So I have a solution for you! Below are some super-easy smoothie recipes. Choose one that you like and whip up a quick green smoothie for yourself (and your family). It will give you energy, and fill your belly for a couple of hours with all the right foods.
If you are looking for easy healthy recipes and an super-easy way to add super-important nutrients to your everyday diet, you are truly lucky to have found this page!
Because what you will learn here – if you just try it and stick with it – will likely change your life and health for the better (really, I don’t exaggerate one bit – because it happened to me a few years back).
Introducing…Green Smoothies
You probably heard about green smoothies by now, as everyone is raving about them. You may call them blended drinks, green shakes, green smoothies, green fruit smoothies, drinkable salads or salads straight from your blender.
It doesn’t really matter what you call them — as long as you drink them!
The fact is that if you are having problems with eating a healthy diet, and especially if you have picky-eaters in your house who will not eat a green vegetable if their life depended on it – this is a perfect solution to your problem.
A green smoothie is essentially a blended salad made with fruits and leafy greens, with some optional water, blended at high speeds to smooth consistency. Generally, hard or savory vegetables such as carrots or tomatoes are avoided, or only added in small quantities. Only fruits, leafy greens, and some vegetables are included.
My son has been drinking green smoothies since he was four and he really loves them (although he sometimes used to complain that I gave them to him all the time, LOL).
However, your children (and quite possibly your adult family members too) may be resistant to the idea to trying smoothie recipes with any green ingredients added. If that’s the situation, don’t despair!
In my experience, green fruit smoothie recipes for kids are always a success!
But, yes, you may need to use some tricks to encourage their consumption initially.
Let’s face it. Unhealthy foods are everywhere. Children are assaulted by less-than-ideal food choices wherever they go: birthday parties, convenience stores, street vendors, fast food joints, etc. Sodas, cakes, cookies, pizzas, fries, hot dogs, candy, ice cream. There is no escaping them. Not even school cafeterias are free from them. No wonder their taste buds get used to very sweet-salty-fatty foods.
Some of you may cringe at the idea of adding spinach or kale to a fruit smoothie, thinking these greens belong to a salad or dinner side-dish and not in a sweet drink.
However, the fact remains that this is the EASIEST, FASTEST, and TASTIEST way to consume large amounts of greens on a regular basis.
The scary statistics is that 40% of the calories US children eat are nutritionally empty!
Getting children to eat healthy, balanced meals is a concern that MANY parents have. They are especially concerned about the lack of fruits and vegetables their kids are eating and it is no wonder… modern convenience foods marketed to kids are lacking in nutritional value. As a result children are not developing tastes or cravings for the nutritional powerhouse foods they need, namely fresh vegetables, fruits and leafy greens, as well as healthy whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
The great thing about green smoothies is that they disguise what might otherwise be considered unwelcome ingredients, including healthy leafy greens that may be eaten rarely or avoided completely. With green smoothies, healthy nutrition is easy. With a few simple smoothie recipes, you can easily turn your blender into a tool for creating super-healthy fruit smoothie recipes for kids!
More Tips to Make Sure Your Kids Drink Their Green Smoothies
Here are a few more tips to help you to get you started if you have picky eaters in your house:
* Start with preparing mostly sweet smoothies with lots of fruits. Add only a little bit of mild tasting greens (starting with celery or spinach). You may also add natural sweeteners, if you feel the smoothie is not sweet enough for your child.
* Use sweet, ripe fruits that your child loves. For example, strawberry, pineapple and blueberry are all time favorites.
* Use well ripened bananas for creamy texture.
* Think how to make the smoothie making and drinking fun. One way that may work well for younger kids, is to come up with a cool name for your smoothies. Some ideas are: Bey-blade Blaster, Enter the Dragon, Shrek’s Favorite Smoothie, Cinderella’s Cocktail, Transformer’s Fuel, or other, depending on what your child’s favorite’s characters are at the moment.
* Use a pretty glass with a straw and a cocktail drink umbrella.
* Or use a non-transparent cup with a straw to completely mask the color of the drink.
* Ask your child to drink green smoothies before the child eats other things. My son drinks a green smoothie first thing in the morning, before he eats anything else. He usually gets another glass 1 hour to 30 minutes before dinner.
* Educate your children about the benefits of drinking green smoothies. Explain it to them in simple terms. You may be surprised how eager they are to learn.
* Freeze green smoothie into a Popsicle.
* If nothing else works, consider a reward system. Although, I am not in favor of reward systems, especially when it comes to food, however, if your child is highly defiant, and all other methods have failed, you may find that using some kind of incentive is effective. Just, please don’t use junk food as treats for reinforcing good eating habits!
For best results, it’s important invest in a quality blender. The reason being you really want a your green to be as smooth as it can be, and not all blenders will be able to handle the job of blending, e.g. kale or collard greens, to perfection.
Most likely, your child will refuse to drink anything with touch pieces of kale or celery stalk. There are many excellent blender on the market (read my blog post about blenders here).
Also, although I recommend that you start with spinach in smoothies, add different greens as well. It’s important to rotate your greens, and not use the same ones all the time.
Recommended Reading
I’ve written a lot about smoothies, including recipe books and fiction. Check them out on Amazon:
So, How Do You Make A Smoothie?
Let’s start with some great ingredients for your smoothie creations.
Great Ingredients For Your Green Smoothies
GREENS: kale, bok choy, chard, spinach, parsley, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, mint, basil, cilantro, or other.
FRUITS: bananas, pears, apples, mango, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, kiwi, pineapple, melon, papaya, watermelon, grapes, or other.
VEGGIES: cucumber, celery, avocado (small amount only).
Some fruit and green combinations you may want to try:
- Spinach with bananas and strawberries
- Spinach with apples, bananas, and some lemon or lime juice
- Spinach, bananas, peaches, mango
- Romaine lettuce with bananas
- Romaine lettuce with cucumber and bananas
- Romaine and celery with blueberries
- Parsley and ripe pears
- Parsley, celery, apple and pears
Add 1-2 cups of water and blend until smooth. Adjust proportions to your liking. Try to experiment with different greens and fruits. Fruits are added for sweetness, so make sure they are really RIPE, especially bananas.
6 Easy Smoothie Recipes for Kids
Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe
1/2 cup strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup of spinach leaves
1 cup water
Healthy Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
1 cup fresh pineapple cubes
1/2 cup strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup of spinach leaves
1 cup water
One to two drops of vanilla essence
One cup of yogurt and add a teaspoon or two of honey for sweetness (optional)
Blueberry Pudding
2 cups blueberries
1 banana
1 stalk of celery
1 cup of water
Spinach-Mango Smoothie
1 large banana, ripe
1 cup mangoes
1/2 cup strawberries
5 oz spinach
1 1/2 cups water
Kiwi-Mint-Spinach Smoothie Recipe
2 kiwis, peeled
1/4 small lime, peeled
1 banana, peeled
5 to 10 mint leaves (optional, to taste, if your child enjoys mint)
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1 cup of water, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk
Verry Berry Blaster Smoothie
1 1/2 cup mixed berries (I use frozen mix of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
2 or 3 celery stalks
2 bananas (you can use less if you want a less sweet smoothie)
a slice of ginger root (optional, it gives the smoothie a little tangy kick)
1/4 avocado (optional, for more creaminess)
2 cups kale or other leafy greens (optional)
1 cup water (or a little more, depending on how thick or thin you like it)
Instructions
Blend well, sip and smile!
