We’ve been sick in our house. Some of us for only a few days, others (namely, the Teensy Bitsy One) for longer. When one is not feeling so hot, often the pediatrician recommends what they call the BRAT diet. This is Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. REALLY boring and guess what? It totally makes a kid into a brat. Because how long can you live on that stuff? Sheesh!
So after days of this, I asked the doctor whether there was anything else I could add. I was given a few more options, including yogurt and a little bit of peanut butter for protein.
AHA! I thought. I’ll make her a smoothie. That way she will get nutrition but will think she’s getting the treat she wanted.
I scoured the house for tummy-friendly foods and…Voila! The Elvis Smoothie was born!
The child absolutely loved it and began to improve shortly thereafter. So clearly? This thing has magical properties, y’all!
A banana smoothie, though not the one I made. I was too frazzled to think of taking a picture! But I’m sure it would’ve looked very similar if I’d had this funky glass.
Ingredients:
- 2 frozen bananas (I always toss bananas in the freezer when they start to turn brown – sometimes the family goes through bananas in 2 days, sometimes I’ll buy a hand of 5 bananas and end up with 4 brown ones because no one was in a banana-y mood. That way I’ve always got bananas for baking banana bread – just defrost them until they are mushy. Luckily, they also work perfectly for a smoothie!)
- One small container of honey-banana greek yogurt
- One scant tablespoon of peanut butter (we use the kind with Omega-3s added. YAY for sneaking in extra healthy stuff to what the kids see as a treat!)
- Some vanilla almond milk (I’m sorry, I didn’t measure! It wasn’t that much. I’d go with maybe ¼ cup and then add more as needed for texture. You could, of course, use regular milk as well, but dairy isn’t always great when you’re sick so we used the almond stuff)
Directions:
Toss it all into a blender. Cover and blend on the smoothie setting. If you haven’t got a smoothie setting, use whatever setting works for you – what you’d normally use for shakes.
And you’re done! My kids got a kick out of it being the Elvis Smoothie once I mentioned that he loved pb-banana-honey sandwiches 
I’m just glad I managed to find something within the dietary restrictions that seemed like something special for my poor baby.
I got a whole half an hour reprieve before she started whining once again for something else…
What tricks do you have for making a treat out of something healthy? I’d love to get more ideas (not just for my kids, but for the grownups as well)!
How cool is that, Lizzie?! You invented the Elvis Smoothie! It sounds great and I’m sure it would be good for breakfast on the go for kids and adults. So sorry the little one is sick, though.
And, wow, I never thought to put bananas on the verge of being thrown away into the freezer! Do you freeze them still in the peeling?
I do! I just toss them in as they are. The peels turn blackish, but when you peel it, it’s perfect for use! The only issue is trying to peel it while still frozen. I generally have to cut the peel off because it’s frozen to the banana. Otherwise, though, it works perfectly and once they defrost, they are mushier — PERFECT for putting into baking! Mmm…
Thankfully my kids like boring food, so eating toast is a treat! And even if I’m told to give them the BRAT diet, I have strong belief about chicken noodle soup.
Hope the family is all healthy very soon.
Oh, our version of the BRAT includes homemade chicken noodle soup
I asked the doc when she told me we had to do BRAT. Immediately made her the soup. HUGE pot just for her! There may have been some matzo balls too…