The Purple People Eater and the Elusive Kale

The number one question I am bombarded with as a dietitian from mom's is, "How do I get my child to eat their vegetables?".  Ah, the age old question that mother's have been asking for generations.  Although I am all for cultivating a love of pure, unadulterated veggies in children (see my post "Growing Up Fruity"), I am also realistic.  I would rather ensure a child consumes healthy food in a sneaky way than not have it a part of their diet at all.  One of the most challenging vegetables to get children to embrace is the all popular, all famous, dark leafy green.  A child's brain and taste buds are not set up to appreciate the texture and bitterness that are inherent in vegetables such as kale and spinach.  As children grow, their taste bud's change and so does their palate and perception of certain foods.  Don't despair, many of the pickiest eaters will grow up and be able to enjoy a delicious spinach salad, but until then we may need to use a little trickery :)

The "Purple People Eater" ingredients

Who Doesn't Like a Shake?

One of my favorite ways to ensure, not only my children, but I get my full range of fruits and veggies is by concocting a smoothie.  Although I usually have one for breakfast, I often offer this treat to my children for an after school snack or even a dessert.  How else can you consume such a variety of fruits and veggies, including all colors of the rainbow with such little prep work and resulting in something so truly delicious?  The key to being able to whip up the most tasty and quick smoothie is to keep frozen fruits on hand. 

Kid's Eat With Their Eyes First

Frozen berries are one of my favorites and is the foundation of most of my shakes, especially when made for children.  Aside from the many health benefits, berries provide the masking of color of the greens in a shake.  Although I find the natural green hue of my morning smoothie appetizing many young children would disagree and turn their nose up to it before even giving it a fair chance.  Blueberries particularly are great coloring agents and work wonders at making my green shake magically turn a lovely shade of purple.  Another important ingredient in a kid-friendly smoothie is a frozen banana.  Not only does it provide a healthy dose of potassium, but it results in a thick and smooth finished product that most kids enjoy.  The natural sweetness is also a plus.  I buy fresh bananas and when they are at their peak of ripeness, I peel them, break them in half and put them in a plastic bag in the freezer so they will be ready to use.

 

Eating the Rainbow

What's great about a smoothie is you can totally customize it based on what's at hand and your own child's preferences.  Other frozen fruit that we typically add is mango, peaches and pineapple.  Since we talk about "eating the rainbow" in our house, I always represent all colors in my kid's shakes (how you can build on that lesson is for another post).  Another great addition for a smoothie is avocado.  Filled with healthy fat (that most people in this country don't get enough of) avocado is easy to cut in half and scoop out.  It provides more silkiness to the shake and will keep them feeling fuller longer.  Lastly, although not necessary, raw honey can be added to ensure adequate sweetness.  Raw local honey has been shown to stimulate the immune system, especially when consumed cold (not heated up by adding to your tea or baking with).

Baby Steps

You know your child best and can decide how much deceit you need to use.  My four year old son loves to help me make the shake, greens and all.  He finds it riveting that when blended all of those different colors turn into a vibrant purple.  He decides what to add to our custom concoction and because of that enjoys it all the more.  My ten year old daughter doesn't want to know what's in it (her words) but once presented, cold, purple, pretty and in a tall glass with a long straw, will drink it without even a nudge.  Whether you call it a placebo effect or not, once the "Purple People Eater" is downed, you and your little ones will feel like you can take on the world :)

 

The Purple People Eater

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:
2 cups spinach or kale, fresh
1 cup blueberries (frozen)
4 strawberries (frozen)
1 avocado, fresh
1/2 cup pineapple (frozen)
1 banana (frozen)
2 cups almond, soy, or coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons raw local honey

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until fully combined and broken down into a smooth consistency.  Feel free to experiment with the types of produce you use and the amounts.  Once you get your child to embrace this smoothie, you can slowly try adding more greens.  Drink immediately as it will start to separate quickly.

My little smoothie making assistant ready to take on the world......

Mangolicious!

I moved out to the country!  Well not exactly the country, but it's all relative.  When we moved from NY to Florida we moved to what they call a "zero-lot line" community.  It basically means you better like your neighbors since there is only 10' between your house and theirs.  Although we were lucky with who we ended up next to, we desperately missed having some privacy and some elbow room.

We looked for an entire year before finally finding what we now call home.  Aside from meeting most of our needs it offered an incredible bonus.  Fruit trees galore!  Oranges, limes, bananas, star fruit and best of all, four mango trees.  If you've ever had the opportunity to see a mango tree you would know what I mean when I describe it as massive.  They have a thick bark with many branches that spread out and create a dense canopy of green leaves.  Mangos started appearing about a month ago as small tight green fruit in clusters and have now blossomed into large greenish/yellowish/reddish heavy fruit.  I have found that if they are not picked in time they very suddenly fall off the tree due to their weight and are usually eaten by whatever night critter is lured by the tropical scent of the ripe fruit.


Our mangos slowly ripening on their massive tree!


One of my all time favorite recipes is my mango, avocado appetizer.  My daughter likes to call it Mangolicious!  It's one of the easiest, freshest, healthiest and delicious dishes you can put together in mere minutes and can be assured it will be enjoyed by all.  It only requires 4 ingredients, not counting a small sprinkle of a good salt at the end.

Mango, avocado, lime and cilantro- a winning combination!

The most important part of this recipe is that you use fresh ingredients.  As with any recipe that involves only a handful of ingredients the quality is that much more important.  I thought I would take a minute and review the best way to cut your mango and avocado as I know some people find it a bit intimidating.

Cutting a Mango- I Know You Can Do It!

So, let's begin with the mango.  I'm not going to review the importance of washing all of your produce well since you know that already.  Right?  The first step is to stand the mango on your cutting board stem side down and hold firmly. Place your knife about 1/4" from the widest center line and cut down through the mango. Turn the mango around and repeat this cut on the other side. These 2 pieces are really where most of the "meat" is.  Another option is to invest in a mango splitter which will do this cut for you in one move.  I have not tried this tool yet but am thinking of it now that I have all of these mangos to enjoy.  Next, lay the piece skin side down and with a sharp knife slice parallel lines through the flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin.  Turn the piece 1/4 way around and do the same parallel cuts, creating a grid-like pattern (as above).  You now have two choices to remove the flesh; either scoop it out with a spoon or turn it inside out (as above) and slice off the cubes with a knife.

Slip Sliding Away- the Avocado Seed

On to the avocado!  Lay the avocado lengthwise on a secure surface.  Hold the avocado down firmly with one hand and slowly slice down the center lengthwise around the seed, starting at the narrower end.  Holding the avocado, twist and rotate the two halves apart.  I find the best way to remove the large and slippery seed is to take a chef's knife and carefully bring the knife down on the seed in a quick hard motion so it ends up secured to the seed (see above, as I don't know if you can visualize this description).  Hold the avocado firmly in your hand and twist.  The seed will be pulled out- just be careful when removing the seed from your knife (use a dishtowel).  Another way to remove the seed (as my daughter suggests) is to slip a spoon between the seed and the flesh and gently work the seed out of the fruit.  Once the seed is removed, you can use the same technique as we did for the mango and cut parallel lines through the flesh.  Once you create a grid-like pattern you can take a spoon and scoop out the flesh.

Mangolicious

Ingredients:
1 large ripe mango- any variety that looks best
1 ripe Hass avocado
1/2 fresh lime
A handful of fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:
Clean all produce well.  Cut mango and avocado (see directions above) into small cubes.  Add chopped cilantro and squeeze lime on mixture.  Gently fold all ingredients together.  Sprinkle with finishing salt to taste (I like Himalayan sea salt).  This can be served as a refreshing appetizer with chips (I use kale and chia tortilla chips) or with some celery if you are watching your calories.  It can also be used like a chutney and added to grilled chicken or fish or as a topping for tacos.  Could this be any easier?  No excuses- try it tonight and enjoy!

Servings:  4 (approximately)

What's your favorite way to enjoy a ripe and delicious mango?