If you are constantly fighting to get your kids to eat their fruits and vegetables, then this tip is for you. During these hot summer months there is lost of fresh produce available all over the place. But often the hardest part is not finding delicious fruits and vegetables, but getting your kids to try them. Let’s make it more interesting by sneaking all sorts of good fruits (and even the occasional veggie) into a yummy smoothie. If you’d like, you can call it a milkshake so it doesn’t sound quite so healthy. No need to tell them that it’s actually full of stuff that’s good for them like fruit, yogurt and milk.

You can make smoothies from all sorts of different fruits and those can be either fresh or frozen. Yummy choices are strawberries, bananas and peaches. You can combine a few different types of fruit or stick with just one or two. Start by making smoothies with flavors that your children enjoy already. Got a child who likes strawberries and vanilla ice cream? Make a smoothie from frozen strawberries and vanilla yogurt along with a bit of juice or milk. For chocolate lovers, try blending frozen banana and chocolate milk.

Once you have them addicted to these delicious frozen drinks, you can start to incorporate other types of fruits like kiwis, mango, papaya and melons. Don’t be afraid to add a little sugar or honey to the smoothie to make it taste good.

My daughter’s favorite right now is this strawberry pineapple smoothie recipe, but she also enjoys a yummy banana smoothie or even mango and pineapple ones. Give a few different smoothie recipes a try until you find a favorite for each member of your family.

If your child isn’t big into milk and yogurt, make a smoothie with orange juice instead. Rice, almond and soy milk are good dairy-free alternatives. Don’t forget to make your own smoothie by the way. You can benefit from all the extra fruit just as much as your kids.

As you and your kids get more and more into smoothie making, consider adding some vegetables to the mix as well. Carrot juice is a great starting point. I also like a little spinach or celery in my smoothies. I usually end to leave dairy products out of it when I include vegetables.

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