Over the last few months, countless parents across the globe have been sending me pictures of their children drinking green drinks. Every single time I receive one of these photos, my heart leaps out of my chest and melts onto the floor. I am deeply inspired by children enjoying foods that are good for them and packed with nutrition.

When I was little, I don’t remember ever eating vegetables (sorry Mom! I know you tried!). As a result, I went years without some of the best nutrients life has to offer. My old eating habits created havoc in my body. I had stomach issues, eczema, asthma, and my allergies were atrocious – I was constantly in and out of doctor’s offices looking for a solution.

In my 20’s, as soon as I started to investigate my food, I replaced all the chemical-laden processed and fast food with real, whole and organic foods. My health did a 180 from when I was younger! I went from a kid always going to the doctor to fix something to now enjoying a life without prescription drugs and feeling more energy than I did when I was younger. Every time I look into the mirror, it’s a huge reminder how far I’ve come and there’s no going back.

When I started learning about the power of green vegetables and how they can protect us from disease, I began drinking a green drink every single day. Sometimes it’s as small as a wheatgrass shot. And sometimes it is a green smoothie with kale or a green juice.

I can only imagine all the pain I would have eliminated if I had supplied my growing body with the nutrients it needed. These extraordinary children are our future. Hope they have inspired you like they have me. So without further delay, I want to share 6 tips on how you can get your children drinking green drinks too. As you probably know, I’m not a Mom (yet!), so I gathered these tips from my favorite green drink loving #FoodBabeArmy parents who have successfully convinced their little ones that greens do a body good!

6 Tricks To Get Your Children Hooked On Green Juice or Green Smoothies:

1.  Involve them every step of the way.

Take your child to the grocery store or farmer’s market with you to pick out the ingredients, and let them hold, smell and pick out the produce that they’d like to use. If you have a garden, ask them to help you plant seeds and water the greens and veggies that you are growing. Tell them that you’ll be using these to make some yummy drinks.  Older kids will like helping you pick out the recipes. When you make a juice or smoothie, they can help wash the ingredients and place the prepared veggies into a bowl or unplugged blender.

2.  Tell them how cool it is to drink a green juice. (Show them this post and these kids!)

Share with them why it’s good for them. Explain the energy-boosting benefits that they could get from drinking green juice. Liken these benefits to their favorite superhero, cartoon character or sports star. If you have a friend or relative that they look up to, ask them to also tell your child how cool drinking green juice is, because sometimes hearing it from someone they look up to is all a kid needs to try something new (this happened with my nephews!!!). Tell older kids about the benefits such as clearer skin, a natural glow and longer nails that they could have. Every time you make a drink ask them to give it a funny name like “Green Man Super Juice” to keep it fun and exciting. For young kids, you can make a game out of it and after they drink their juice or smoothie, dress them up like a superhero to play around the house with their newfound “superpowers” from drinking superfoods!

3.  Let them pick up a fun cup and straw at the store.

Tell them that this is their special cup or straw, that they’ll only use to drink green juices and smoothies. Stick to it, and only let them use this cup or straw when you make your green drinks. Pretty soon they might be begging you to make a juice, just so they get to drink out of their favorite utensil.

4.  Lead consistently by example and don’t sweat it.  

Don’t make a big deal out of drinking it and keep it a positive experience. Adding too much pressure might make some kids feel leery. So, if they refuse to drink it, just say “oh well” and keep trying every day until they finally do. Remember that some kids need to be exposed to new foods 10 times before they will try it. Lead by example and drink the same green juice with them.  Show them how much you love drinking yours. Some kids will feel more comfortable just watching you drink it at first, and will take a sip of yours before committing to drinking their own cup. Even after they’ve been drinking green juice for a while, there may be some days that they will refuse to drink it.  Don’t sweat it. Change up the recipes so that it’s not the same every time, and just keep offering it to them regularly.

5.  Ease into it and sweeten it up.

While I don’t normally recommend using too much fruit in a juice or smoothie, a sweeter drink can help to ease your child into it. At first make the drinks with two or three servings of fruit or sweet veggies (carrot, beet). In smoothies, bananas and berries are great for hiding bitter flavors, and cucumbers and celery have mild flavors that blend well into any juice or smoothie. Blend it well and consider diluting it with a bit of filtered water so the flavor isn’t as strong and it’s easier to drink. Gradually change the ratio to more greens and less fruit, until you eventually get it down to no more than one or two pieces of fruit in the juice or smoothie. Of course, this also depends on your child. If they are especially young or haven’t been exposed to a lot of sugar, they may not have developed a taste for sugar, in which case I’d recommend going ahead and starting without fruit to see how that goes.

6.  Try these family approved green drink recipes!

Did you know all the recipes in the Food Babe Eating Guide program are family approved? Not only do you get new green juice and smoothie recipes each month, but you get all the tools necessary to make living in this over-processed world a piece of cake! For a limited time (expires on 9/12), we are offering three incredible bonuses for signing up – one of them includes a Juice guide with several kid-friendly recipes. Check it out here before the offer expires. I created this guide to make organic-living as stress free as possible!

Thank you to all the parents out there who are feeding your precious children good, healthy and real food. You are amazing!

Reposted from:  Food Babe