What iCarly Taught Me About Kid-Friendly Veggie Recipes…

Kid approved, family ready recipes that make healthy veggies bright and fun… I’m lucky. The kiddos in my house are pretty good fruit and veggie eaters. They help me and grandma grow a big garden out back, so they feel like those tomatoes, carrots, peppers, squash, and strawberries {along with the other abundance of goodies we have!} are their produce. That ownership really helps to encourage them to eat ’em up at meals and snacks. But even kiddos that love good foods benefit from a little fun at meal times, right? If you’re looking for some super fun ways to make veggies “new” again, you have GOT to check out the awesome ideas on the Birds Eye Kids Website.

Kid-Friendly Veggie Recipe Inspiration from iCarly

The reason that the BirdsEye.com website caught my attention at first, is a super fun recipe called the Yakimaniac Veggie Martians. I mean, it’s a super cool creative idea, but that’s not what made it jump out at me. It’s because I’m from a city named Yakima, and the only time I’ve ever heard someone use the term “Yakimaniac” is in reference to people who live here! I knew it somehow how had to be connected… And sure enough, it is. These Martian-ized dinnertime plates let kids add personality to their meal with edible glitter, pretzel antennas, and veggie faces – and they were first featured on the super popular iCarly. And if you’ve watched much iCarly, you know that it’s set in Seattle, and one of the character’s grandpa is from a city called Yakima. Which is where this awesome recipe comes in! Very cool, right? {Every time I travel out of state, and people here where I’m from – if they’re a mom, they mention iCarly right away, lol. Most didn’t know it was a real city!}

 Our Kid-Friendly Veggie Smoothies

After showing the kids the awesome Yakimaniac martians named after our hometown, I browsed through some of the other creative ideas – like Veggie Cupcakes and Green Monster Pizza, I decided to try out the Veggie Smoothie recipe, since we are HUGE fans of smoothies here in my house. {It is the easiest way to get a ton of healthy stuff into your kids daily diet!} It’s made with Birds Eye Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots – all pre-sliced and frozen, meaning no prep. Mix ’em up in a cool gadget like the Magic Bullet, or whatever blender you have on hand, and you’ve got a super tasty smoothie packed with healthy vitamins. The bright-orange color totally got the kids excited – and the addition of the orange juice, honey, and fruit make is super sweet and yummy.

This was kid-tested in my house – two very picky little boys {6 and 9} and a toddler who has no other opinion than absolute love or complete hate. Verdict? 3 sets of thumbs up!

Try it here. It’s easy as can be to create – and might inspire some other cool veggie combo smoothies too. I’m thinking that carrots with apple sauce and juice, with a dash of cinnamon, might make a really interesting festive drink. And frozen blueberries, frozen broccoli cuts, and cranberry juice combine to make a pretty awesome smoothie – seriously. I’m not always a big veggie fan, so I rely on soups simmered in the crock pot, and cool fruit-veggie combo smoothies to ensure I get a big variety in my diet.

For more awesome inspiration to help encourage healthy eating, and to simplify meal times in your house – be sure to follow Birds Eye Facebook and Birds Eye Twitter Page, for new promotions and product updates!

Let’s Chat: What are your favorite healthy kid-friendly recipes? Which one of the Birds Eye Kids site are you most excited to try?

{Disclaimer: Photo credit one: Khawkins04. I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Birds Eye. I received product coupons to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.}