If you are a mother and have been struggling to push your kids to eat healthy leafy greens, then green smoothies could be your solution to the problem. Everyone including your little ones need greens to grow healthy and strong but not every child will willingly consume those vegetables without a fight. But rather than push them to a nutritious meal, you can easily whip the same vegetables into a smooth, yummy and irresistible drink using a quality smoothie blender today. Just get those greens and a blender and follow the steps below to come up with the healthiest and nourishing drink.
The best practices when making green smoothie for kids
- Use fewer greens and more fruits
When starting the journey with your kids, the secret is to use a bigger fruit ration compared to leafy greens. This will help your child to easily fall in love with the smoothie before becoming used to this new delicacy. You can start bay mixing a banana, strawberries and 3 or 4 young spinach leaves but do it in a way it won’t change the color. As time goes by, add some more greens including kales.
- Consider the texture
Your green smoothies need to be creamy and for you to get a consistent texture, using a quality blender is of great importance. You should also use some creamy ingredients such chia seeds, avocado or coconut oil. However, do not put in a lot of these least you overdo it. Fatty ingredients help give your smoothie a nice, consistent texture that will be enjoyable for the kids. A good blender will also crush all the particles and make your smoothie easy to swallow without leaving some lumps in the mouth. The fatty ingredients will also help you absorb the carotenoids found in the leafy greens.
- Make the smoothies together
Getting your kids involved in the process is always a great way of enticing them to eat or drink what you are making. You should involve them in peeling or cutting the ingredients or have them serve the smoothies into some colorful cups or glasses. Just make the process enjoyable and fun.
- Play around with colors
Kids are easily mesmerized by colors and you’ll always see them running for colored or patterned cups or glasses. You can take advantage of this and serve them green smoothies in a way that is interesting. Look for their favorite colors and always go for something opaque. You can also serve the smoothies in a cup that has a lid and let them use a straw to drink it.
- Use some sweet flavors
Green smoothies can be made sweeter by using fresh fruits such as pineapples or orange juice. Just the change of flavor will make the smoothie more appealing to the kids. The different flavors will simply eliminate the bitterness in the greens and make them sweeter. In fact, some of these fruits will work great as sweeteners instead of adding sugar.
With these steps, even those kids who have a perfect hatred for green veggies will find themselves enjoying the healthy nutrients therein. Smoothies are always a great way to introduce your kids to leafy greens.
Author:
Editor, CookingDetective.com