Do your kids eat enough vegetables? If you answered yes, by all means, go plop a couple scoops of ice cream or beet sorbet into a bowl and pat yourself on the back. You’ve done some great work! Truly. For the other 96 percent of us, there are smoothies. Of course, a call for spinach smoothies might not get your littles galloping to the kitchen, but with a few fun and fruity twists, healthy vegetable-based smoothies can be a painless, and even a delicious, part of your day.
The secret to great veggie smoothies is balance — sweet, somewhat mild vegetables like carrots, beets, or spinach are balanced by a range of fruits like bananas, blueberries, pears, and oranges. For each of these veggie wonders, I played with texture and sweetness to achieve a balanced, absolutely kid-friendly sip. And, to be completely sure these smoothies would go over well with kids, I enlisted my 7- and 3-year-old daughters as test subjects. Head below for all three kid-approved smoothie recipes!
A few notes on making vegetable smoothies at home: A powerful blender shouldn’t have any trouble blending vegetables to prime smoothie form, but if you’ve got a more modest blender, do a little experimentation. Start by chopping the vegetables into little bits and consider grating the tougher vegetables like carrots and beets for seamless blending. It’s also worth noting that frosty smoothies are the most delicious, so start a few days ahead by stockpiling frozen, peeled bananas in the freezer. Freeze bananas flat on a parchment-lined surface, then bag frozen bananas and store until needed.
3 Kid-Approved Veggie Smoothies:
Carrot Orange Smoothies
Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped carrots
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup peeled, chopped carrots
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
Directions:
Layer the ice, banana chunks, orange segments, and carrots in the blender, add the orange juice, and blend until smooth.
Layer the ice, banana chunks, orange segments, and carrots in the blender, add the orange juice, and blend until smooth.
Beet Berry Smoothies
Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped beets
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup peeled, chopped beets
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, blueberries, and beets in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.
Layer ice, banana chunks, blueberries, and beets in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.
Spinach Avocado Smoothies
Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings
Ingredients:
1 packed cup spinach leaves
1 avocado, chopped
1 large Bartlett pear, sliced
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 1/4 cup ice
1 1/4 cup orange juice
1 packed cup spinach leaves
1 avocado, chopped
1 large Bartlett pear, sliced
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 1/4 cup ice
1 1/4 cup orange juice
Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, avocado, pear slices, and spinach in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.
http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/kid-approved-veggie-smoothies-3-fresh-takes/Layer ice, banana chunks, avocado, pear slices, and spinach in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.
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