Blog | 11 July 2022
How to make healthy smoothies kids will love
Smoothies, they are quick, easy and a great way to get some extra fruit and vegetables into your child’s day. However, there are a few tricks to ensure you create healthy smoothies your kids will love. We have put together a list of our favourite tips and flavours to get your smoothies for kids started.
Before we get out the blender it is best to go through some things to avoid with kids’ smoothies to ensure they are a balanced and healthy smoothie. Some common mistakes to avoid are:
- Adding too much fruit or vegetables. Whilst fruit and veg are good for us, you can have too much of a good thing in the forms of simple carbohydrates and kilojoules. Also, kids usually have sensitive tastes so will be able to pick up on extra fruit and vegetables, which may discourage them from trying smoothies, remember sometimes simple is best. As a general rule stick to about 1 cup of any combination of fruit and vegetables per smoothie.
- Sweetness overload. You will see many recipes calling for honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or other types of sweetener. Sugars are also naturally present in milk and yoghurts, which may turn your healthy smoothie into a sugar heavy drink quickly. With naturally sweet fruits and milk or yoghurt you can get by with minimal added sweeteners, if any.
- Sipping with your meals. Smoothie recipes for kids will often contain extra ‘boosters’ such as protein powder, nuts butters, oats and chia seeds. This means they may contain enough energy and nutrition to replace a meal, rather than accompanying it. If your child enjoys sipping on a smoothie alongside their regular meals or snacks, try balancing out their total kilojoule (energy) intake in the smoothie and foods they consume.
Consider the below tips when making smoothies for kids, you can adapt as needed to help get your kids sipping on healthy smoothies:
Know what textures your child likes.
Smoothies are great as they can be modified to suit all different textures and tastes. When blending you can make the smoothie thicker and creamier by making it half milk and half yoghurt. If your child prefers something a little thinner add a little more milk or water. If you are using fruit with a lot of liquid like an orange, you can add yoghurt in place of milk. Experiment until you get a healthy smoothie your kids love.
Different servings options.
Similar to food textures, children (and adults) are very different when it comes to how they enjoy eating and drinking. This also changes with age, so if you have children of different ages in your household try serving smoothies for kids in different ways for all ages (babies can start to enjoy smoothies once they have started eating solid foods). Try serving toddlers smoothies in reusable pouches to squish or in their favourite cup with straw. For older kids try sprinkling a small amount of their favourite cereal and serve the smoothie in a cereal bowl or freeze healthy smoothies into popsicles for a frozen treat.
A balanced formula.
It is tempting to hide loads of veggies into a smoothie, as your child may leave them untouched on the dinner plate. The most nutritious smoothies utilise a balanced approach, containing little or no added sugar, and include a balanced amount of carbs, fibre, protein, and healthy fats. When creating your healthy smoothies try to follow the formula of:
1 cup base (milk, yoghurt ,water)
1 cup fruit (fresh or frozen)
1 cup vegetables (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons of healthy fats (nut butter, avocado)
OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon of ‘boosters’ (cinnamon, nutmeg), 1 scoop of protein powder or ½ tablespoon of honey, handful of ice.
This makes approximately 2 servings.
You are set up ready to make some awesome and healthy smoothies for kids, so what are some winning flavour combinations to try? Here are some our favourite fruit and veg combo’s:
Breakfast Smoothie:
· Greek yoghurt + Milk + Banana + Rolled Oats + Cauliflower + Peanut Butter + Cinnamon
After School Smoothie:
· Greek yoghurt + Milk + Strawberries + Avocado + Honey + Lemon Juice
Diary Free Smoothie:
· Orange + Mango + Pineapple + Carrot + Zucchini + Cashews
Frozen smoothie popsicles:
· Nectarines (peeled & pitted) + Cooked pumpkin + Coconut water + Honey
Dessert Carrot Cake Smoothie:
· Greek yoghurt + Milk + Frozen banana + Carrot + Cinnamon + Nutmeg + Maple Syrup + Ice
Something A Little Different:
· Cucumber + Pear + Almond milk + Almond butter + Chia Seeds + Protein Powder + Cinnamon + Ice
Finally always try to get your child involved in making healthy smoothies, this will encourage them to taste their creations, enjoy amazing flavours and nutrients for growing kids.