'Walk the Plank' Smoothies & Tips for Feeding Kids
Joshua and Daniel had great fun being pirates with these limited edition Organix Goodies Snack Chests. They made the mini gingerbread men 'walk the plank' into the 'ships mess' - a smoothie made from kiwi and banana. Watch the fun in this video which also debuts their baby brother Isaac and cousin Hugo!
My 'big boys' are generally quite open when it comes to new foods. They know that it's OK not to like something, as long as they have tried it. However, if something seems a bit weird to them, like a kiwi for example, it still takes a bit of persuading.
I blended kiwis with some banana to make a smoothie, AKA the 'ships mess' which they happily dunked gingerbread men into. Next time I offer them kiwi I can say to them 'remember the ships mess? It's the same fruit that was in that!' and they will probably give it a try!
I know from first hand experience the worry of having a child who refuses to eat more than a couple of things. Mealtimes were extremely stressful. I knew it was probably is 'just a phase' and that things would eventually improve, but I still felt very anxious.
I wanted to share some tips I learned along the way which helped me introduce new foods to my boys, particularly when they were toddlers.
Make them hungry
I went through a stage of giving one of my children broccoli at breakfast time because it was the only time he was really hungry! If you want kids to try something new, make sure they are hungry first. Don't let them snack or drink too much too close to mealtimes. Exercise will work up an appetite. Mine were alway starving after swimming.
Make it easy
Make it easy for them to eat. Cut food into small, manageable shapes and sizes for little hands. The easiest thing to do with toddlers is to put food directly onto the highchair tray and let them get stuck in. Make 'lollipops' by sticking chunks of fruit onto forks to nibble or lick.
Relax and don't stress about the mess, they won't be messy forever. Keep things lighthearted and fun otherwise mealtimes can become heavy and feel like a chore.
Make it fun
We eat with our eyes - so do our kids! Make mealtimes exciting by making fun food plates. Cut it into shapes and arrange it creatively on their plates. Half a jacket potato can be made into a boat with some cheese sails on a sea of vegetables. Then ask them 'Have you eaten the sails? What about the sea? How about the fish in the sea?!' They love it!
Dunking is always fun for toddlers. Give them sticks of vegetables to dunk into houmous or other blended vegetable dips. Pieces of fruit or little biscuits can be dunked into thick fruit smoothies. Scroll down for my 'walk the plank' smoothie recipe.
Make it safe
Sounds obvious but worth mentioning! As well as being potentially very dangerous, it can seriously put a child off eating for a very long time if they have a gagging or choking episode.
Cut food into small pieces and cook hard foods, such as carrots, to make them soft. Check fish for bones. Remove stones from fruits such as cherries and plums. Cut grapes and cherry tomatoes in half. Never leave a little one eating on their own.
Recipe - 'Walk the Plank' Smoothies with Gingerbread Men
3 ripe kiwi fruit
1 ripe banana
Organix Goodies Mini Gingerbread Men
Peel the kiwis and the banana and blitz in a blender or food processor until smooth. Serve immediately in little bowls with mini gingerbread men for dunking.
Makes 4 toddler-sized servings. Leftover smoothie can be kept covered in the fridge for 24 hours.
I love the mini gingerbread men from the Organix Goodies range. As well as being tasty and healthy, they come with the Organix No Junk Promise, meaning there's no un-necessary unrecognisable additives or ingredients.
Limited edition Organix Goodies Snack Chests are avalible from Boots and cost £2.99. They contain 5 Organix Goodies snacks: Mini Gingerbread Men 25g, Alphabet Biscuits 25g, Cheese Crackers 20g, Raspberry & Apple Oaty Bar 30g, Apple & Orange Oaty Bar 30g and a £1 off Goodies new foods coupon.
Disclosure: This is number five in a series of sponsored posts for Organix. All words, opinions, images and video content are my own.
