Delicious Fruit and Vegatable, Green Smoothie Recipes for Kids

I have to admit, it's hard getting my kids to eat vegetables. Sure, we have the select few that can be sliced and dipped in some ranch dressing, then there's the broccoli I mix in the weekly mac n cheese meal, but aside from that, my kids are quick to push away a plate of veggies. But I have a secret for getting kids to eat and enjoy fruits and vegetables...daily! Green smoothies! Now before you say, "Green smoothies for kids?" I already plan to surprise you, don't worry, they will enjoy it!

See, I could be the -clean your plate- kind of mother who makes them eat every morsel of food on the plate; but I'm going to be honest, I don't give my kids dessert very often, so taking away dessert privileges for uncleaned plates isn't much of a threat. Actually, my boy's are all still pretty young, and bedtime is almost immediately after dinner, the -sit at the dinner table until you eat your food- isn't much of an option either! I need something that works, and fruit smoothies with added undetectable vegetables (green smoothies) are my perfect solution and might I add...secret weapon for a healthy family!

Oh and did I mention that it's great for Mom's too, especially if you are breastfeeding! Oh how badly I wish I would of discovered green smoothies in the early stages of breastfeeding when I seemed to live on peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches because of how fast they were to make and how full I got after eating them. No where near as nutritious as a smoothie though, especially these fruit and vegetable green smoothies!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise

1/2 of a Banana
1 tablespoon of natural, no sugar added peanut butter
4 Tablespoons of Chocolate Ovaltine Powder or 2 Tablespoons of Nesquik Chocolate Powder
1 large handful of uncooked, fresh spinach
8-10 oz of milk (2% or whole for children, adults may want to choose a lower fat content)

Blend in a good high power blender until the smoothie reaches smooth consistency, if mixture is too thick, you may add slightly more milk, or a dash of water until it's to your liking, for this and ALL of the recipes listed.

Cherry Chocolate Dessert Smoothie

1/2 of a very ripe banana
1/2 cup of frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
4 tablespoons of Chocolate Ovaltine Powder or 2 Tablespoons of Nesquik Chocolate powder
1/2 cup of frozen cauliflower
8-10 oz of milk (2% or whole for children, adults may want to choose a lower fat content)

The mixture of the super sweet banana and the cherries mixed with chocolate completely hides the bland taste of cauliflower! A sure winner!

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

6 oz of orange juice (100% juice)
1/2 cup of frozen pineapple
1/2 cup of frozen sliced carrots
6-8 oz of milk (2% or whole for children, adults may want to choose a lower fat content) or you can even substitute 4 oz of milk and a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
1 ripe banana
1 tablespoon of honey (not for children under 1)

This orange smoothie will be a sweet creamy treat for the whole family! It yields about 4 full servings, although my kids always ask for seconds! It's perfect for a summer day and a dollop of whipped cream makes it feel even more of a treat!

Berry Blast Off Smoothie

1 cup frozen mixed berries
8-10 oz of Milk
4 oz of apple juice (optional)
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon of blueberry flavored agave nectar or plain agave or berry flavored honey or plain honey
1 handful of baby spinach

Most full on green smoothie advocates will tell you to use any mixture of 60% fruit to 40% vegetables and use water only, letting the fruit be the sweetness and base of the smoothie. And that's an awesome goal to work up to, I'm not going to diminish the benefits of a true green smoothie! But these recipes are sure to be a hit for your kids, as a matter of fact as time goes on, you can tinker with each recipes adding all kinds of variations! The best part is knowing your kids are drinking something truly nutritious! These green smoothie recipes for kids are just a base recipe, get creative and enjoy!

On a side note, I have gotten my kids used to the smoothies without the need for the ovaltine or Nesquik, I instead use 1 heaping tablespoon of plain dark cocoa powder and 1 heaping spoon of honey in the recipe, but to make it the kid friendliest I could, I started you guys off the same way we started drinking ours!

Each of these green smoothies recipes will yield 2-4 servings and possibly more depending on how thick/thin you make it.

If you tried any of these, comment and let me know how they were...and if you get creative, you are welcome to share!