Smoothies for picky eaters

[Mrs.flang]

I’m not a smoothie person but I had the thought that I might be able to sneak some veggies into a drink for DD1. I don’t really know where to start or the best kind of base to use that will make it as simple as possible to even see if this is something she would eat.

Do I use yogurt or milk, or juice? The only fruits shes eating right now is strawberries and apples. But I’d like a “like I’m 5” recipe as simple as possible and with serving sizes so can make as little as possible to start . The few I’ve found on my own are just overwhelming me.

OR, is there a brand of premade smoothies I can try? We already do the applesauce pouches with veggies, but she was on to me when I tried to sneak mashed cauliflower into the Mac and cheese.

[orval]

I don't do veggies in smoothies as my ds would totally detect them. Here is what I make for my ds
yogurt - sometimes vanilla or a fruit flavor, fruit - usually strawberries or bananas but have done blueberries(they need to be really blended for him) and some milk for smoothness.
He is super picky and doesn't like seed from raspberries for example. He would totally know any veggies. He is a little better now at 14 but it is a constant struggle.

ETA he does like the Stoneyfield Farms bottled smoothies and Danimals -- these are only fruit.  The veggie ones like Naked are so loaded with sugar.  I was shocked when I looked at a lable one day. 

[Bad Dingo]

I'd try very simple.
Milk
Frozen Bananas
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Baby Spinach
A little sugar or honey

[CloudBee]

We use water! Fresh bananas and frozen berries add enough texture. If you're just trying to get produce in, I wouldn't include milk. Sometimes I include a few tablespoons of plain greek yogurt. I often include avocado because they add a creaminess similar to dairy. My family is clueless.

We own an assortment of freeze dried vegetable powders. I add these to many of our baked goods. Muffins, pancakes, etc. Check out Amazon. You only need a tiny amount of freeze dried veggie powder, as something like a tsp of freeze dried spinach equals a cup of fresh. There are loads of options out there. We really like beet and purple carrot powders. I do use fresh spinach sometimes.

We go through a lot of frozen blueberries. Even just a few will turn a smoothie purple, which is always popular with DS. Raspberries are great, too.

Sometimes I add a few tablespoons worth of frozen green peas to smoothies, too. Virtually no taste. Again, my family is clueless. You can add a few black beans, too.

Remind yourself that as long as they are eating the rainbow they will be fine. If your kiddo will eat berries, consider yourself golden. We've had a lot of luck with DS over the last year, using the method where you present new items in tiny amounts. It's less intimidating. As a baby he would eat a lot of black beans. He hasn't eaten them in years with the exception of being in chili. I usually have a Pyrex container in the fridge filled with black beans, as I add them to a lot of my own meals. I've started adding just a few to his plate (seriously, 4-5) at lunch, and he's been nibbling on them. The other day in the car he mentioned how they were ok, but bland. We had an entire conversation about how we could season them so he would enjoy eating them. Win!

[CloudBee]

A few other tricks:
- I grade carrots into pasta sauce
- add smashed black beans to brownie batter
- add finely chopped spinach to mac and cheese
- add chopped spinach to grilled cheese
- grate a tiny bit of carrots into grilled cheese

Quesadillas options: black beans, spinach, grated carrots, finely diced mushrooms, smashed peas... endless opportunity with a quesadilla! Especially if it's got cheese and meat in it already. Cheese masks a lot. My husband doesn't realize that I usually take a small handful of fresh spinach and snip it into our quesadilla filling.

Will she eat oatmeal? That's been another area where we've been able to introduce new foods. DS will add an assortment of nuts, berries, and hemp hearts. When he turns around I sprinkle on a little flax and wheatgerm. I keep a lot of our oatmeal toppings in glass jars, which makes oatmeal prep easy.

I just saw your questions about pre-made smoothies. They are usually loaded with sugar and processed junk. I would avoid.

My husband prefers tropical smoothie over berries. A few times a week he makes smoothies with bananas, frozen pineapple, mango, etc.

Did you know you can blend a few tablespoons of rolled oats into smoothies? Another option for thickening.

Focus less on "my kid needs to eat veggies at dinner", and more on "where can I add more nutrients?" DS is followed by GI and a nutritionist (related to a rare disease he has) and had aversions to meat and protein for a long time. They helped us find very creative ways to add more punch to his meals. If DS (7) only knew what was in his weekly pancakes! I pre-make large batches and freeze. I pull a couple out when he wants them for breakfast.

[lilac05]

I often just use water for our smoothies, to cut down on extra sugar. Truly, I have no recipe, I just throw whatever I have in my freezer into the blender. It’s always good.

I often add carrots and spinach to smoothies. I put them in the blender first and make a slurry because they take longer to blend than the fruit, and it just seems easier. You could add a handful of strawberries, a frozen banana, and a few blueberries into it and be done! When I add spinach and carrots, the color is often brownish, so I serve it in a colored cup with a colored straw so it’s less noticeable.

We always use frozen bananas because they’re creamier. I usually take over ripened bananas and throw them in the freezer for smoothies later.

[dcn]

My kids are also veggie detectors so smoothies don’t work great for veggies. But they don’t even like to eat fruit so I do make them for that.

8 oz Plain kefir
Banana
Frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
Splash of Orange juice

They also like zucchini muffins so I make those pretty often.

[quesyrah]

I use both milk and juice in smoothies. Frozen fruit, spinach/kale, a bit of honey and hemp hearts.

[gastro]

I think you should try different liquids. My oldest loves smoothies that have no dairy, but my middle kid prefers a yogurt smoothie. I freeze cut up banana and berries to add in. My middle kid could use more protein in his diet so often I make a PB banana with spinach smoothie.

I usually add spinach and zucchini to smoothies.

I also grate zucchini into meat sauce with pasta.

[arehopsveggies]

My picky veggie kid like cauliflower or spinach in his smoothies.
I do milk and Greek yogurt to add protein.
And then whatever fruit we have around that day. Usually peaches (frozen) strawberries (frozen) or a banana

[yellow23]

Everyone in my house likes creamy smoothies so we use fresh bananas, frozen strawberries, and any other frozen fruits we feel like. Then we add plain Greek yogurt and a little milk. I used to sneak some spinach or kale in when they were little, but now they recognize specks of food that aren’t fruit colored.

[oregonpachey]

Neither of my boys like veggies but will drink a smoothie with spinach. I do about a cup of ice, a whole banana, a big handful of spinach, a few strawberries (sometimes fresh, sometimes frozen) and a few tablespoons of plain greek yogurt.

That makes enough for two big smoothies and they love that they are slushy and creamy.

[Dumbledork]

We mostly add cauliflower, but also carrots and cucumber. We do cauliflower in place of banana, carrots paired with mango and peaches, cucumber with kiwi and apples, etc.

I’ve heard squash is good. We also do Better Body Foods powders as mix ins to add extra nutrition, but it’s just as easy to add chia seeds and such on their own.

Welch’s has a few smoothies we find in the frozen section she likes, and then we also get a subscription box from Revive that has all ingredients ready to blend. The Revive ones have a decent amount of veggies in them.

DD has liked almost all of the Revive ones, except the beet one.

Disclaimer, my kiddo is picky, but loves veggies.