Breakfast smoothie for kids base:
1/2 cup milk (dairy, soy, nut or rice)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 ripe banana (preferably frozen)
1/2 cup finely ground rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground flax seed
5 drops stevia or 1 teaspoon honey (optional)

Flavour options:
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

If you don’t have blueberries or strawberries on hand you could swap them out for just about anything! Try kiwi, pineapple, peach or pear.

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes enough for 2 kid-sized portions.

1/2 cup apple juice
1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup cashews (or other nuts preferably raw unsalted)
1 cup frozen strawberries

Blend until smooth. This makes enough for 2 kid-sized smoothies.

The benefits of smoothies for kids are many:

Whole food

Smoothies use the whole food so there is no waste unlike juicing where much of the pulp is thrown away. In fact the pulp of fruit and vegetables often contains many beneficial nutrients and fiber.

Better absorption of nutrients

When fruit and vegetables are blended the cell walls are broken and all the wonderful nutrients are released. Smoothies allow much better absorption of nutrients for this reason and will ensure your kids are getting the maximum nutritional benefit.

Anything goes with smoothies for kids!

Smoothies for kids taste delicious and can be made with your children’s favorite fruit flavors. This allows you to hide healthy raw vegetables (and all sorts of other goodness) in them! It can be extremely difficult to get a sufficient quantity of raw and/or green vegetables into your kids diets but with smoothies it’s easy!

Prepare ahead of time

Smoothies keep well in the fridge for 24 hours and so can be made ahead of time. It’s wonderful to have a pre-made smoothie in the fridge when the kids come home hungry from school.

Add smoothies to lunchboxes

They also keep well in the freezer in an ice cube tray. Just pull out five or six cubes to put into a lidded cup or sipper cup to put into the school (or pre-school) lunch boxes. This technique also works well for taking smoothies when traveling or to a picnic.

Easy clean up

Clean up is a breeze! Just rinse out the blender and you’re done. Don’t delay the clean up too long though as the smoothie mixture will harden and be much more difficult to clean.

Bananas

Bananas are a suberb ingredient in smoothies for kids. They give the smoothie a creamy taste and texture – just like the taste of ice cream without all that nasty saturated fat! Make sure your bananas are very ripe (they will have black sugar spots on them) so they are naturally sweet.

Bananas are best when frozen (peel them first) but are also fine if added unfrozen alongside ice cubes. I often buy discounted overripe bananas for freezing.

Use about one banana per smoothie.

Bananas contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber.

Berries

We buy berries fresh when possible but buying them frozen from the supermarket is also good and so convenient. Buy berries cheaply in bulk when they are in season and freeze for use when fresh berries are not available. Try strawberries, blueberries (check out our blueberry smoothie recipe), raspberries and blackberries.
Use about 1/2 cup of berries per smoothie.

Berries are nutritional powerhouses – most contain vitamin C,  varying amounts of the minerals calcium, potassium, folate and magnesium, and phytonutrients.

Pears

Make sure your pears are very ripe so they have loads of sweetness and flavor.

Use about 1 pear per smoothie.

Pears are useful sources of coppe, vitamins C and K and dietary fiber.

Avocado

Ripe avocados make for a deliciously creamy smoothie.

Use about 1/4 avocado per smoothie.

Avocados are rich sources of vitamins K, B6 and C and minerals potassium, folate and copper.

Kiwi

Kiwi (or kiwifruit) give a delicate flavor to smoothies so it’s best not to overpower them with other strong fruits or vegetables.

Use 1 kiwi per smoothie.

One kiwi provides all of your recommended daily value of vitamin C!

Green leafy vegetables and herbs

Any green leafy vegetable or herb can be blended up into a smoothie… I regularly give my kids spinach, kale, swiss chard,  parsley and lettuce.

How much to use will vary greatly depending on what else is in your smoothie and how many greens your kids will drink! If your children are older I suggest starting off slowly by adding a small amount of greens to a fruit smoothie and working up to a fully green one. My 2 year old has been drinking green smoothies from 8 months old and will drink and enjoy a very green one! This is our green smoothie recipe.

Leafy green vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

You may want to start off with a fruit smoothie that your kids already love and transition slowly to a green smoothie. Each time you make a smoothie add less fruit and more leafy green vegetables.

1 very ripe banana (may be frozen)
A large bunch of spinach, swiss chard, kale or other green leafy vegetable
4 cubes of ice (essential if the bananas above are not frozen otherwise optional)
1/2 cup water
5 drops stevia (optional)

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!

Use organic berries if you can as they have been shown to have higher levels of antioxidants and, of course, lower levels of those nasty pesticides.

If you can’t get fresh blueberries, frozen are just as good from a nutritional standpoint.

Here is the most delicious blueberry smoothie recipe.

1 very ripe banana (may be frozen)
1/2 cup blueberries (may be frozen)
4 cubes of ice (essential if the above fruits are not frozen otherwise optional)
1/2 cup water
5 drops stevia (optional)

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!

Liquid

For the base of your smoothie you could use :

• any kind of milk – dairy, soy, nut, rice, coconut
• yogurt – plain unsweetened is the most healthy
• fruit or vegetable juice – just beware of the sugar content and maybe water it down
• water – I do tend to use just plain water most of the time

Fruits and vegetables

Start off with your kids favorite fruits and vegetables. Once they are used to the idea of smoothies you can experiment with different combinations. Try to use whole, organic fruit and vegetables for optimum health benefits.

Dried fruit

Dates, raisins or dried apricots can be added for natural sweetness and to enhance flavor. They also contribute valuable trace minerals and fiber.

Stevia

Stevia is a natural calorie-free sweetener made from the stevia plant. It is many times sweeter than sugar so a few drops in your smoothie is all you need. It can be bought at health food stores or online.

Raw honey

Another natural sweetener that is reputed to have excellent health benefits.

Ice

If your fruit ingredients are not frozen then adding ice to your smoothie will give it a better texture. Also, in my opinion, smoothies are nicer when cool. There is no reason you can’t have your smoothie at room temperature though if you prefer.

Flax seed

Flax seed (or linseed) is high in B vitamins, magnesium and manganese, fiber and phytochemicals but more importantly is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Ground flax seeds are an excellent addition to smoothies for kids however because of the high fibre it would be prudent to start with just a little and build up to a teaspoon per smoothie.

Oats

Grind rolled oats until very fine or soak rolled oats for a few hours in water before inclusion into your smoothies. Oats will make your smoothie more filling and contribute essential minerals and fibre. This works really well in a breakfast smoothie.

Peanut butter

Peanut butter is rich in mono-unsaturated fats, protein and valuable vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E, niacin, folic acid and magnesium. It is a great addition to smoothies for kids as it imparts a creamy, nutty flavor that kids love.

Nuts

Any kind of nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans etc can be finely ground for inclusion into smoothies. They create a creamy, thicker smoothie. Use about 1/4 cup of nuts per smoothie. For example check out our Nuts About Strawberries recipe.