Smoothies can be a great way to incorporate fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious ingredients into your child’s diet. Here are some tips for making smoothies that kids will enjoy:
Balance them with fruits and vegetables:
A lot of people automatically lean towards fruity ingredients when it comes to smoothie making but this can be a missed opportunity. Vegetables are such a nutritious part of a balanced diet so make sure you add some leafy greens like spinach or kale or some cauliflower for extra diversity. You also want to think about protein sources such as Greek yoghurt or nut butter, essential fats like flaxseeds and complex carbs such as oats. If you are plant based, opt for a fortified milk base.
Make sure they taste good:
Experiment with different ingredients and identify which ones go nicely together. For example, spinach, mango, kale and banana is a great combo.
Make them fun:
Get your kids to help make and choose the ingredients. It can really enhance an eating (or drinking) experience when you have been involved in the process. Don’t worry about making a mess, let your kids be a part of the choosing what goes in and helping to mix it up.
Smoothie ingredient list:
I have listed a few ideas that you can choose from to have as staples as smoothie ingredients in your house:
- Milk
- Fortified plant milk (oat, soy, pea
- Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt
- Flaxseed
- Chia seed
- Bananas
- Frozen veg: spinach, kale, peas, cauliflower
- Frozen fruits: mango and pineapple chunks, mixed berries
- Nut butters (100% nuts)
- *tip frozen fruits and veg retain their nutrients, are cheaper and last longer
Here is one of my son’s favourite smoothie recipes
You can buy mixed bags of frozen fruits at most supermarkets.
This can help making smoothies for kids a lot cheaper and convenient.
