Smoothies are a
mom’s best friend! I’ve always loved breakfast smoothies for myself for many
reasons: they are so easy, I never run out of the ingredients, they give me
energy and fill me up without weighing my down at the start of the day, and did
I mention they are easy – just to name a few!
When I became a
mom to toddlers, my love for smoothies only increased. With our first little
guy J, I couldn’t fill him up! He was constantly hungry and he had a problem
with chewing which had my Heimlich maneuver on standby at all times – not to
mention my nerves a wreck when he ate anything close to age appropriate bites.
Snacks in particular were an issue because I couldn’t just give him a snack to
eat; I’d need to be watching. Then with our second baby, JoJo, we had the
opposite issue of her never wanting to eat. Bring on the patience, sister!
So anyways, I
needed to get creative. I have to credit J for the idea because he’s the one
that originally asked to taste my green smoothie and why I hadn’t thought to
let him try it before is beyond me! HE LOVED IT!! So this is where our “smoothies
for toddlers” got its start!
I wanted to share
a few of our family’s favorite recipes with y’all. A few sweet friends have
asked me recently to write a post on this so here goes:
** Note: We only
drink coconut milk for our milk so that’s what I’m writing on these recipes,
but any kind of milk is totally fine – it substitutes equally. I also will use
coconut water. Regular water works to but I like the added benefits of the
coconut milk/water.
Blend all
ingredients in each recipe until smooth, add a fun straw, and ENJOY!
Just Peachy
8 – 10oz coconut
milk
1C kale
1C spinach
1 banana
1/2C frozen
peaches
Tropical Greens
8 – 10oz coconut
water
2 C kale
1 banana
1 C frozen
pineapple
big splash of orange
juice
Berry Blast
8 – 10oz coconut
milk
1 C kale
1 C spinach
1 ½ C frozen
mixed berries
juice of half a
lemon
Peanut Butter and Banana
8 – 10oz coconut
milk
½ C spinach
2 frozen bananas
2 TBS peanut
butter powder (our favorite is by Just Great Stuff)
Greek Goodness
8 oz coconut milk
¼ C (2oz) Greek
yogurt
1 C spinach
1 C frozen
berries
1 banana
1 TSP chia seeds
Peanut Butter & Jelly
8 – 10oz coconut
milk
½ C spinach
2 TBSP peanut
butter powder
1 C frozen
berries
Mighty Green Toddler
8 – 10oz coconut
water
½ cucumber
½ C spinach
1 green apple,
cored
1 frozen banana
1 heaping TBSP
hemp seeds
The best part
about these recipes – you don’t need to measure exactly and you can make
“smoothie packs.” These have saved me SO much time. Prep your portioned out
fruits in zip lock bags and freeze (you can add the greens in, I just prefer to
portion greens and refrigerate separately). Then you can grab two bags in the
morning, add you milk or water and blend. Literally a 30 second meal or snack!
Fun goodies to add:
hemp seeds, chia seeds, or honey are some of our favorites!
(If you have any
different recipes that your kiddos, or you, love leave the ideas below! I’m
always looking for easy and fun new recipes!)
