Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!
There are many glorious reasons to make smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles with your kids. What are these reasons, you ask? Oh, I am more than happy to share:
- Smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are obviously perfect to enjoy on a hot day because they are so refreshing and cool.
- When you make food WITH your kids, they are much more likely to want to eat it.
- You can sneak all kinds of nourishing foods into smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles – so basically, you are making treats that are very healthy!
- Making smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are a super simple way to get all your kids – from tiny to big – into the kitchen to learn some kitchen skills!
When our 5-year old Bonus Boy first moved in with us, one of the first fun activities we did together was to make “milkshakes.” (They are really considered smoothies, but he “doesn’t like smoothies – he only likes milkshakes.” Call them whatever you want! We load them with fresh greens, frozen strawberries and bananas, farm fresh whole milk, and sometimes even an avocado. He drinks these “milkshakes” right up! And he loves to help us make them, so we aren’t sneaking the healthy stuff in. He puts it all into the blender himself!
Below are 13 of our favorite smoothie, milkshake, and popsicle recipes. Take note that you can make a smoothie and then freeze it into a popsicle – a double good treat! Or look there at #13 – make homemade wholesome pudding, then freeze it into Pudding Pops! Creamsicles anyone? Yep! There’s a recipe for those too!
Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!
- Pineapple Mango Smoothies
- Pineapple-Orange Slushies
- Creamy Orange Cooler
- Strawberry Peach Slushies
- Icy Cold Milkshake Treats
- Green Machine Milkshakes
- Easy Peppermint Milkshakes
- Fresh Peach Milkshakes
- Strawberry Milkshakes
- Strawberry Creamsicles
- Mock Frozen Yogurt
- Orange Creamsicles
- Homemade Pudding Pops
Sky’s the limit on the variety of milkshakes you can make with different fruits and fun combinations. The same is true for smoothies! Use whatever you have in your freezer or fridge. Use up odds and ends of leftover fruit that is starting to go bad. Use milk, cream, kefir, yogurt – whatever you have. There’s hardly a way to go wrong with these ideas!
HINT!
Do you think your kids would enjoy the taste of these milkshakes and smoothies? But they are turned off by the color of these goodies when you add greens to your blender? Yep, I hear ya. We’ve learned to pour the mixture into a solid cup so that it isn’t see-through. We top it with a lid and let the kids choose a fun straw. Ta-da! Problem solved. The kids can’t see the funny-looking mixture – they just know the contents inside their cups are delish!
Looking for the perfect blender?
Any ol’ blender will do. But nothing is amazing as a Blendtec or Vitamix if you want a perfectly smooth smoothie. Your family is much more likely to guzzle down their smoothies and shakes if they are seedless and chunk-less. :) Here are more details on why I love my Blendtec.
Looking for great homemade popsicle makers?
I just invested in the double-set of these. They are fantastic! Why the double-set? Well, because 6 popsicles just isn’t enough. Making 12 popsicles at once is much better, don’t you think!?
By the way, while the above 13 recipes are beyond great and extra full of nourishment, it is worth a mention that I often pour 100% juice into our popsicle molds to make simple fruit juice popsicles. Incredibly easy and a super money saver!
Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?
- Join our Kids Cooking Camp – it’s amazing!
- Our Learn to Cook eBook has just been revamped and is perfect to hand over to your kids. :)
- Grab our new and improved Teaching Your Kids to Cook eBook!
- Here’s our Kids in the Kitchen discounted eBook collection.
- This Kids Cook Real Food eCourse is fantastic! It is well worth the investment for all that it offers to your family!
- Our Chocolate Covered Kids Cookbook and Resource Pack is filled with helpful tips, instructions, and of course, recipes!
- Our Heavenly Homemakers Club Members get access to ALL of our eBooks and eCourses for an incredibly low price. Join here!
And if you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Brayden too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here.
Psst! Did you see our other Summer Kid Activity ideas so far?
Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!
