Green Smoothies 101

So often I hear –

“I want to try smoothies, but I don’t know how to make them?”

“I want to start, but…”

Well no longer, mammas!  After reading this post you will know everything you need to make yourself and your family healthy green smoothies.

Are you ready?!  -Great – Let’s jump in!

This is basics, people, basics… let’s keep it simple and start from the beginning -Green Smoothies 101, if you will.

First, Don’t go crazy!

You don’t need any special lotions or potions, or protein powder, or hemp seeds, or magic fairy dust to make them healthy…
You don’t need any special lotions or potions, or protein powder, or hemp seeds, or magic fairy dust to make them healthy for you and your family.  What you do need is real food that your kids will like.  Start there, simple and easy!

Basic recipe:

-Fruits

-Veggies (greens anyone?!)

-Water/ice

That’s all folks!  Get them excited about making them and drinking them, and then start to add in the greens and other yummy, healthy additives.

• Start with flavors your kids already know and like. If your kids like a strawberry/banana combo, start with that. After a few days, add a small handful of spinach and increase your greens everyday from there.  Add a little at a time – no reason to go crazy, mama!  Rome wasn’t built in a day and your healthy kitchen won’t be either.
• Spinach is the first green you should start with.  It has almost no flavor when added to a smoothie and is the least detectable for kids. It’s also packed with vitamins and minerals.  Your kids will get in their five servings of fruits and veggies before they walk out the door in the morning.  Can you imagine?!  Everything healthy they eat after that is just icing on the cake.
• Unless you have a mac-daddy blender (a vitamix or a blendtec), add your greens and water first and blend completely before adding the rest of the smoothie ingredients.  This will allow them to get maximum breakdown and make it harder for kids to detect.
• No adding all of that extra stuff that you “think” you need, but aren’t really sure about yet.  No superfoods or protein powder needed. Really, you don’t know what you or your kids (or you, for that matter) will like for a basic recipe, so how can you go adding all of these expensive superfoods (that are often very strong in flavor)?
• The goal is to get lots of greens in, so start small, with little things like adding the whole strawberry into the smoothie.  Yes, the tops are edible and nutritious. A little tip: when I cut up strawberries for my kids to eat, I actually save the tops and freeze them to use in smoothies!  Nothing goes to waste.
• More tips:
  • Get some fun straws for the kids to drink from – the crazier the better, but remember to get wide straws so they don’t get clogged!
  • Get fun cups.  Some kids like plastic ones with characters, while others (like my ultra-fancy girls) like wine-type glasses so that they can be fancy when drinking them.  It makes it more of a treat!
  • Buy super ripe fruits from the grocery store or farmers market at a reduced price.  If your grocery store doesn’t have “seconds”, ask the manager if they have any overripe fruits that they would be willing to sell you at a discount.  I ALWAYS do this, especially for bananas.  My grocery store normally sells them for half price.  I bring them home and let them get a bit more brown, then I peel them, break them in half and freeze them in a ziploc bag.  When it’s time for a smoothie, I simply grab the bag from the freezer.  It works out perfect!

Ok, Mama, now you know the basics of green smoothies – so get blending!

No more excuses, no more confusion, no more googling needed – you can start now!  You can’t do it wrong – you got this, remember, I’m here with you!

Have any smoothie recipes your kids love?  Share the love and post them in the comments below – the best tips are always from other mamas!

Happy Blending,
Christina