Feliz cinco de mayo! I know everyone has delicious Mexican food on the brain today, right? I can’t wait to whip up some chicken fajitas tonight and we all know what really makes a Mexican meal… the avocado! Sadly, not everyone agrees (cough, Kaitlyn, cough), so her’s will be a little more doctored up than just plain ‘ol slices.
Um, Brittany, I thought you didn’t believe in hiding food from kids?
You’re right, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m against adding in the good stuff where I can and telling them about it when I do. And I’m actually exaggerating my efforts to show Kaitlyn the avocado in her food in hopes of winning her over. Kaitlyn (11 months) is more particular about what she eats then Hailey ever was at this age. Since she is petite and her brain is growing so incredibly fast at this phase of life, I really am cognizant about getting her enough calories and healthy fats. Lucky for me, she’ll eat peanut butter by the spoonful (that’s my girl!), but sadly she has not taking a liking to my beloved avocado. She even teased me yesterday by crying for them as we walked past them…
but as soon as I sliced them up at home, no dice.
Since avocados are by far my favorite healthy fat source, I’ve been getting more creative with adding it to her foods. I find she eats it this way just fine, so I continue to add it and let her watch me in hopes that she might eventually take more kindly to the incredible edible avocado.
Mash it into refried beans. Slices don’t have a chance of making their way down the hatch, so I take ripe avocado and mix it into refried beans. Then I take that mixture, spread it onto a tortilla, melt some cheese on top and viola, nutrient-packed quesadilla! I slice these into strips or squares and she devours them.
Use them in smoothies. Like spinach, avocados are pretty easy to work into a smoothie to pump up the nutrition factor. Use 1/4-1/2 an avocado with a frozen banana and 1-1 1/4 cup of liquid of choice (we usually go with almond milk). You can doctor it up like you would any smoothie- frozen fruit, spinach, chia seeds, protein powder, etc. The avocado makes them creamy and luscious.
Turn them into a dip. You can go the guacamole route (which funny enough, Kaitlyn will devour) or keep it simple with lime and cilantro, but you can also take it to the next level by pureeing it with a little olive oil, mustard and herbs. Brooke’s Creamy Cado Dip is a great option for kids and adults alike- after all, who doesn’t like dipping veggies in a tasty sauce? Also, you can always make a thick dip and spread it onto toast too.
Mix them with pasta. I just remembered that I used to do this with Hailey (here is a video of her eating avocado pasta at 14 months old) and now am bringing it back for Kaitlyn. You can just mash it with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, or step it up and throw it in the blender or food processor with olive oil and herbs. Then just mix in the cooked pasta.
Turn them into popsicles. Similar to smoothies, mixing them with fruit and making them cold works magic. Since Kaitlyn also isn’t that crazy about bananas, so I love the idea of this avocado coconut version. I plan on making them soon, nixing some of the added sugar. Kaitlyn doesn’t need to know about sugar yet. I’m planning on full on sugar shock for her birthday cake smashing.
Are you an avocado fan? Here are a few of my favorite avocado recipes!
Avocado Feta Salsa – Perfect for grilling out with friends (it’s always the first dip gone!) or on top on chicken.
Avocado Mango Salsa – I may never make fish tacos again without it!
Are you an avocado lover too?
What’s your favorite way to eat them?
Karen says
YUM…. love them. And thankfully so do all my children. These are some great ideas though.
Kimberly says
I have the same problem – my second baby will not eat avocado either! I make “chocolate pudding” for my kids all the time, which basically is throwing 2 bananas, 1 avocado, a large scoop of peanut butter, a scoop of raw cacao powder and a splash of almond milk into the blender, blend until smooth, and refrigerate for a few hours. They LOVE this – try it, maybe Kaitlyn will like it too, and then you are getting both the banana and avocado in one!!! 🙂
Brynn says
love the ideas of adding avocado to smoothies and making Popsicles. I spread avo on toast with sea salt and red pepper flakes and love it in salsas.
Jessica says
My youngest doesn’t like avocado either, much to my dismay. He won’t even eat it hidden in a dip or smoothie. Ah well, more for me! 😉
Christina says
I love avocado, so thanks for giving me some new ideas on how to eat it! My 3 year old LOVES avocado, which is a huge blessing since she’s not as big a fan of other vegetables (is avocado a fruit? A vegetable?) Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Beks says
I absolutely adore avocado. My sister can’t stand it. She and my dad aren’t the healthiest of eaters (but my sister is getting better), but awhile back for a family event, I made Angela’s Chocolate Torte, and no one knew the base was made with avocado! Win! 😀
(http://ohsheglows.com/2011/06/03/chilled-double-chocolate-torte-the-no-bake-version/)
Monica says
I have a 3-year-old that is beginning to really exercise his control over what he eats, so I know what you mean. He’s always liked avocado, but for some reason lately if I put a dollop on his plate he’ll tell me it’s “yucky.”
What I discovered recently though? If I give him some tortilla chips or carrot chips and place a big bowl of guacamole on the table for the whole family? He’ll dive in headfirst. Made me laugh! So I guess it’s community guacamole bowls for now. 🙂
Urban Wife says
I love avocado but my husband and son can’t stand it. I have definitely used 4 of your tips on getting our son (he’s almost 2) to eat avocado. Whatever it takes, right?! 🙂
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
Avocados are one of my favorite foods! I hope she gets a taste for them as she gets older!
Brittany says
Great ideas! Maybe they’ll work on my boyfriend too ha!
Sarah says
My toddler will eat an entire avocado in one sitting, but I will keep these great ideas in mind in case my newborn son is a picky eater (when he is ready to start solids). I love the idea of the avocado salsa with feta.! I make an avocado salsa with cucumbers but I have never thought to use feta! That sounds delicious! I want some now….
sherri says
We are HUGE avocado lovers in our house. And good thing! We don’t have to hide it in any of our 16-mo’s food, we just scoop half out and dice it and eats it right then and there. And by eats, I mean devours it.
I also love putting avocado on my grilled cheese. I call it an “adult grilled cheese!” It’s so delish!
Marnie @ SuperSmartMama says
All great ideas! I wish I had known about these ideas when my toddler was younger. Another chance with my baby once she starts eating solids. I love avocado — who doesn’t?
Heather says
Love these ideas! I’m a huge fan of avocados and my favorite way to eat them is spread on some whole wheat bread with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a generous amount of sriracha. YUM.
Irina says
I don’t understand people who don’t like avocados! Babies are a bit different because their sense of taste is still developing. More avocados for me, I guess!
Also, I think you meant “cognizant,” not “cognoscente.” lol
Brittany Dixon says
***smacks forehead*** Thank you Irina!
Jessica @Myhealthypassion.com says
Ah, I loooooove avocados! That Avocado feta salsa….looks awesome!!! I like avocado in all forms. but sometimes simple is best…toast a piece of Ezekiel bread…smash avocado, sprinkle salt, and a dash of hot sauce! YUM!!!!
Heather@hungryforbalance says
We LOVE avocados! In fact, my daughter likes them so much that she often eats hers first, and then wants ours. There is no sharing with a toddler!
kris says
I’d be careful. As a person with food allergies, I would often eat a food (not knowing I was allergic) and that food would make me feel bad–itchy throat, stomach ache, dry mouth–so I would just ‘avoid’ those foods. This was when I was very young. It made sense I would avoid them because why would I eat something that made me feel physically bad, Also, not sure if your baby dislikes bananas too, but people (though not myself) are often allergic to both avocado and banana–they tend to go together in terms of allergies. There may be a reason your child is avoiding certain foods besides pickiness.
Lynn says
My toddler loves avacado but I mash it in chicken instead of mayo for chicken salad. He loves it that way too!
Emily says
I hear you! Parker used to LOVE avocado, but sometime after he turned 3 he started turning his nose up at avocado slices (when he used to inHALE it). However, if I mash it up and call it “guacamole” (or give him Wholly Guacamole) with pretzel sticks he’s started eating it again.
And Avery (almost 2) has ALWAYS been more picky than her big bro. However, she will gobble up avocado. So she has it like 3x a week, LOL! It’s such a nutritional powerhouse for little ones!
Colette says
I love all these great ideas for our toddler Brittany! Even though our girl has always been a fan, I still need new ideas! Avocado pasta is a great alternative to Mac and cheese, and I love the idea of avocado pudding from the comment above, thanks Kimberly!
Laura @FitMamaLove says
Avocado was both of my kids’ first food and they liked it ok at first, but not for long. It took them FOREVER to start eating it again once they weren’t babies anymore. I am not kidding that I offered it to my son at least 30 times before he started to eat it and really like it. The turning point came when he saw me eating it with some chips as a snack one day and asked to try it too. He liked that and I told him that the avocado was salted and that is the only way I like it (I honestly think it’s pretty gross when not salted). Now he’ll only eat it salted, but he’ll eat a ton at a time. My daughter started eating it and she actually asks for it with no salt! So different!