5 Ways to “Sneak” More Fruits and Vegetables into Your Child’s Diet

By Kevin Gianni

At times it may seem more likely that you’ll win a multi-million dollar lottery jackpot, than get your child to eat anything that is green.

As a parent, you must know that this is not any new phenomenon. Leafy vegetables and monsters under the bed have been the adversaries of parents all over the globe spanning many decades. Over this time, some techniques and ingenuities have failed, though some have worked making mom and dad happy and helping veggie-phobic kids get healthy while hardly knowing any better.

Here are 5 of the best possible tricks in the book, to get those essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutients into your child’s diet.

1. Smooth ‘Em Over with Smoothies

Most kids, and adults too, can’t resist the sweet, cool taste of a fruit smoothie. It reminds us of summer and pool parties and tropical islands.

By making smoothies in the morning you can get 2-3 servings of fruit past the gatekeeper – complaint free. What’s even better is that with a good high speed blender (Vitamix, Total Blender) you can make a good smoothie in 2-3 minutes, with the majority of that time used cutting the fruit.

To sneak in the greens, use a small handful of spinach or bok choy. Both have an unassuming taste and when mixed with sweet fruits like pineapple, mango or banana shouldn’t set of any alarms. Cilantro or mint have a lot of taste and can be a great addition as well.

Another way to get more nutrition is to add powders fruits and vegetables into the smoothie. This can double or triple the amount of nutrients in the same size serving putting 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruits into their tummies in no time. Make sure your powders (and for that matter your produce) is organic!

You can check out Kev’s Super-Delicious SuperSmoothie Powder which is made with organic ingredients and over 20 fruits, berries and cereal grasses. Click here: www.RenegadeHealth.com/smoothiepowder

Some Great Smoothie Recipes for you…

Pineapple Shake

½ of a ripe pineapple
Cilantro (amount to taste)
1 cup water

Optional:
1 Tablespoon of Kev’s Super-Delicious SuperSmoothie Powder

Slice down the entire pineapple and throw half of it into the blender. (If it’s organic, then use the skin too!) Be sure to include the core of the pineapple, as this part is especially rich in enzymes, such as bromelain, which helps dissolve old protein deposits in the body. Add as much cilantro as you’d like and blend with water. Enjoy!

Cream of Cantaloupe Creation

½ ripe cantaloupe melon
2-3 sprigs of Mint

Optional:
Handful ice cubes
Dash lemon or lime juice
Fresh ginger (amount to taste)
1 Tablespoon of Kev’s Super-Delicious SuperSmoothie Powder

Blend until smooth. If desired, add water to thin the mixture. Enjoy!

From “Smoothie Recipes for Optimum Health” – www.UltimateSmoothieRecipes.com

2. Juice It Up with Fresh Juices

Fruit juices and vegetable juices can give a serious boost of vitamins and nutrients per cup. Just one 8oz cup of fresh squeezed orange juice has 207% of the RDI of vitamin C. The trick is getting them to want them and even better getting them to help you make them.

The secret is getting them involved. You’d be surprised at how often your kids want fresh juices once you show them how to help make them.

Great juices that most kids will want are fresh orange juice or lemonade – made with a citrus juicer. Once they become pros, you can introduce a centrifugal juicer and juice carrots or apples for a sweet, fresh treat. And if you’re feeling like they need some greens, adding a little kale, romaine lettuce or spinach won’t change the flavor to much as long as the base it sweet.

Nutrient Value of Juices (1 Cup / 8 oz.)

Orange Juice – 10% Vitamin A, 207% Vitamin C, 19% Folate (B9), 14% Potassium

Carrot Juice – 520% Vitamin A, 35% Vitamin C, 25% Vitamin B6, 10% Phosphorus, 8% Magnesium

Apple Juice with 1 Cup Spinach (Approx 3 leaves) – 181% Vitamin K, 56% Vitamin A, 22% Manganese, 18% Vitamin C

3. Chop, Chop

Here’s a lesson for kids and adults alike. The best kept secret to getting more vegetables in your child’s diet (and yours) is to dice them up as small as you can.

Making a chopped salad will disperse the taste of the vegetables combined and is much easier for their little mouths to chew. Use lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes or cabbage as the base and add corn, carrots, raisins or red pepper to make it sweet to the taste.

If you’re not an expert with the knife, then a vegetable dicer by Tribest or Oxo will do it for you.

Here’s a great chopped recipe…

Raw Summer Corn Salad

5 Ears of Corn
1 1/2 cup Snap Peas
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 of a Red Onion
1 small Jalapeno Pepper
1 1/2 Lime, squeezed
Small handful Cilantro
Small handful Basil
About 1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch of sea salt or to taste

Instructions: Just chop, toss and serve!

4. Pick Your Own

Search online for a local farm or co-op that allows you and your children to go out and get involved with your food. Local berry farms are a great way to get everyone outside for a few hours and help get some fresh berries into their bellies.

Contact a local cooperative farm and see if they’re let the family come down and see the vegetables as they grow. This will give them the opportunity to explore the garden and touch and feel their food. Snap peas and cherry tomatoes are always winners, so be sure to point them out if the farm has them.

5. Start Your (Their) Own

Finally, if you really want them to be involved and asking you if they can have more vegetables, you can help them grow their own garden. This is simple when you make it a small project to start. So begin with a little herb garden from AeroGarden and move up from there.

They’ll love watching the plants grow from seed and once they get the bug will be asking about what else they can grow. Lettuces, cucumbers and tomatoes are the next step from here.

As you know, each child has a different set of taste buds, so not all of these will work all the time. Though it’s nice to know that you have a bag of tricks up your sleeve to help your growing child get the nutrients he or she needs.

About the Author: Kevin Gianni is an internationally known health advocate, author, speaker and uncle. He spends most holidays and special occasions sneaking vegetables in to his niece and nephew’s meals.

Nutrition Facts from Nutritiondata.com and NutrientFacts.com