Homemade frozen fruit smoothies in kid lunches?

[twowhat?]

What's the best way to do this? DD1 doesn't eat fruit unless it's a smoothie, so we try to get as much smoothie into her in the summer as we can. I make them from frozen fruit (Costco), some apple or orange juice, and a bit of honey in the Vitamix. I add spinach for green smoothies

I'd like to pack some in school lunches to try to get more into DD1. My kids currently carry Planetboxes and there's enough room inside the lunch bag (and outside of the planetbox itself) to put a Go Go Squeeze or similar (can probably fit something slightly larger than a Go Go squeeze so long as it's more flat than round).

Is there a good re-usable container for this? I think the Sili Squeeze has been mentioned before. Easy to clean, can be put in the freezer? And how best to deal with the freezing? Can I make the smoothies in advance, load the containers, and keep in the freezer and expect them to thaw in time for lunch but not be so thawed that it loses that icy texture, which is why I think DD1 will eat it (their lunch is early - 10:30am). Do you let the smoothie container double as the ice pack in this case?

Any ideas from those who have packed homemade frozen fruit smoothies?

[HannaAddict]

I really doubt any thermos will keep it smoothly consistency even with ice packs. They break down. Will she eat fruit itself?

[twowhat?]

Nope and it DRIVES ME BATTY. What kid doesn't like FRUIT? Watermelon, strawberries, etc. Nope.

[Aishe]

I've used the Sili Squeeze. I freeze it overnight. DD says it's thawed (but not too thawed) by the time she eats it. I haven't done it for a while so I can't remember if I stuck an ice pack in there or not. I haven't used it in that particular lunch bag so I don't know if it would fit or not. But it has worked well for us. The only thing about the Sili Squeeze is that the cap has to be lined up perfectly to securely snap shut. DD is 9 and can do it, but I wouldn't trust my 6yo ds to get it right. So I would stick it in a ziploc just to be safe.

[Mommy_Mea]

I have had this in my amazon cart forever since reading about it on the "100 days of real food" blog, she uses it for exactly the purpose you are looking for:

Norpro 431 4-Piece Silicone Ice Pop Maker Set - Assorted Colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036B9KHO..._ZxzZub17XF85F

[trcy]

I have had this in my amazon cart forever since reading about it on the "100 days of real food" blog, she uses it for exactly the purpose you are looking for:

Norpro 431 4-Piece Silicone Ice Pop Maker Set - Assorted Colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036B9KHO..._ZxzZub17XF85F

I was going to say the same thing. Here is the blog on it http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/201...zie-pop-molds/

[calebsmama03]

I have those freeze pop molds and I hate them. We almost never use them - occasionally at home, never in a lunch. Learned the hard way on that one, and my kids are 6th and 4th grade, so not "littles". The lids pop off, don't seal all that well, and it's easy to spill the whole thing.

I have - and adore- the Sili Squeeze. I have 6 of them in rotation, both 4 and 6 oz and both spout styles. I have frozen them before and it seemed to take a long time to thaw -not sure if it would be drinkable by 1030? Definitely wouldn't need another ice pack unless it's really hot out IMO. All 3 of my kids use them (in addition to the ones in school I have a 3.5 yr old).

One thing I will caution you about if you've not tried this yet is freezing a smoothing with spinach. If DD is picky about taste, she may not like it. Frozen then thawed smoothies with spinach get that odd "spinachy taste" (like canned or commercially frozen spinach) and it can be overpowering. I stopped prefreezing smoothies for that reason- kids didn't like them. I tried and even I didn't care for it. Spinach smoothies are best eaten right away. We mainly use the Sili's now for applesauce and yogurt, or for fresh smoothies.

[Simon]

OP thanks for asking, I also have a kid who doesn't like fruit but is willing to eat veggies most of the time. I agree, its totally weird!

calebsmama, thanks for that review. I really need something like the Sili squeeze and that's great to know about frozen/thawed spinach.

[maylips]

I have had this in my amazon cart forever since reading about it on the "100 days of real food" blog, she uses it for exactly the purpose you are looking for:

Norpro 431 4-Piece Silicone Ice Pop Maker Set - Assorted Colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036B9KHO..._ZxzZub17XF85F

I have these as well and don't hate them. They occasionally spill - you have to be really careful not to overfill them, which is super hard for me somehow. So what I'll do is put a little snack ziploc over the lid and lightly rubber band it. That way, if some does spill out, it doesn't get all over the lunch box. DD has reported that works "okay." I haven't seen those Sili Squeeze before but will look into them, although I'm a little wary since I've already bought these.

[calebsmama03]

OP thanks for asking, I also have a kid who doesn't like fruit but is willing to eat veggies most of the time. I agree, its totally weird!

calebsmama, thanks for that review. I really need something like the Sili squeeze and that's great to know about frozen/thawed spinach.

You're welcome. I will say I never thought to try freezing smoothies with kale or chard instead of spinach so maybe those work better? And it may be OK if you only use a small amount of spinach. I tend to use a decent amount in ours. Just wanted to warn others to try it first before investing a bunch into smoothie accessories only to find out they're too gross to drink.