All parents struggle with getting their children to eat healthy foods.
For those who worry that their children are not consuming enough fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens, encouraging them to drink green smoothies loaded with nutrient-rich superfoods may be the answer.
Green smoothies are simply fruit smoothies with greens added to them. Greens are the true superfoods, chock-full of nutrition, but sadly they are mostly absent from children's diets. Green smoothies provide an easy and accessible way to improve a child's nutrition without big time commitment. Preparing these healthy drinks takes only a few minutes and one cup can provide several servings of fruits and vegetables, calcium, iron and other vitamins and minerals.
Even the most picky eaters can learn to enjoy these green drinks. Initially, you may want to add just a little bit of greens to their smoothies, plus add some frozen blueberries to mask the green color. Then you can start increasing the greens-fruits ratio, plus start adding a variety of greens for maximum health benefits.
Some simple fruit and green smoothie combinations you may want to try:
- Spinach, bananas and strawberries (this one is a classic)
- Kale, apples, bananas, and a piece of lemon or lime juice
- Kale, peaches, bananas, and mango
- Romaine lettuce, bananas and cucumbers
- Ripe pears and parsley
- Parsley, celery, pears and apples
For a well-blended smoothie, add one to two cups of water, but feel free to adjust the liquid amount until the consistency is desired. Less water will make a creamier, thick smoothie while more water will make a more juice-like consistency. Make sure you are using ripe fruits, especially bananas, and fresh greens.
By experimenting with different fruit-greens combinations, you will be able to come up with new variations that everyone in the family can enjoy. The possibilities are practically endless.
Green smoothies for kids are easy to make, no cooking or clean up required. They are also easier to make than juicing, since it takes a long time to prepare items and cleaning juicers can be laborious.
Children, in the United States in particular, are constantly bombarded by unhealthy choices, and foods laden with pesticides and preservatives. If children are constantly craving candy, processed sugar and junk food they may be missing out on the benefits of healthy foods: vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and other essential nutrients that keep a body in optimum health and encourage healthy nutrition.
Smoothies reduce the craving for sugar and other processed foods by creating satiety and squashing hunger. There is really no reason not to try them!
Here are a few kid-friendly green smoothie recipes for you to try:
- Super Kid Friendly Banana Green Smoothie from Blender Babes
- Kid friendly Green Smoothie Recipe Confessions of a Homeschooler
- A Family-Friendly Smoothie For the Morning Rush from POPSUGAR
- Kid Friendly Green Smoothie from Heart of Deborah
- Kale Smoothie for Kids from In Sonnet's Kitchen
Do your kids drink green smoothies?
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