Healthy Kid Food: Mangoes *

As a parent, I spend a lot of time thinking about what to feed my kids. With a picky eater, it can be hard to find foods that are both healthy, and delicious.

Earlier this month I introduced a new fruit to Evan and Kara — the mango! I really wasn’t certain if the kids would like mangoes. Kids are unpredictable and sometimes it takes several tries to successfully introduce a new food to a baby or toddler.

I used a few mangoes to create some snacks for Evan, and homemade (wholesome) baby food for Kara, and let me tell you, mangoes are a confirmed winner in my home! Check out this fun video featuring a few of the ways we used mangoes, and learn more about our simple mango snacks below.

Mango snacks featured in the video

1. Mangoes and cottage cheese— Luckily, my 3-year-old loves a few nutritious foods, and cottage cheese is one of them. I love adding mango chunks to his cottage cheese for a sweet twist, and this is a great way to deliver a punch of vitamin C and A to his diet.

2. Grape and mango skewers— Evan loves eating his fruit in fun ways, and the cute grape and mango skewers featured in the video above were a big hit. Presentation matters!

3. Homemade mango banana baby food— I couldn’t leave Kara out of the mango fun. I simply mashed a mango and a banana to create a creamy, delicious baby food.

Interesting mango nutritional facts

• One cup of mangos is just 100 calories, so it’s a sweet treat that won’t weigh you down.
• One serving of mangos provides 100% of your daily vitamin C and 35% of your vitamin A, both important antioxidant nutrients. Vitamin C promotes healthy immune function and collagen formation. Vitamin A is important for vision and bone growth.
• Mangos provide 12% of your daily dietary fiber. Diets low in fat and high in fiber-containing grain products, fruits and vegetables may be associated with a reduced risk of some types of cancer.
• Mangos contain over 20 different vitamins and minerals.
• Each serving of mango is fat free, sodium free and cholesterol free.
• Mangos scored 93 out of 100 on the recently introduced NuVal scoring system for overall nutritional quality.

I also wanted to mention that I am a huge mango fan as well, and love mango smoothies. I’m so happy that I rediscovered this sweet, yummy fruit.

The National Mango Board challenged me to spend a week creating healthier eating and snacking habits for my family. Join the conversation and one of my readers will receive a cookbook and a chance to win a shipment of mangos and $200 gift card to Williams-Sonoma. 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of National Mango Board. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.