Milk is an essential part of MyPlate, and in my household, an essential part of each meal. As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I know that milk serves up important nutrition for growing kids. As a good source of vital nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamin D and potassium, milk packs a powerful nutrient punch.
As a mom, I know that food needs to be fun. Ready to get your kids excited about getting the nutrients they need? Maybe it’s time to makeover your milk. After all, variety is the spice of life. Here’s how you can make your own flavored milk.
Get Your Kids in the Kitchen
My kids love to experiment, and they have their own favorite flavors. My son is a self-proclaimed chocoholic and my daughter prefers just about everything to be pink or purple. We set out to find out how much chocolate syrup and strawberry jelly it takes to make the perfect flavored milk.
- Max’s Marvelous Chocolate – We started with 1 cup of milk and added your basic store-bought chocolate syrup 1 teaspoon at a time until we found the perfect mix of chocolate goodness without it being too sweet. He is known to over-syrup most anything! And we found the perfect balance at 3 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon) of chocolate syrup – just what the syrup bottle calls for.
- Dietitian breakdown:
- 1 cup 1 percent milk: 110 calories
- 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup: 45 calories, 1 tablespoon added sugar
- Total calories: 155
- Total yumminess: yum, yum, extra yum
- Dietitian breakdown:
- Stella’s Strawberry Dream – Again, we started with 1 cup of milk and added strawberry (i.e., pink) preserves 1 teaspoon at a time until we found the perfect mix of pink milk and that perfect strawberry flavor. She found that perfect pinkness at just 2 teaspoons of strawberry preserves.
- Dietitian breakdown:
- 1 cup 1 percent milk: 110 calories
- 2 teaspoons strawberry preserves: 33 calories, 2 teaspoons added sugar
- Total calories: 143
- Total yumminess: deliciousness!
- Dietitian breakdown:
In addition to their signature styles, Max and Stella love being creative in the kitchen and they love to share. Here are a couple other Robbins-family-favorite tips:
Add New Flavors
- Fruit cubes – Add fruit ice cubes to milk and watch them melt into a fun, fruity flavor.
- Herbal honey syrups – Make your own fruit-and-herb combos for an updated milk twist.
Go Around the World
- Mexican hot chocolate – Warm or cold, these spicy flavors are sure to hit the spot.
- Spiced chai – This is one of my favorite milk flavors. Now you can control the spiciness and the sweetness.
So go ahead and make milk fun for your kids; add some flavor and good nutrition for growing bodies and minds. Discover more about the benefits of chocolate milk.
