Photo obtained under Creative Commons Licence from Lars Plougmann

My husband is much more adventurous in the kitchen with my kids. Or maybe he just has more energy.

Regardless, it is he who is always pulling out the blender, dragging the chairs to the counter, and letting the kids plop berries and bananas and ice cream (this is the DAD we’re talking about – everything gets a bit more unhealthy with him) into the blender before securing the lid and hitting the button. Then, they all grab a cup, pour some of their creation, suck through colourful straws, and enjoy one of their favourite treats. Luckily, they usually share some with me too.

Now that summer is here, we are going to have more opportunities to spend time with our kids and more reasons to cool down. Smoothies are a great option for summer with kids because they serve double duty as a snack and a drink, they are chilly when the temperature is hot, they taste great but have lots of nutrients in it, plus your kids can get involved.

The perfect smoothie starts at your local grocery store or market. If you’re used to leaving your kids at home when you run your errands, consider bringing them with you. Now is a great time to involve them in picking up real, healthy ingredients that they’re going to love.

Start with a bag of frozen fruit, or grab some fruit from your market that you can easily freeze. Adding frozen fruit is a great way to cool your smoothie down without needing to add ice which can water it down and leave chunks, or (ahem) unhealthy ice cream. Berries and bananas both freeze great! Make it a game with your kids to see how many smoothie colours you can create throughout the summer! What colour is a blueberry smoothie? What about a spinach smoothie?

Speaking of spinach, see if you can add vegetables into the mix. If you’ve never tried a green (or even a beet) smoothie, challenge yourself to add some leafs to one smoothie this summer. You won’t only be shocked by the colour, you’ll also notice that the fruit is all you taste. If your kids are turned off by the idea of veggies in their smoothie, remind them they’re doing it for the smoothie colour at the end.

You’ll want to add liquid to your smoothie to make it flow through your kid’s straw easily. This is another great place to get creative, and any number of allergies can be accommodated. Try yogurt or milk or juice or coconut milk or almond milk or even homemade iced tea (try it unsweetened first). If the smoothie is just for Mom, consider adding coffee to the mix one morning.

Don’t forget that you can also sneak in some of those important nutrients that picky kids might be missing through flax seeds (for fibre) or protein powder.

Let your kids pick ingredients, add them to the blender, and experiment with the result. Smoothies are a great way to teach kids about nutrition, cooking, and science while spending time with them and cooling off.

What are some of your favourite smoothie ingredients? What do/would your kids love in smoothies?

Silk Canada is hosting a giveaway called Silk Summer of Smoothies sweepstakes. Winners will receive a Silk smoothie kit that includes a Vitamix blender, a $350 Visa gift card, a Silk tumbler, eight Silk coupons, and five recipe cards. Enter this awesome sweepstakes here.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

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