Grinch Muffins

At one point or another in your journey as a parent there is going to be a Mexican standoff at the dining room table. Your child is going to decide that they don't like  a particular fruit or vegetable that they used to eat regularly. You'll beg, plead, threaten, and turn a little crazy trying to get your child to eat healthy food. 

Hey-- it happens.

I've been a nutritionist going on 7 years now and I've witnessed the most well-meaning, super crunchy, strict vegan/vegetarian parents struggle to get their child to eat healthy foods. I've witnessed children suddenly stop eating ALL fruits, vegetables, and meats overnight. 

For some kids it is a texture issue and for some it is a control issue. Whatever the issue might be, sometimes you need to get creative. I have found with many kids if you start out hiding them & continue with the 3 bite rule... then eventually, gradually start talking to them about what is in their food, parents have more luck.  The goal is to help your child get whatever nutritious foods into their body that you can. So you might have to resort to hiding and making eating a little more of an adventure. ​

Recently, my 3 1/2 year old who used to eat carrots straight from the garden decided he didn't like carrots anymore. It took about 4 months before we discovered the problem was he didn't like the crunch that comes with a carrot, if we steam the carrots he will eat them just fine. He also decided that he hates his beloved sweet potatoes- all because his baby brother didn't like the texture of sweet potatoes fora  couple months (of course now my 1 year old eats them double-fisted). A few weeks ago, he told me he didn't like that green stuff in our lentil soup-- that green stuff was spinach.. something he used to eat straight from our CSA-- dirt and all. 

So, over the years, I have come up with many ways of hiding vegetables and fruits in foods. Right now, my son is in love with the Grinch. So we had a movie night & I told him we were going to have Grinch Foods. We had a green smoothie (pineapple, coconut milk, collagen peptides, raw honey, and a handful of spinach) and Grinch muffins. He loved the idea and even helped me make them! Now he is gobbling up these muffins and begging me to make more! ​

The Grinch Muffins

Download the Recipe Here for Safe Keeping  or Printing 

Ingredients:
-4 Medium Ripe Bananas
-2/3 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar
-1/2 Cup Melted Coconut Oil (Melted Butter works too)
-1 Large Egg
-2-3 Big Handfuls of fresh Spinach
-1 Tsp Baking Soda
-1 Tsp Baking Powder
-1 1/2 Cup of All Purpose Flour

*Optional Add Ins:
1/2 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
1-2 Scoops Collagen Peptides

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. I like to assemble this in a blender in this order: bananas, egg, spinach, soda, baking powder, coconut sugar, flour, melted oil. Then blend until there is no leafy spinach left... but you can do the traditional wet ingredients & then add dry ingredients if you would like. 
3. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners or spray the pan. 
4. Fill the muffin liners about 2/3 of the way full. 
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Did yOu try these muffins for your Picky eater?

What did you think?