Hide-The-Veggies Chocolate Spinach Smoothie

Thick, creamy, and oh-so-kid friendly, this chocolate spinach smoothie is packed with healthy ingredients both big and little kids love!

Ted is in complete shock that I created a chocolate spinach smoothie recipe. Seriously. Every morning he makes a smoothie for himself and the boys and I always politely decline [or not so politely depending on the number of wake-ups the night before] a taste.

The only liquid I want in the morning is coffee. That’s it. But when it comes to afternoon or post-nap snacks, a smoothie hits the spot!

And because green smoothies are all the rage, I thought I’d share my little secret for making them even better: dark chocolate cocoa powder.

While I’m not one for hiding veggies on kids besides the pureed stage of feeding babies, I’m all for smoothies. Why? They are convenient, full of nutrition if you add the right stuff, and they are a great way to get an extra serving or two of veggies, fruit, and dairy into your child’s diet.

I don’t know about you, but some days I think my kids should be eating three smoothies a day based on what actually gets eaten off their plates. Does that mean I stop serving the solid green veggies?

Nope. It just means the broccoli on the floor doesn’t bother me so much if I know the day before they gobbled down this chocolate spinach smoothie.

Do not take this chocolate spinach smoothie as a recommendation to liquefy all fruits and veggies for your children [unless you medically need to do that for them]. While it’s an easy recipe to make, nothing beats exposing your kids to the “real deal,” aka broccoli, spinach, kale, etc.

Yep, THOSE veggies. Just remember we can all use a little more green in our lives, and if one serving is in the form of a smoothie [with chocolate I might add], we might be more apt to enjoy the solid form too! Or so that’s what I keep telling myself…. Joey and Anthony? Well of course they’d prefer slurping down the smoothie!

Note this smoothie is NOT very sweet. But I tried to sweeten it as naturally as possible with yogurt and fruit. AND my smoothie connoisseur [Ted] let me know Almond milk makes it even sweeter… but I’m a dairy fan and don’t want to make the switch!

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Hide-The-Veggies Chocolate Spinach Smoothie

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Author: Katie Serbinski

Recipe type: Snack

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup fat-free milk
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 ½ tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder [I used Hershey’s—regular cocoa powder works just as well]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• 1 medium banana, peeled
• 1 ½ cups fresh spinach
• Ice to taste

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Puree until smooth.
2. Add a handful or two of ice if you’d like your smoothie extra thick and cold. Pulse again until smooth.
3. Pour into a glass and immediately.

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