I am crazy about smoothies. I love finding ways to incorporate healthy foods into my diet. However, sometimes I get a little carried away. While I have a high tolerance for “healthy-tasting” food (a nice way to say “bad flavor”), I know not everybody does.
Kids can be notoriously picky eaters, but they usually enjoy sweet treats or desserts. Years ago, when we first bought our Vitamix, I became obsessed with making healthy smoothies. Some people prefer tried and true recipes, however I take a more carefree approach of tossing lots of unmeasured ingredients into the blender and letting it rip. The results are sometimes less than appetizing, but I can always find a way to stomach my odd creations.
For a time, the family enjoyed nice, safe, tasty smoothies from the recipe book. We tried ice cream that was fairly decent. The kids had grown accustomed to at least taking a small, no-thank-you sip, and often finding that they liked the smoothie. However, one time I decided to pull a little prank. In hindsight, it was not my best moment as a father.
I gathered all kinds of random, healthy ingredients – kale, beets, chia seeds, an orange, celery, ice, and everything but the kitchen sink. I dumped it all into the container, hit the Start button, and watched the random assortment of foods combine into something that looked deliciously appetizing. It was a vibrant, deep red color (from the beet). It looked… deceptively wonderful.
I called the kids down and told them it was dinner time. As soon as they walked into the kitchen, they saw the beautiful, bright color of the smoothie and immediately asked for a taste. Rather than pour them a little sip, I told them “No, kids. I’m sorry but you have to eat your dinner first.” They replied “Oh, come on, Dad!”. I asked them in a hushed whisper, “Is Mom upstairs?” “Yes”, they nodded anxiously. I said “Come outside quickly, and I want you to drink this up quickly before Mom sees!”
They couldn’t move fast enough. They were outside, eagerly each grabbing a cup out of my hands. I told them to chug it quickly before Mom came down and saw that they had had their “dessert” before dinner. Both of them tipped up the cups and drank feverishly. Little did they know they were gulping down a medley of strong-tasting vegetables. Suddenly both of them stopped, and their faces transitioned through several emotions, from excitement, to determination, to confusion, to disgust, to utter betrayal. This is where I have to come clean and tell them what I had done. I immediately regretted it, but in this brief moment I couldn’t help but to bust out laughing.
Of course it took a long while before I finally earned their trust again when it came to smoothies, and everything I made was closely watched with eagle eyes before they would try it. Finally, I think after several years of building up trust again, we can look back and laugh at this. Well, at least I can. 😈
Helpful Vocabulary
Here are some useful words used in this article:
| smoothies | blended drinks, usually combining fruits, vegetables, water or some type of milk, and ice |
| to get carried away | to do something a bit excessively, or to go a little crazy with an action, often because of extreme enthusiasm. Sometimes we also say “to go overboard”. |
| Vitamix | a high-powered blender. This brand is very well-known in the United States. You can see more about the produce on the Vitamix website, or check out a funny site featuring a competing product of the Vitamix, called Blendtec. Watch the Will It Blend videos! |
| tried and true | established, and proven to be good |
| let it rip | a slang way to turn something on. Usually we would use this with some kind of machine or motor that makes a lot of noise. The string to start a lawnmower is called the “rip cord”. |
| stomach | used as a verb here. It means to be able to eat/drink something despite the bad taste. |
| no-thank-you sip | a phrase used by many parents as they encourage their children to try new foods. We might insist that the child try a “no-thank-you bite” or “sip” (a small drink) before they can say that they don’t like it and don’t want to eat it. |
| to pull a prank | a prank is a “practical joke”. Usually it is meant to be funny, but sometimes a little mean-spirited. In this case, it was deceptive, and I felt bad for doing it. (And part of me enjoyed the brief entertainment… 😉) |
| everything but the kitchen sink | a way to emphasize “everything”. In this case, it is a large list of ingredients. |
| taste | used as a noun in this case, but NOT to mean “flavor”. In this case, it refers to a small bit of food or sip of a drink. |
| chug | to drink all of the contents of a cup or glass at once. This is often used in connection with beer (think: college parties), but not always. This word is a bit slang. |
| medley | a mixture. A very nice sounding word, also often used with music to refer to a medley of songs. |
| to come clean | to admit to having done something wrong |
| bust out laughing | I could have simply said “laugh”, but “to bust out laughing” emphasizes the laughing, and indicates that I was laughing hard. |
Phrasal Verbs
Some phrasal verbs that can come in handy:
| “Come on!” | often used to encourage someone, or to convince them to change their minds. If you are at a football game, you might cheer your team on and say “Come on! Let’s go!” Or if the referee makes a bad call, you might yell “Oh, come on, ref! Are you blind?” |
| drink up | to drink something until it is gone. |
