Homemade smoothies are a nutritious snack that are versatile, easy to whip up, and tasty to boot! It’s a great option for us busy moms who are trying to provide our little ones with wholesome food options, while also finding the time to feed ourselves.
But the reality is, not every child is immediately sold on smoothies (unless it’s the high-sugar juice-based ones) and it can be frustrating when your healthy concoctions go to waste. Continue reading below for my top 5 tips on making kid-approved smoothies and keep them asking for more!
Tip #1: Start slow
Easy does it! You may be excited to use smoothies as a way to get a daily serving of vegetables into your child, but most kids (adults included) won’t want to drink an avocado-ginger-kale smoothie right out of the gate.
When our big guy was two years old, I started him on a smoothie that I knew couldn’t fail: frozen mango and banana, a heaping spoonful of (plain organic) yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup, in a base of orange juice and water. As he grew more accustomed to having smoothies, I was able to make them more adventurous: adding different fruit combinations, veggies, nut butters, seeds, and spices (like cinnamon).
Since most kids can be picky about taste AND texture, make your first smoothies simple, familiar (no kale yet!), and invest in a good blender to prevent any lumpy/fiber-y drinks.
Easy combinations to start with: mango-banana, strawberry-banana, and blueberry-spinach (the blue will hide the green of the spinach!).
Tip #2: Dress it up
Make the smoothie visually attractive. It’s true that we “eat” with our eyes first, and children are no different. Who wants to drink greenish-brown sludge?
Use a fun glass or straw to make the smoothie seem more like a treat. Add toppings, like fresh fruit slices or a drizzle of nut butter. Another option is to use less liquid and make a smoothie bowl – I pass these off to our kids as “ice cream”, and they add their own toppings from a selection of fruit, nuts, seeds, and granola.
Tip #3: Get them involved
Following from the previous tip, having your child involved in making the smoothie – like customizing the added toppings – is another great way of getting them on board the smoothie train. As any parent can attest to, children are constantly finding ways to assert their independence, even at an early age. Allowing them to be part of a decision-making process will help build confidence, nurture that independence, and make it more likely that they’ll be excited about the smoothie they made!
Simple things like letting your child choose the fruit combo that day, adding ingredients to the blender, and pressing the “On” button (with you supervising, of course!) can go a long way to making the smoothie more appealing.
Tip #4: Be a good role model
This should actually be tip number one the list (and not just for smoothie-making!). Children learn by imitating – so, be sure to model good behaviour. You can’t expect your kids to drink a smoothie if you won’t either (or if you’re choosing unhealthy foods options in front of them). I always blend enough smoothie for the boys and I to each have a glass, and we’ll drink it together. They’re happy to share “their” smoothie creation with me, and it’s a great nourishing snack on those days when I’m running around with the kids and unable to get a proper sit-down meal.
Tip #5: When all else fails, make it chocolate!
I’m not talking about making a chocolate bar smoothie (though, how delicious would that be?), but rather giving it a chocolate flavour to entice your little ones. Chocolate doesn’t have to be unhealthy (think about dark chocolate and all of its antioxidants) – it just has to be done right.
Try adding ½ to 1 tablespoon of pure cocoa powder to the blender (you may need to add a touch more natural sweetener, like pure maple syrup or whole Medjool dates, depending on how bitter the cocoa powder is). It doesn’t take much to create a rich chocolate flavour!
The first time that I made an avocado smoothie, our kids would have none of it. I thought fast, poured the smoothie back into the blender, and added a spoonful each of pure cocoa powder and pure maple syrup. And voilà! A chocolate (avocado) smoothie! Both boys downed that one pretty quick and – bonus! – now the kids are more open to actually eating avocado since they know that’s what was in their tasty chocolate smoothie.
Check out my post on Smoothies: The Perfect Meal-in-a-Glass for more ideas on how to build a tasty smoothie!
