With no added sugars and a cup of kale or spinach, these green smoothie popsicles are a super cool, kid-approved way to eat more veggies!
These popsicles have been a longtime favorite at our house for after school snacks and even at breakfast (also check out my yogurt parfait popsicles). They’ve become one of my favorite ways to sneak a few more servings of veggies into our day without any arguments.
So, when BrightFarms asked me to be part of an Earth Day event they were leading at a local school, teaching a group of fifth graders about fun ways to eat more greens, these popsicles immediately came to mind. Based on one of my family’s favorite smoothies, these pops contain nothing more than spinach or kale, pineapple, banana and coconut water. The pineapple provides sweetness and the banana adds a lovely smooth texture that completely counterbalances the greens for a perfectly pleasant pop.
Even so, sharing these with a roomful of fifth graders who were pretty unfamiliar with greens had me sweating. To my great relief, the kids were amazing! They were so passionate about food and really seemed to enjoy learning about all the different ways that greens can be prepared. We talked about tricks for eating more healthy foods by pairing them with things you really like. They tried kale on its own, kale paired with a chunk of pineapple and finally, my Green Smoothie Popsicles. And they really enjoyed them!
As if that experience wasn’t awesome enough, Max’s preschool teacher had asked me to lead a lesson about vegetables for his preschool class and it ended up being scheduled for the day after the Earth Day event. So the very next day (today actually), I spent an hour talking to a group of 4-year olds about how vegetables grow, why they’re so good for our bodies and how they can help prepare them at home. Following the tips I lay out in my “Turn Your Kids Into Salad Lovers” post, I set up stations for Max’s classmates to use a salad spinner, snap green beans, and wash and chop vegetables.
At the end of the lesson each child received a copy of my Salad Bar Ingredient Cheat Sheet to take home. Then we talked about all the different ways you can eat vegetables and they got to try the Green Smoothie Popsicles. Once again, the pops were met with great enthusiasm.
Being able to teach kids (besides my own) about good food has been a longtime goal of mine, so the last couple of days have really made my heart happy. I am so grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to share something I love with kids and see them get excited about good food too. And these popsicles definitely got them excited. Give them a try and watch your kids get excited about veggies too.
Green Smoothie Popsicles
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours freezer time
- Total Time: 6 hours 5 min
- Yield: 8-10 popsicles depending on mold size 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
Description
With no added sugars and a cup of kale or spinach, these green smoothie popsicles are a super cool, kid-approved way to eat more veggies!
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed baby spinach or baby kale leave
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 1 small green apple
- 1 small banana
- 1 cup coconut water
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Unmold and serve.
Note: I have been working with BrightFarms as a culinary consultant and have been compensated for my work with them. This is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own.
