We’re big on making smoothies in our house. Frankly, I don’t know many kids that object to tossing foods in a blender and then getting to press the “on” button to pulverize them. As I’ve said time and again, if you want to get your kids to eat food that’s good for them, get them involved in the preparation process. Making smoothies is one of the most perfect, fun and simple opportunities to do just that.

Recently, Kenya and I have been switching things up a bit in the drink department and making lassis instead of smoothies. A lassi is a Southeast Asian yogurt-based drink containing milk, honey and/or spices. It’s technically not a smoothie, but you’ll never know that from the way it tastes. I thought that adding cumin (a traditional lassi ingredient) might be a bit too bold for this recipe, so I opted instead for a bit of lime zest and loved the refreshing result.

So, power up the blender, grab your little one and have a great time preparing a uniquely delicious and nutritious treat for the whole family.

Tropical Lassi (Makes 3-4 Servings)

1 Cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Cup Mango, chopped (fresh or frozen)
1 Tsp Lime Zest
1/2 Cup Yogurt
1 Cup Milk (you can use rice, almond, soy or cow’s milk)
1 Tbsp Honey
12 Raw Almonds
1 Large Handful of Ice

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender on high and puree for 1 minute or until smooth.
2. Serve.

A breakfast smoothie? That’s so 2009. This year you have to try a Tropical Lassi! Packed with mango, blueberries, yogurt, almonds and lime zest, it’s a treat your kids will love making AND drinking with you.

No matter how much you try to impose moderation in your home, when it comes to Halloween and kids — it’s all about the sugar. You can hope for the best that your neighbors will be pushing dried fruit over M&M’s, but if you’re a realist you’ll accept the fact that chocolate and candy will be the treats of choice and that this is one day of the year that is very likely out of your control.

When you know your kids are going to be overdosing on the sweet stuff, you also want them to get something healthy and delicious in their little tummies. Making the foods you give them fun and exciting enough to compete with all those sugary sweets will definitely help your cause. These pumpkin milkshakes are really easy to prepare and a great way to get your kids (and you) involved in making something festive for the holiday.

Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, potassium and beta carotene which is important for eyesight (especially important for little ones when they’re out chasing candy in the dark!).

So, when you want to make a special treat for your little pumpkins this Halloween, think like a pumpkin and try whipping up some of these milkshakes. They won’t cure your kids of their cravings for candy, but they should disappear just as quickly.

Pumpkin Shakes (Serves 2)

1/2 Cup Pumpkin (I used canned)
1 Cup Rice, Almond or Cow’s Milk (I used vanilla rice milk)
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

One thing that grows in our garden year round is fresh mint. It’s such a hearty herb and one that I find most kids love.

We’ve never been big fans of giving Kenya store-bought juice because of all the sugar and additives, so instead we’ve given him all kinds of different herbal teas to drink since he was one. One of his absolute favorites is mint tea. He drinks it at least twice a day. Most days I use tea bags, but when we want something special, we go to out the garden together, pick some sprigs of mint and brew up a pitcher of this delicious treat.

Lemon Mint T-Wee (Makes 4 Cups)

4 Cups of Boiling Water
1 Cup Fresh Mint Leaves, packed (you can also use 3 mint tea bags if you don’t have fresh mint)
2 Tbsp Agave
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. Poor the boiling water over the mint leaves in a pitcher.
2. Let the water cooking cool to room temperature.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and chill.
4. Poor over ice and serve.

Mothers teach us SO many things — some would argue everything. For me, childhood trips to the grocery and learning about the general nutritional and health benefits of fruits, vegetables and other foods definitely came from my mother — so did my ability to always find the best bargains (see Mom, everything). I remember the first time my mother held up this brown, fuzzy piece of fruit to me and told me how special it was. That was probably 30 years ago, when kiwis were harder to find, and today I truly realize how lucky we are to have gorgeous, reasonably priced kiwis readily at our disposal.

We came up with this recipe for a contest we’ve entered with Zespri Kiwifruit. Kenya and I are HUGE kiwi fans not only because of their bright green color and yummy taste, but because they’re also packed with vitamin C and E, potassium and folic acid. So when we heard about this contest, we knew we had to do something!

So today, in honor of my mother’s birthday and her favorite fruit, we’re making up a huge batch of these refreshing kiwi smoothies. Cheers!

Kiwi Smoothie (Makes 2 Servings)

2 Kiwis, peeled
1 Banana
1/2 Cup Vanilla Rice Milk (you can also use almond, soy or cow’s milk)

1. Place the ingredients in a blender and puree.
2. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

We recently featured a product I came across called Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood and I got tons of emails from parents afterwards asking for recipes using it. Kenya (frighteningly) loves to eat the powder on its own (something I wouldn’t recommend because of the mess — but it is delicious and nutritious)! I love making smoothies like this Frozen Chocolate Berry one with Kenya because it gets him involved in the cooking process. He loves peeling the bananas, pouring the chocolate powder into the blender and then switching the “on” button to whiz it up.

Getting your kids involved in cooking, in my opinion, is the the most fun and reliable way to get them to eat all of the yummy creations you prepare!

Frozen Chocolate Berry Smoothie (Serves 2)

1 Cup Frozen Mixed Berries
1/2 Cup Milk (any type will do)
1 Scoop Amazing Grass Kidz Food (it’s chocolate flavor)
1 Banana, peeled

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Serve.

After making summer fruit salad, we were left with the halves of 3 different melons. So, we cut them up and put them in the fridge to munch on throughout the week, but still, that’s a lot of melon. Always trying to come up with exciting uses for any leftovers, I decided to make….melon juice.

Cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew all have huge water contents which contribute to their bulk in size, so they’re a good source of fluids and perfect for making juices. A friend of ours gave us a Magic Bullet blender, so Kenya decided he needed to try it out and do the cooking! First he had to make a juice for himself, then one for me and then, of course, he needed to drink both of them!

And that, is the benefit to a lot of leftovers: at least I still had enough melon to make another one just for me!

Melon Juice (Serves 2)

3 Cups Honeydew, Cantaloupe, and/or Watermelon
A handful of Ice

1. Place ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Serve.

I was kind of shocked when I discovered that in Brazil and other South American countries, avocados are used primarily in sweet dishes like ice cream and dessert mousses. In America, I feel like we’re much more accustomed to them popping up in savory dishes like guacamole or sliced on a sandwich. Hmm. What could I make that’s sweet using avocados? How about a shake?!

I never have to twist Kenya’s arm when it comes to eating avocados or making smoothies. He’s always game, so he was the perfect guinea pig (well, he always is!). I let him peel and break up the banana and pour the milk into the blender (with my help), while I scooped out the ripe avocado and dropped the ice into the blender. I added a little agave to sweeten it up, but honestly, if you have ripe bananas, you don’t need it. It turned out delicious and it felt like as soon as I filled up Kenya’s cup, mere seconds would pass before he was clamoring, “more”!

This mean, green, vitamin-packed drink is the perfect sweet snack for any time of the day!

Avocado Shake (Serves 2)

1 Ripe Avocado, peeled and pitted
1 Cup Milk (I used unsweetened vanilla rice milk)
1 Large Ripe Banana
1 Large Hand full of Ice

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree
2. Serve.
*This recipe is for a thick shake. Add more milk if you want it thinner.

Last week my girlfriend brought me a HUGE bag of lemons from her tree. The first thing that came to mind on that hot summer day was fresh squeezed lemonade. I was craving it big time and I knew Kenya would be too when he woke from his nap, so I only had a few minutes to make it. Instead of taking the time to make a simple syrup (which is basically a mixture of sugar and water), I decided to use agave nectar.

One of the bonuses of using agave, besides the fact that it’s very low on the glycemic index, is that it’s twice as sweet as sugar, so you only need about half of the agave to equal the same amount of sugar that most recipes call for. Also, since agave is a liquid, you don’t have to take the time to heat it and mix it as you would the simple syrup. As soon as I showed Kenya his glass of fresh lemonade over ice with a colorful straw poking out, his eyes lit up. Now that’s summertime!

Agave Lemonade (Makes 4- 1 Cup Servings)

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup Agave
3 Cups Water
Ice

1. Combine the lemon juice, agave and water in a pitcher.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Pour over ice and serve.

Juicing is one of those activities for kids that’s just plain old fun. There’s nothing better then going to the farmer’s market, buying tons of organic carrots, beets, oranges and so on, and then going home with your little one(s) and coming up with all kinds of unique juice creations. Sometimes I’m a little perplexed by Kenya’s choice of ingredients when he points to the ones he wants in his, but he always seems to love the end product. It only goes to prove my theory that when kids are involved in making what they eat and drink, they have pride of ownership and are more likely to try new things. Kenya enjoys the juices so much that he tends to sucks them down faster than we can make them.

I’m not opposed to canned and bottled juices, but most of the ones you’ll find in the supermarket are packed with unnecessary sugars and preservatives that your kids don’t need. There are so many other choices like herbal teas, blender smoothies and of course these juice recipes. They’re actually not even recipes. It’s really up to you and your kids what vitamin rich, nutritious creations you want to drink.

Juicing

We love to make the 3 listed below, but you can be the chef and pick any fruits or veggies you crave.

Carrot, Beet and Ginger
Apple, Celery, Kale and Beet Greens
Beets, Blood Orange and Ginger

*You do need a juice machine for this recipe

1. Turn juicer on.
2. Place a mix of fruits and vegetables in juicer shoot creating the desired amount of juice you want.

*Make sure to wash the produce well. If using carrots make sure to peel them to remove bitter flavor. Remove the outer peel from oranges and grapefruits, but retain the white pith. With most other fruits and vegetables you can leave the skins on and just put them through the juicer.
3. Once all the juice is in the container, stir to combine.
4. Drink and enjoy.