The Pre-Feed Smoothie

This isn’t exactly a recipe as much as it is a parenting tip. We’re social people… most of the time 🙂 We’re also parents of 2 preschool aged children. Going to social events around meal times used to give me anxiety. When kids get around other kids in a new environment and there is fun to be had the last thing they want to do is eat, especially healthfully. I used to hover over the kids and plead and bargain with them to eat good food and enough food to last them so they wouldn’t have a complete meltdown later as we were leaving due to hunger pains.

Not any more 🙂

I started pre-feeding my kids. I’d offer them healthy snacks before we left the house so that they’d have a base of good food in their system before the chaos began. Sometimes it was hard to get them interested in snacks so I started making these… the pre-feed smoothie. Our kids love smoothies and I think they believe they are just juiced up icy fruit drinks… please don’t tell them any different… Here’s what I put in them…

I start with a handful of fresh or frozen fruit. You gotta get something with some bright color and strong fruit taste. I like strawberries or raspberries or even blueberries… any berry I guess 🙂

Next I sneak in some ground flaxseed…

and a scoop of this stuff. It’s amazing! Each scoop has the equivalent of 10 or 12 servings of organic vegetables!! Seriously!! Raise your hand if your kids eat 10-12 servings of veggies a day… yeah, that’s what I thought… neither do mine!! I get it from my chiropractor’s office. If you’re interested I’d be glad to pass on more info…

Anyway… it’s green and looks like this…

Then I add water… looks pretty appetizing huh?

A little bit of raw honey to sweeten the deal…

A good squirt of this stuff… another great product that sneaks in fish oil and a boost of vitamin D…

That’s the stuff that looks like easy cheese in there 🙂 It’s the consistency of yogurt.

Then I just blend it all up and voila!!! A delicious red, fruity, goodness packed smoothie that the kids will gulp down without even thinking about what’s in it!!

If you can get a good smoothie in your kids’ bellies before heading out to hang out with friends you will save yourself a lot of worry about how much they are eating and exactly what. They will already be mostly full from the smoothie and hopefully with your help they can navigate some good food options to keep them going.