I am so excited about our new Tuesday series

As a momma to six kiddos, I am excited to share with you my tips, recipes and anecdotes related to bringing out every kid’s culinary potential.

Did you miss out on Secret #1? It is my number one weapon for getting my kids in the kitchen and creating meals all on their own so click here so you don’t miss out!

Kids in the Kitchen Secret #2 – If you want your kids to try out a new food that they think they won’t like, let them make a recipe with that food!

Now, I don’t want to mislead you by saying that if your child hates mushrooms, they will suddenly adore mushrooms after they chop them up, but I do promise you that they will be more willing to try new foods if they have worked hard to create the dish with their own little hands.

See this cutie patootie? This is Jones Baby #4 and a few weeks ago, she proclaimed to me her hatred of mangos. I knew this apparent “hatred” was based on a friend’s opinion of the tropical fruit instead of her own experience. It was time for my favorite motherly activity: proving to my child that he/she is wrong 🙂

It was time to inflict secret #2 and have her try out this Greek yogurt based frozen treat that was loaded with mangos. She insisted on my help removing the flesh from the mango because it was “gross and slimy” but everything else she did completely on her own. If your child has never used a food processor, be sure to walk them through the safety measures as they use it for the first time. Obviously, if your child is very young, this is a parental job 🙂

Look! She was even courageous enough to touch the mango pieces while pushing them into the food processor. Such bravery!

The result for my mango “hating” child? She surprised even herself with this cold tropical treat when she quickly devoured her serving. I was even allowed to add some pieces of diced mango to the fruit salad in her school lunch the next day….so I consider that a complete success. She has made this recipe again using strawberries in place of the bananas. Please notice that she did not try to replace the “gross and slimy” mango. I can guarantee that if I had been the one to make this healthy dessert, she would have turned up her cute little nose at it but because she was the one who made it, she was willing to give it a taste…and she loved it!

Tropical Frozen Greek Yogurt

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Ingredients

Scale

2 ripe mangoes, flesh only
2 medium bananas
2 C Greek vanilla yogurt
1/2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

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Instructions

Using a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients and blend for 2 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Pour the liquid into a shallow container and secure the lid. Freeze for 2 hours.
Remove from the freezer, and use a fork to whisk together the mixture and break down any ice crystals. Freeze for another 2 hours and repeat the fork process. Freeze until firm and remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving so it can soften.