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Strawberries are in season for spring, so it’s a great time to buy them at lower prices than you might find the rest of the year. Strawberries are great for many recipes, like these strawberry and cream cheese pastelitos (a puff pastry dessert) you’re sure to love. We also love to make smoothies with strawberries – other than eating fresh strawberries, it’s probably one of our most preferred ways to eat strawberries. My girl absolutely loves smoothies – in fact, you can see our pineapple mango smoothie recipe I shared a while back!

One thing that does stop me from buying fresh strawberries more often is the fear of them spoiling before I can use them all; I just don’t like wasting fresh fruit. But, a little tip I learned is to freeze strawberries before they spoil and use them later, which is perfect for making smoothies! Since the strawberries are already cold, they really work well for mixing in smoothies. This helps so that I can take advantage of strawberry season and buy fresh strawberries from stores like Walmart.

Smoothies for an after-school snack or breakfast are perfect for kids. They’re easy to make, plus you can add a few fruits to get the most out of them and pack those vitamins in for the kids (or yourself). I love mixing strawberries with bananas for a strawberry banana smoothie, but recently I added mango in as well and we loved the flavor! Check out this simple, easy recipe for making your own strawberry, banana, and mango smoothie at home!

Tropical BananaBerry Smoothie Recipe: A Strawberry, Banana, Mango Fusion Kids Will Love!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced (fresh or previously frozen)
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup frozen mango chunks
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp honey

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well until desired consistency is reached.
2. If you want smoothie to be less thick, simply add more milk and blend again.
3. Serve and enjoy!

I’d love to hear about your favorite smoothie flavor or if you have your own tip for fresh strawberries. Share in the comments below!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™

From many moms, I have learned how difficult it is to get kids to eat their veggies. I thought a great idea would be to combine zucchini with cheese, making for a delicious way to introduce this vegetable to children using familiar flavors. This is what you will need:

Zucchini and Cheese Kid-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh zucchinis, cut in cubes
• ½ cup of chopped white onion
• 1 spoon of butter or margarine
• 1 cup of crème fresh or sour cream
• Salt and pepper or “cubitos de pollo” (chicken stock base in cubes)
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (suggest Monterrey Jack/Cheddar combination)

Steps:

1. You will need a sautéing pan with a lid and a wooden spoon.
2. Sauté onions with the butter.
3. Add the zucchini and let it cook for 5 minutes – don’t cook it too long as you want the veggies to be crunchy.
4. Add the crème fresh and the seasonings; combine well.
5. Top with cheese and cover for 5 minutes.
6. Serve hot.

This is a delicious and inexpensive way to introduce your children to zucchini; it’s also super quick! You can serve this recipe as a soup, side dish to a main course, or eat as an entrée. This is a great option for dinner or a quick lunch. If you want to reduce the calories, replace the crème fresh with Greek yogurt, the butter with olive oil, and the cheese with a low-fat option.

Enjoy!

All photos copyright and courtesy of Adriana Martin.