By Owen has decided he does not eat orange foods. This is not a food allergy. This is a toddler having opinions. He has been eating sweet potato puree and carrot puree and butternut squash soup for months without complaint, and something happened at approximately the twelve-month mark and now he looks at orange food with the considered distaste of a man who has simply moved on from that chapter of his life. Sweet potato: no. Carrots: no. Cheddar cheese: yes. I do not have an explanation for the cheddar cheese exception. I am not going to interrogate the cheddar cheese exception.
Nora eats everything. This is not an exaggeration. She eats whatever is placed in front of her with complete enthusiasm, including foods she has never had before and foods that are, frankly, unexpected for a one-year-old. She ate a piece of roasted garlic last week while I was cooking and looked at me afterward with an expression that said: I was right to try that. She was right to try that. I am going to have an interesting time feeding her in the years to come.
The transition to table food is mostly about texture and size. Small pieces. Soft enough to mush with gums. Doesn't roll easily across the highchair tray. Banana is an excellent food for all of these reasons and Owen and Nora have both decided that banana is the gold standard by which all other foods are measured. They will eat anything if there is the implied promise of banana. I am not above using this.
I made a big batch of soft pasta with hidden butternut squash this week: pasta, butter, pureed squash stirred into the butter to disguise the orange, parmesan on top. Owen ate it. The orange was concealed. I am not proud of this strategy. I am also going to do it again next week.
After a week of hiding butternut squash in pasta butter and quietly celebrating every bite Owen took without inspecting the plate for orange, I wanted to make something that required zero strategy. Banana is the one ingredient I never have to negotiate, so I built a smoothie around it — pineapple and orange juice to round it out, yogurt to make it creamy enough to spoon or sip. Owen didn’t notice the orange juice. Nora asked for more. I’m calling the whole thing a win.
Pineapple, Orange & Banana Smoothie
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana, peeled, sliced, and frozen
- 1 cup pineapple chunks, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 to 2 oranges)
- 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1/4 cup whole milk or water, plus more as needed
Instructions
- Prep the fruit. If your banana isn’t already frozen, slice it and freeze for at least 2 hours ahead. Measure out pineapple chunks and have orange juice ready.
- Blend. Add frozen banana, pineapple, orange juice, yogurt, and milk to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and creamy, about 45 to 60 seconds.
- Adjust consistency. If the smoothie is too thick for a straw or sippy cup, add milk or water one tablespoon at a time and blend briefly. For a spoonable version for younger toddlers, leave it thick.
- Serve immediately. Pour into cups, sippy cups, or small bowls for spooning. Smoothie is best fresh but can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 24 hours — stir or re-blend before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 170 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 45mg