Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. My daughter, Mia, is no exception. I actually called her doctor a few weeks ago in a panic because she hadn’t eaten anything containing protein in 6 days. Luckily, Mia has the most patient, compassionate and understanding doctor in the world. And instead of telling me to get a grip, she gently suggested we try giving her peanut butter in a smoothie.
Genius!
As we experimented with various smoothie combinations I realized that Mia wasn’t actually a picky eater at all. In fact she’ll eat pretty much anything as long as it comes in a smoothie cup or one of those plastic food pouches. This morning she sucked down a carrot, blueberry and kale yogurt pouch in under a minute.
I was so thrilled that she was eating vegetables that I forgot to actually look at the nutrition facts on the pouch. Sure, they were full of fruits and veggies – but the yogurt pouches I was giving her were also overflowing with sugar. No wonder she loved them.
They were also a giant waste of packaging (more than 2 billion of them end up in landfills every year) and they cost more than a dollar piece. Not very sustainable. So that got me to thinking – or rather – “Googling.” There must be another way.
And indeed there is. It’s called the Squooshi and it’s amazing. It’s a reusable food pouch for kids. You can fill it with anything, then wash it and reuse it – and since it comes out of a squeeze tube, even the pickiest eaters will suck it down without a second thought.
You can fill it up with anything you want, but this (Refined Sugar-Free) Wild Blueberry Greek Yogurt recipe is Mia’s favorite. It has all the flavor and nutrients of a commercial yogurt pouch – but is a fraction of the cost and has NO refined sugar. In fact, the only sugar it contains is naturally occurring sugar from fruit and the lactose in Greek yogurt. And even when it comes to naturally occurring fruit sugars, Wild Blueberries are on the low end – and they have twice the antioxidants of regular cultivated blueberries. I also like to use them because of their intense flavor, which covers up the (optional) kale I like to add for some extra iron.
You can make this yogurt for your toddlers, but it’s also a great breakfast for adults, too. I generally skip the pouch and eat it straight out of the blender, though 😉
Want to try the Squooshi? I’m giving away a full set of Squooshi reusable food pouches on the Wild Blueberries Facebook and Instagram pages! Entering is as easy as the recipe below – and you can do it twice – once on Facebook, and once on Instagram. Just click the links above for details. Enjoy!
Refined Sugar-Free Wild Blueberry Greek Yogurt
