We all know we should eat more vegetables. But how do we actually do it?
Last weekend, April and Saren got together in person to record this special follow-up to our very popular recent Radio Show with Jonathan Bailor, New York Times #1 Bestselling Author of The Calorie Myth. As you listen, you’ll hear simple, kid-tested ways to make veggies a more serious component of your family’s diet.
Simple changes can go a long way towards increasing general health and energy while potentially protecting your family from obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Show Notes
Saren’s Recent Blog Post on Pumping Up Nutrition (Lots of photos and ideas for veggie-focused, kid-friendly meals)
SANE Eating for Moms and Families (Learn about April’s personal journey that led her to SANE eating and get a free guide to eating 10+ servings of vegetables a day in an easy way)
Click here to view a PDF summary of the podcast.
This podcast is sponsored by:
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Super looking forward to listening to this show! I was hoping there would be a follow-up after your Calorie Myth show. I got the book from the library and read it, but was curious how to make it work with my 4 kiddos (ages 1.5-7). We do love green smoothies in our home which is a big help, but I’m excited to hear what else you ladies suggest! I so enjoy Power of Moms and am blessed by all you do!
Thanks, Christie! We’ve just started green smoothies. My daughter is a big fan, but my other three aren’t. Would love to hear your favorite “go-to” green smoothie recipe!
So, the one that I make most often is the absolute easiest possible!! I just stick spinach loosely into the blender until it’s up to the top. Next, I add water – I just do it until it’s about 1/3 up the blender (I totally eyeball it). I blend it then since I’ve learned it mixes best to do it that way. Sometimes I add a little cinnamon to this step, too – just a nice added taste. Once it’s a beautiful 😉 dark green liquid, I add frozen fruit until the blender is filled about 3/4 full. I buy a huge bag of frozen DOLE mixed fruit (Sam’s Club, unfortunately Costco doesn’t have this mix – at least not ours) which is the perfect blend of fruits for this – it has mango, strawberry, pineapple, and peach). Blend it up – if it’s too thick, add more water. If it’s too runny, add more frozen fruit. I often add fresh banana as well. That’s it! It literally takes me 2 minutes to make enough for our family of 6 and EVERYONE cheers for it!! We even have our neighbor kids hooked on it – they beg for it when they come! 🙂
I have tried to make ones using raspberries and almond milk and stuff like that – – the kids aren’t as into those yet…so I just stick with the one above which is so simple!! Hope your other 3 have a heart change about green smoothies soon!! Thanks again for all you guys do! I just listened to your gift giving podcast…it’s so funny how I think I have everything set and feel relaxed – and then the school letters come home about an exchange they’re doing in class and the neighbor asks, “When can we bring the gifts over we got for your kids?”, etc…and then I feel a bit overwhelmed and underprepared….
Thank you, Christie!
So I made your smoothie last night, and I covered the cups with tin foil and inserted straws so they couldn’t see the color. They all drank it! (They don’t like it as much as chocolate milk, but that was a HUGE development.)
Thanks for helping me out!!
That is awesome!! So glad to hear!
I love this! My family has been “in transition” for a long time now. We have always ate pretty healthy but I have been wanting to incorporate more veggies so this is so timely for me. 🙂 Looking forward to hearing more. I am so interested in wellness, prevention and balance in life. Good nutrition, along with the balance of spiritual and physical sustenance is what can help us to achieve our best life! I am constantly trying to find/ reach that balance. One area I find challenging is my children with braces. They tend to complain about certain veggies being to stringy and getting caught in their braces and of course crackers and less healthy options are so much easier to chew. I realize it is only for a season that they have them but they need the nutrition even more while they have the braces on! If you had or have any of these issues, I would love to hear what has worked for you and your families. 🙂 Thanks for all you do to help moms and families!! 😉
**too stringy 😉
We have two children with braces, so I completely understand where you’re coming from. My son chops carrots really really tiny now, and my daughter gravitates more toward bell peppers (which I buy, even though they’re pricey because she eats them…). Also, spinach smoothies are PERFECT for kids with braces. 🙂 Except only one of my children likes spinach smoothies…
Steamed/stir fried veggies without a lot of sugar work, too!
Good luck!
I love green smoothies. My kids don’t always – or don’t think they do. 2 solutions that have helped: 1- putting 1/4 beet in with the greens and magic – it’s red! 2-require the smoothie after school or a salad at dinner – your choice:-)
I hoped you’d do something like this with what you guys are exactly doing with SANE. Keep them coming please! I wish you had a link to your favorite family recipes on power of moms.
Thanks so much for your kind words and support, Laura! We have a Pinterest board (www.pinterest.com/powerofmoms) with some recipes, but we are going to be building more of a SANE board in the future… So glad you’re with us on this fun journey!
I found this really interesting and have ordered the book. I have been listening to youtube’s SANESolutions podcasts and like what I hear so far but I still don’t really know what to eat or how to exercise yet. I have never dieted in my life because I intuitively always felt it wasn’t healthy for my body. I have also never been skinny or really overweight although ulcerative colitis plagued me for about a decade. I was a very athletic youth but can’t bank on that anymore. All I’ve tried is to make fairly good choices, modify my portions, and drink a lot of water but rarely made time to exercise. My husband does 2-4 crash diets per year – Atkins or Paleo types which I feel is unhealthy and unsustainable but have given him fast results. I just had my fifth child in September and our lives have been exceptionally full and stressful for the past six months with work, church, school, homeschool and life obligations. We have a handful of siblings and parents with serious health challenges right now and understanding our family’s health histories has made me anxious to start making changes to our diet and exercise efforts so that we can hopefully avoid some of these challenges. I hope you continue to share PoM journeys of health!
Thanks so much for your great comment, Tracie! I hope you’ve signed up at http://poweroffamilies.com/sane, where you’ll get SANE updates. 🙂 Lots more is coming!!
xo