"Milkshake" CD Review and Healthy Green Recipe

Read on to find out what GOT MILK and kids music have in common. When I was putting together the gift basket for the Recovering Picky Eater Challenge, one of the prizes I snagged was Milkshake’s new album Play. Some of you may be familiar with this band from Discovery Kids, PBS Kids, and NOGGIN. In addition to the CD, I also received Milkshake’s DVD Screen Play and previous album Bottle of Sunshine to review! Thanks Lisa for offering such a great gift to my readers. Our family is really enjoying Milkshake's music.

Little Boo was the first to see the Screen Play on a sick day home from school. For a 2 year old, he was remarkably engaged by the videos and interviews with the band. He sat still through the whole thing, I guessed because he wasn’t feeling well. He’s asked to watch it a dozen times since then, and the results are the same, he’s entranced by this music. Little boo has been musical since he was an infant, even his early vocalizations had a sing-song quality. Big Boo has seen it too and his favorite ditty is Pirates, which is also on CD Play. The DVD is packed with videos from several albums.

As a parent I enjoy it when the boys listen to music I like the sound of too. So much kid music is annoying, and Milkshake is certainly competent at making songs that are relevant to a kid’s life (Rainy Day, Pirates, Superhero to name a few), and not grating to a parents ears. Up until recently the boys mainly listed to what hubby and I listen to, but as they get older and more able to listen to and understand the words, I’m glad we’re building a music library with lyrics that are germane to their life experiences. Milkshake’s songs have choruses that are easy for kids to sing along to.

My favorite song on Bottle of Sunshine? Rainy Day. I think Little Boo concurs with me, it’s the song from the CD I hear him singing and humming most often in the car or on the playground. Other tracks of note are Bluebird and Sleepytown. ABC of me is a great alternative to the nursery school song we all know (and don't love). Music and lyrics are something that enhance learning in a fun way. Milkshake lets parents and kids share in this joy together.

Monday, January 19th the winner of the Recovering Picky Eater Challenge will be announced. If you are not the lucky winner of Play and 3 other great prizes, you can order a copy of Play, Bottle of Sunshine or the DVD Screen Play, you can find links to purchase here. Click here for MP3 samples of some of the songs. Music makes great gifts for all those birthday parties coming up in the Spring for the boys school buddies. I'm weary already just looking at theeir social calendar for weekends between now and March!

Healthy Green Milkshake

Skeptical that a milkshake could be healthy? Green ones are, that’s for sure! Here is a great healthy milkshake recipe the folks at the California Milk Processor Board (creator of GOT MILK campaign) sent to me. The CMPB partnered with Piccolo Chef in Culver City, Captain Cook’s Culinary for Kids in San Diego and Sacramento Culinary Center Showroom to come up with some recipes using milk and veggies that were sure to be kid pleasers. The recipes that came out of this collaboration are not available online, but as I make them, I will publish them. The Got Milk site does have other healthy milkshakes at this link. I made a variation of this recipe using what I had in the house.

Green Milkshake Recipe

1 cup 1% milk
½ cup nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt
½ cup blueberries
½ cup strawberries
3 cups raw spinach
2 tbsp green tea powder (optional)
5 raw almonds (optional)
Honey or sweetener to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve cold.

My substitutions: I used one cup raw arugula (it’s very peppery compared to spinach-which is mild, and I thought using more would over power the milkshake) and bananas instead of berries. I’ll go with berries next time since they have so many anti-oxidants. Smoothies/shakes are a great way to get berries in your diet year-round by using frozen berries. For sweetener I used some of the tangerine syrup we made from our last harvest of tangerines. Click here to see the tangerine pineapple popsicles we made with our first tangerine harvest.

Before this shake, I’d never added greens to smoothies, but since one of the boys drank it, I do think I’ll be repeating the green milkshake. In the co-op veggie shares we get greens every week and although hubby and I love green salads, sautéed greens, etc. it’s often hard to get them all eaten up unless the boys help. While they usually eat some green salad, getting more than a couple leaves in preschoolers is a challenge even I haven’t figured out. I thought it was a tasty snack, and for me it was an opportunity to try nuts again, since I’m still not up for eating them raw. Big Boo drank a couple slurps, but wouldn’t finish it, claiming he didn’t like the green stuff. Little boo finished his drink off. One out of two ain’t bad!

Which band is your kid's favorite?