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Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Kids' Ice Cream

Getting our veggies in ... the fun way

By Shay Brase, publisher of Macaroni KID Broomfield, Colo. August 16, 2022

My entire garden is a jungle of fun fresh goodies right now. It's a happy place for me.

But we have so much zucchini this year.


Shay Brase

Don't get me wrong — I love zucchini! However, the time comes when you run out of ideas for it, your friends don't want anymore, and you start to try to pawn it off on innocent neighbors who are just trying to get in a quick stroll before turning in for the night.

But then I had an idea...

Have you ever seen the episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood where they make frozen bananas into "ice cream" and call it Banana Swirl? Well, we have, and my kids have loved it ever since. They get sick of smoothies, but just use bananas and give it a fun name, and bam — it's dessert!

Here's where the zucchini comes in. We had a day where vegetables simply didn't happen and I was feeling a little guilty, so I decided to make some Banana Swirl for dessert and add zucchini in, along with some cocoa powder to hide any zucchini taste.

The kids loved it, and I loved they were getting bananas AND zucchinis in a frozen treat!

So here's how you do it, friends.

Sneaky Zucchini Frozen Treat

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, frozen
  • 1/3 cup zucchini, chopped
  • 2 tsp. cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a blender, blend, serve, and enjoy!

Tips: If your blender struggles with the frozen banana, you may need to add a splash or two of extra milk. If the consistency turns out thin, you can either drink it as an ice cream shake or refreeze it for a couple hours until you can scoop it.


Laura Miller

Shay Brase is the publisher of Macaroni KID Broomfield-Erie-Lafayette-Louisville, Colo.