowl of soft serve ice cream at a time!
Do you have meal prep tricks and tips for getting your picky eater to incorporate more fruits and veggies into their diet? If you do, listen up because you could win just for sharing them! Simply share your best tip on your social media channels using the hashtags #PediaSure and/or #SideKicksSmoothie by August 31st. Then grab your link, enter it into the entry form below and you could be a winner! Two lucky winners will receive two free packs of PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit & Veggie Smoothie Mix and a PediaSure Goody Bag. Even better, the grand prize winner will receive a $50 Target gift card, two packs of PediaSure Sidekicks Fruit and Veggie Smoothie Mix AND will have their tip featured on the PediaSure Facebook Page!
So what are you waiting for? Help moms everywhere find ways to get more fruits and veggies into their picky eaters and win while you’re at it!
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Then try my tips, tricks and of course the delicious Soft Ice Cream I made to ensure that even the pickiest eaters are getting enough fruits and veggies in their diet every day of Kid’s Eat Right Month and the rest of the year! And don’t forget to connect with PediaSure on Facebook to find more fun ways to please even the pickiest eater!
The post Celebrating Kids Eat Right Month with Tips for Picky Eaters & a No Churn Ice Cream Recipe appeared first on The Adventures of J-Man and Millerbug.