Mint Chocolaty Crunch Shake

When my children were younger, Celia used to cry when I went to my monthly book club dinner because she didn't want me to leave. My husband came up with a brilliant distraction from her momentary sorrows--he turned my book club night into milkshake night at home. Andrew loves getting the kids to play along with his gags, so to make his ploy trickier, he renamed the milkshakes broccoli stew, and the three of them would go to great lengths to trick me into believing that that's what they were really going to enjoy after dinner. When I saw the blender out on the counter in the morning, I'd ask, "Did you have milkshakes last night?" They'd always say no, they had broccoli stew.

Making milkshakes (or broccoli stew) and scooping ice cream is also a great way to teach our kids about economics. Why do we pay almost as much for one scoop of ice cream at the scoop shop as we pay for 1 ½ quarts of ice cream (which has six one-cup servings) from the supermarket? Ask your kids to ponder this question, and if they are old enough, ask them to calculate how much money they would spend for 10 scoops at the ice cream shop vs. the same amount from the supermarket. 

Do you think your kids are too young to make their own milkshakes? Check out adorable 5-year-old Ahaan Limaye and his Chocolate Chunk Milkshake over at Kiwi Magazines Next Great Young Chefs contest and you might change your mind. I've always been a mint chocolate chip ice cream fanatic, so I have a soft spot for this Mint Chocolaty Crunch Shake. I've also shared two of our other favorite milkshake recipes below.