4 Simple Steps To Getting Your Kids Hooked On Green Smoothies

I couldn’t resist posting this here! As part of our Green Smoothie Day preparations, we’ve chosen Jamie Abrams to be our Green Smoothie Correspondent for Kids! And while we’ve included it in our Health In High Heels issues that will be coming out this week, I thought it was pretty appropriate to share here!

4 Simple Steps To Getting Your Kids Hooked On Green Smoothies

by Jamie Abrams

International Green Smoothie Day is approaching and I have been thinking of ways to celebrate. And what better place to start than by spreading the Green joy with our kiddies? Fueling our children with these powerful green elixirs gives hope to the future of humankind.
My little tot regularly asks for and laps-up green smoothies. I can’t tell you how heart-warming it is to hear his little voice requesting a green smoothie and then asking for a top-up! Here, I’ll share how we have become so successful in giving our small fellah green goodness.

Part One: The Art of Making a Green Smoothie

Set the scene by having large bowls on the worktop surface with a variety of beautiful colored fruits. Sit your child up on the counter next to where all the action will be taking place or have them pull-up a chair so they can see what you are doing. Keep things light. A simple base to create your green smoothie from is nut/seed milk or water and banana. Then get crazy by adding 2-3 different fruits to the base. Allow your child to have ingredient input – even if the combination sounds horrible, you might just stumble on a gem. Let them participate as much as their capabilities allow – most children love washing produce (who doesn’t love a little splash around!). Give them a blunt knife (butter knives work a charm) to cut the fruit with (apples, pears, bananas etc.). Get them peeling oranges, hand them the opportunity of putting all the ingredients into the blender, and turning the blender dial. Just think kitchen assistant or raw chef in the making!
The real key is to let them feel like they are a part of the process. Being patient, realizing that they may have their own way of doing things and remaining open to the possibilities of creating together are really valuable.

Part Two: The Art of Serving a Green Smoothie

Here is where the fun really begins. Having a few special drink containers can be priceless. Use a cup with a logo/design of their favorite toy or book character, an animal they have a special affinity to, or anything else they are really into. It can then become their special drink cup – we have two, a mug with a teddy bear on it and cup with Thomas the Tank Engine. Also, using a fancy glass, like a wine glass or parfait cup, can make drinking the green smoothie even more appealing.

Presentation is just as important to the little people in our lives as it is to adults. Top the smoothie off with a slice of fruit (strawberry, kiwi, etc) or dashing goji berries, bee pollen, buckwheaties or shelled hemp seeds on top – these are like magic fairy sprinkles – and then watch the smoothie disappear at record speed! Making the smoothie look pretty does make it taste better.
Let’s not forget Tera’s treasure of a tip – to serve the green smoothie with a wide-holed straw for extra slurping power.

Part Three: The Art of Naming a Green Smoothie

In our world, when something has an inspiring name or sound we are naturally drawn to it. The same goes for children. Zenchai is at the age where everything HAS to have a name and he wants to know it. Be imaginative, think quickly and have a sense of humor. Encourage your child to name the smoothie or give it a name you think will appeal to their senses. A common theme in our house for smoothie-naming is using car brands or relating it to an animal. Some of our more care-free names are Hummer Fuel, Magic Squirrel Juice, Hunka-Dunka Passion, Mini Cooper Engine Oil, Raz-ma-taz and many other made-up word names I can’t remember!
Part Four: The Art of Inventing Delectable Green Smoothies

Recipe-making need not be complicated. As a matter of fact, keeping it simple is always the best course of action!

Step 1: First choose a base, like water or nut/seed milk (favorites in our house are almond milk or hempseed milk). If you like a thicker consistency use just enough liquid to cover the blades of your blender.

Step 2: Next choose your fruit – make sure it is ripe! Bananas seem to be a real staple for green smoothies because of the sweetness they offer. Using over-ripe frozen bananas can add a whole new dimension to the smoothie due to their milk shake-like property. Choosing another 2-3 fruits to compliment the banana keeps things effortless and also leaves a variety of other combinations to be explored at another time.

Step 3: Then choose your greens. Spinach has a very mild flavor, whereas some of the others can be quite strong, but don’t let that sway you from adding a leaf of kale or a small dash of parsley. When fruit is ripe and sweet it will cancel out the stronger flavored greens.

Step 4: This next bit is a sneaky-mom trick (optional of course). Try adding flax or hemp oil for the brain-boosting benefits, add a ½ – 1 tsp of any green powder for extra protein (spirulina, chlorella etc), and a dash of kelp powder.

One last sneaky-mom trick is to use blueberries in your recipe if your child has an aversion to green liquids. The blueberries make it more a deep purple.

Here are some classic Green Smoothie recipes, but the sky is the limit so get shaking and see what you can conceive! I have provided the fruit combinations. You need to decide on a liquid base, (water is fine) which greens to use (at least two handfuls!), and if you want to add any sneaky-mom bits or magic fairy sprinkles, go right ahead!

Hummer Fuel Green Smoothie:
1 banana
1 passion fruit
1/2 mango
1 pear

Raz-Ma-Taz:
1 banana
1-2 passion fruit
½ mango
1 handful of frozen raspberries

Smurf’s Delight:
1 banana,
1 handful of blueberries
1 pear

Magic Squirrel Juice:
1 banana
¼ pineapple
1 handful of strawberries
1 pear

Minty Mercedes:
1 banana
2 pears
¼ cup mint
Goji To The Rescue:
1 orange (peeled and deseeded)
1 banana, handful of green grapes
1 pear or apple
1 handful of gojis