Smoothies!

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!)