This kid friendly smoothies guide is meant to help you introduce your kids to new and delicious fruits and veggies, all while getting them to eat their greens and like them too!
I find it ironic that I’m writing on post on making kid friendly smoothies because I am NOT the smoothie lover in our house. Ted is! Hence that’s why you rarely find smoothie recipes on this blog. However, as a mother concerned about my toddler’s lack of interest in fruit and veggies, I love serving my boys smoothies.
The fruit and vegetables they leave untouched at mealtime make for the perfect mix-in to their favorite mid-morning or afternoon snack. While I’m not one for serving smoothies instead of the solid form of fruits and vegetables, I like to think of smoothies as a type of “nutrition insurance.” You are ensuring your children [and you] are still getting the nutrients they need to get through the day. The plus side? Smoothies are fast, fresh, high in fiber, low in fat, and loaded with vitamins and antioxidants both adults and kids can benefit from.
Before you start whipping up some super simple kid friendly smoothies, keep these smoothie tips in mind:
- Using frozen fruit will give your smoothie a thicker texture. You might not want to add any ice if you use produce straight from the freezer.
- If you use plain yogurt in your smoothie, you might consider sweetening it with honey or fruit.
- If you find the consistency of your smoothie to be too thick, add water, milk, or juice to dilute to desired consistency. If your smoothie is too thin, add a handful of ice or too to thicken it.
- Depending on the size of your blender, you will likely need to play around with the measurement suggestions I’ve provided below. You’ll also need to adjust based on how much your family drinks! I’ve provided basic measurements for 2-8 ounce cup smoothies.
- While I suggest choosing a food from each smoothie group below, feel free to play around with different fruit and vegetable combinations.
- Think buying fruits and veggies is expensive? That all depends on what’s in season! I like to buy in-season produce to keep the price point in check. Frozen produce is usually very reasonable too!
The Mom to Mom Nutrition Guide to Making Kid Friendly Smoothies
Seems easy enough right? If you’d like to print this handy guide, download it here—> Kid Friendly Smoothies Guide. As I mentioned, if you choose one food from each group [or skip the veggies and do two fruits or vice versa], you’ll typically blend enough for 2-8 ounce glasses. The amount might vary on if you use fresh vs. frozen fruit or add ice. Now that you’ve got the basic kid friendly smoothies formula down, I’m going to leave you with a few of Joey and Anthony’s smoothie combos! Then I want to hear from you— what are some of your favorite smoothie flavor combinations?!
- Chocolate Spinach Smoothie: “Wait Mom, there’s spinach in here?!”
- Peanut Butter Blast: Milk, Banana, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Cinnamon
- Green Machine: Milk, Pear [or green apple], Spinach, Cucumber, Yogurt, Honey
- Chunky Monkey Smoothie: Just like the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, but healthier!
- Fruit Salad Smoothie: Milk, Mixed Frozen Berries, Cucumber, Cottage Cheese, Almonds, Honey
- Sunrise Smoothie: Orange Juice, Orange, Celery, Carrots, Yogurt, Honey
- Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie: A delicious way to use a baked sweet potato
