This Secret Veggie Mint Fudge Chunk Frozen Yogurt has all the amazing classic flavor, but with added nutrition! It gets its beautiful green color from 2 nutrient dense vegetables. Who says your kids won’t eat their veggies?
Before I was pregnant, I was one of those judgmental people who didn’t understand why people don’t feed their small children healthy food all of the time. I mean, the parent controls the child’s diet, yes? And then when I was pregnant, I ate tons of strong smelling vegetables, intent on getting Xander used to the flavors in utero.
When Xander started eating, his first food was avocado. Then we moved on to cauliflower, banana, sweet potatoes, and beets, and I pureed spinach into his pears and apples. Not only did he eat all of these things, he started grabbing roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts off our plates and sucking on them, even before he had teeth. He would eat large bowls of carrots mixed with oatmeal, and salmon blended into millet and spinach.
And then somewhere around 10 months, he started refusing his baby purees. He only wanted food off our plates. That was fine too, seeing as they are usually filled with roasted veggies, sweet potatoes, and flavorful meats.
I started giving him snacks between meals- healthy breakfast cookies, and bites of my frozen yogurt at night, sharing his dad’s bread when he stopped by the bakery. This is probably where we started to go wrong. Bit by bit, he started refusing his normal meals, and patiently waiting for snack time when the cookies came out.
Developing good eating habits is certainly not as easy as it seems it should be. He wants to try everything we eat, and he certainly has his favorites!
Now, at 13 months, he changes day to day. Some days he will eat everything we put in front of him. Sometimes, he will only eat fruit, smoothies and cookies.
So, I’ve started packing his smoothies with vegetables, and even sneaking some into his cookies. I still give him 3 balanced meals a day, and encourage him to eat eggs, salmon, chicken, and vegetables during meal times, but on the days he refuses these things, at least I know he is getting adequate nutrition!
My nephew (almost 4) wasn’t fooled by my zucchini muffins. He ate the chocolate chips off the top and didn’t want to eat it because there were green specks. But this Secret Veggie Mint Fudge Chunk Frozen Yogurt certainly wasn’t refused!
Contents
Secret Veggie Mint Fudge Chunk Frozen Yogurt Tips:
- Make it Ahead:Â This recipe doesn’t freeze well because it uses non-fat yogurt and it’s low in sugar. I read adding gelatin will help, but it still froze rock solid. You can prepare the fudge and the yogurt mixture ahead of time, and wait to freeze it until you want to serve it. With leftovers, I have frozen them, and then pulled it out of the freezer and set on the counter top for 45 minutes- 1 hour, then mash with a spoon to try to make it creamy again. I haven’t tried this, but I am also thinking leftovers could be frozen into an ice cube tray then added to a Vitamix to make creamy. If you try anything that works well, let me know!
- For the Family:Â Xander loves peppermint, so this recipe is already healthy and family friendly. If your child doesn’t like peppermint, try subbing extra vanilla extract or even almond extract for flavor (if your child is older- they may want an explanation for the green color!).
Secret Veggie Mint Fudge Chunk Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk canned, full fat
- 2 cups baby spinach fresh, loosely packed
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 3 cups yogurt
Fudge Chunks
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- sea salt pinch
Instructions
- Add all fudge chunk ingredients to a bowl, and stir to combine, continuing until mixture is glossy.
- Prepare a piece of parchment by folding it down the center, and placing on a plate or cutting board (that will fit in your freezer).
- Pour the fudge onto the parchment, and cover with folded side. Place in the freezer to harden.
- All all ingredients, except yogurt, into a blender. Blend on medium to high speed until the spinach is completely blended in and no green specks remain.
- Add the yogurt, and combine until fully mixed.
- Add the yogurt mixture to ice cream freezer, and freeze according to the machine's instructions.
- When the yogurt is almost frozen, pull fudge out of the freezer, and chop into pieces.
- Add the fudge chunks, and allow to be mixed into the yogurt.
- Either enjoy the yogurt immediately, or put into a covered container and freeze for 2-4 hours for a harder consistency.
- Read notes in post above recipe for ideas on how to make ahead or freeze leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
 
Other Hidden Veggie Recipes:
- Beet Nut Butter Cups, by Kate at Veggie Desserts
- Hidden Veggie Mac ‘n Cheese, by Crosscut Sewing Co.
- DIY “Go Gurts” with Hidden Veggies, by Makes the Best of Everything
- Green Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, by Vitamin Sunshine
- Butternut Turkey Baked Spaghetti, by Vitamin Sunshine
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VERY interesting! It sure looks good- great color. Will try this out. Thank you.
Thanks! It’s delicious– really doesn’t taste any different than normal frozen yogurt 🙂
Nice job at the nephew-fooling! I love that you just took the shirt off of him while he ate the ice cream–I remember when my folks used to do that to me and my cousins. 🙂
This is making me want to invest in an ice cream freezer. I’ll need to research how much they cost.
I know– another kitchen appliance! I actually don’t have my own! I bought one for my mom for mother’s day a few years back, feeling a little guilty because I knew I wanted to use it while I was staying with her, and she actually loves it and uses it all the time. She just throws plain yogurt in there and then tops it with fruit!
I started off with really good intentions with my first born, no refined sugar, organic, as healthy as I possibly can. Now, 16 years down the line I’m just happy if my three children eat anything at all, lol! Gorgeous recipe this. 🙂
This frozen yogurt looks divine. I will miss summer so much 🙂
I certainly do not restrict frozen yogurt eating to the summer 🙂
Yes! Love that you hide veggies in here, amazing!
I was just going to put spinach in for color, but then I had some avocado ripe on the counter, and it made it even creamier 🙂 And my son won’t eat avocados plain anymore– so it’s a perfect way to make sure he’s getting some of the goodness of them.
WOW…what a great healthier version of ice cream. Looks fantastic…and I can just imagine it tastes that way too.
Thanks Gloria! We love it– the spinach is undetectable, and the avocado just makes it super creamy!
HELLOOOOOOOOO yum fest! Seriously – I am in loveeeee!
Hi Gigi 🙂 It’s super delicious! I think quite a bit nicer than a chicken smoothie.