The Top Benefits of Smoothies for kids

Smoothies are so great for kids! They are such a quick and simple way to get goodness into your little ones! With fun colours and delicious tastes, kids just love them. Smoothies are a perfect way to start the day or cool down during a hot summer day.

Unlike juicing, blending fruits and vegetables into a smoothie retains the whole food, which leaves the fiber intact. Kids can get vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber from a smoothie. This is an especially good way to get goodness into fussy eaters!

Here’s some of our favourite Summer Smoothie Recipes:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

Ingredients: 

1 frozen banana

⅔ cup milk of your choice 

2 tbsp Peanut Butter or nut butter of your choice. 

1 cup of frozen strawberries.

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend for 3 minutes or until smooth.

 

 

Mango Orange and Carrot Smoothie

Ingredients: 

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen mango

50g cooked carrots

Juice of ½ an orange 

1 tsp orange peel

1 cup of coconut water

½ cup of coconut milk

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend for 3 minutes or until smooth.

Watermelon Raspberry Smoothie

Ingredients: 

500g Watermelon Flesh 

100g Raspberries 

150g Greek Yoghurt 

3-4 Ice Cubes 

1 tbsp honey 

Method:

Roughly chop the watermelon into bite size pieces then throw into a blender with the raspberries, Greek yoghurt, and ice cubes.

Add honey to taste and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

 

 

Green Smoothie

Ingredients: 

1 small/medium Banana

¼ ripe Avocado 

½ cup Frozen Mango chunks 

1 tbsp Rolled Oats 

1 cup baby spinach 

2 tps nut butter of choice - peanut butter etc 

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend for 3 minutes or until smooth.

 

 

SMOOTHIE HACKS:

 

RIPE BANANAS AND AVOCADO: Whenever you have ripe bananas or avocados you’re not going to use - peel them and cover them, then pop them in the freezer to use in Smoothies later!

 

START WITH INGREDIENTS YOUR CHILD LOVES: If your just introducing Smoothies to your little ones, start with basic ingredients that you know your kids like, this will help them to like smoothies due to it being filled with familiar tastes. As they get used to the texture of Smoothies, you can gradually start adding more fruits, vegetables and flavours. 

 

USE SMOOTHIES IN SILICONE FOOD POUCHES: We love to pre-make and freeze our Smoothies in our Pouchees Silicone Food Pouches and pop them in Declan’s lunchbox for school. They defrost before lunch time for a nice cool snack and as an added bonus they keep his lunchbox and insulated lunch bag nice and cold. They also work great for delicious Smoothies on the go - Perfect for enjoying a Smoothie in the car or pram on a walk to the park on a hot Summer's day. 

 

MAKE POPSICLES WITH YOUR SMOOTHIES: One of our favourite ways to make Popsicles is by using one of the Smoothie recipes above and popping the excess Smoothie mix into our Easy Grip Popsicle Moulds - a perfect yet simple way to get goodness into a popsicle for a fun, delicious but nutritious summer treat. Give it a go!