Getting Tommy to eat a nutritious diet is challenging. Like most first-time parents, I assumed that he would happily eat the freshly roasted veggies I prepared for dinner or green eggs aka eggs with spinach for breakfast.
Turns out, I have become one of those moms I was subconsciously side eyeing. Getting your kid to eat a well-balanced diet is hard and at the end of the day, I don’t want him to go to bed hungry and do the best that I can.
Instead of focusing on what he doesn’t eat, I now focus on what nutrients he is getting! Many foods packaged for children have added vitamins and minerals. I now realize why this is such a selling point for parents and thank goodness they do! I want Tommy and his soon to arrive baby brother to eat as natural a diet as possible to ensure they are getting the vitamins and nutrients they need to grow. I try to do the best I can, and I’m thankful for all the options I have at the grocery store.
One brand we love in our home is Healthy Times which has been around since 1980. Their products are made with sustainable sourcing, organic ingredients and lack additives. If I can’t get Tommy to eat vegetables, it’s important to me that he eats foods that are made with the highest quality ingredients.
Currently Tommy is obsessed with the Organic Hugga Bear Cookies. It’s nice not to feel guilty giving him cookies because they have calcium, B vitamins, zinc and iron. Just last night, he refused my delicious quesadilla made with organic chicken and finely chopped sweet bell peppers and demanded the Hugga Bear instead. He finally ate some brown rice so I gave in to cookies for dinner. I ate the quesadilla.
We are also huge fans of Healthy Times’ Baby Care products which includes tear-free blends of botanical extracts and oils, like green tea extract, chamomile extract, and jojoba seed oil, without any fragrance, sulfates or parabens for a relaxing and cleansing experience. While we’ve used Gentle Baby Shampoo + Wash since he was born, we recently had to start using Gentle Baby Conditioner for his long hair because he gets one little dread lock in the back from sleeping! It’s impossible to get out without conditioner. In the winter, the Sunflower Baby Oil was also really helpful since we found that many of the lotions we had been using were not moisturizing enough for his skin, mainly because we are lazy and would forget to apply it every night.
One way I have successfully gotten Tommy to enjoy added nutrients is through smoothies. Tommy loved to nurse, but he has never taken a liking to cow’s milk unless it is in cereal or smoothies. We often don’t go through a carton fast enough before it goes bad so I like having Healthy Times Organic Growing Up Formula on hand for when I want to try sneaking some vegetables into a beverage.
I also like using the Organic Growing Up Formula because it is specifically formulated for the nutritional needs of children one year and older with the added protein toddlers need to develop including DHA aka omega-3 fatty acids for brain development. The formula is sourced from sustainable dairy farms in Humboldt, California where added growth hormones and antibiotics are prohibited. I also love that the formula contains organic prebiotic and doesn’t have any corn syrup.
Toddler Friendly Nutty Greens Smoothie
For this recipe, you need spinach, chia seeds, almond butter, pineapple, dates and your milk of choice. I use Healthy Times Organic Growing Up Formula. It makes one serving and is smooth enough to drink with a sippy cup straw. Sometimes, I’ll put it in a fancy wine glass to make it look like it’s for me which always makes Tommy want something more. Of course, I hold the glass as he drinks it because we all know the very likely disaster that would happen if I did not! As soon as I put it in a sippy cup, he loses interest.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz of milk (or 4 scoops of Organic Growing Up Milk Vanilla with 8 oz of water)
- 1/4 cup of spinach
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 2 dates (softened overnight if needed)
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
Blend well until smooth, pour into a favorite cup and enjoy! If you do not have a super powered blender, instead of the dates, you may want to use 1-2 tbsp of honey for added sweetness. As an adult, I would omit, but I find the little bit of extra sugar helps Tommy actually enjoy vegetables which is sort of the goal here.
If your child hates anything green, frozen cauliflower is also a great option in place of spinach. As an adult you can also enjoy this smoothie and just use the milk of your choice as well!
This post is sponsored by Healthy Times. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Look for Healthy Times on Amazon.com or at a grocery store near you in the babies and toddler section.
