I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for ways to get my little girl to eat healthier and that of course includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Thankfully there is plenty to choose from during the summer months. Getting our children to eat them though can be a different story. Let’s surprise them with a yummy frozen treat this week that looks a lot like a milkshake. In fact, you may want to call it that when you serve up the smoothies. 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. Popular choices are berries, bananas, pineapple and peach. You can combine a few different types of fruit or stick with just one or two. It’s best to begin with some flavors that your kids already like. If she loves peaches and vanilla ice cream, why not make a smoothie with frozen peaches, low-fat vanilla yogurt and a good splash of milk. If your child likes bananas and absolutely loves chocolate ice cream, blend some frozen slices of banana with 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 and I am sure you find one that your kids will love.

If your child isn’t big into milk and yogurt, make a smoothie with orange juice instead. You can of course also use soy or rice milk to make these delicious treats. Don’t forget to make your own smoothie by the way. Your body can use those vitamins just as much.

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.