Introduce your tot to a healthy green monster smoothie

Who would have known that toddlers love the green stuff? While a green veggie smoothie is not something you would ordinarily think of giving your child, it makes so much sense. In one serving, he’ll be gulping down broccoli, spinach, kale, celery, and cucumber. What mom doesn’t want her kid eating that?

When can I give my child veggie smoothies?

• The great part about veggie smoothies is that they are essentially like a puree, so you can give them to your baby once he is comfortable eating solids.
• Make sure your child is used to eating broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables otherwise it’ll be too many new things for his tiny tummy and he will probably land up with cramps.
• Start with a small portion and see how your baby’s tummy reacts.
• You can include yoghurt and nuts (for protein).
• You may need to play around to find the right balance of veggie versus sweet taste.

Ingredients

• Approx ¼ cucumber
• A handful of spinach or kale or Swiss chard or a combo of everything
• A handful of broccoli (stems and florets)
• 2-3 small celery sticks
• 1 banana
• 1 apple or pear (to sweeten)
• 1 kiwi fruit (not essential but nice to keep with the green theme)

Other things you could add or try:

• Avo (to add a nice creamy texture)
• Bok choy
• Lettuce (from that salad you never ended up making)
• Lime
• Mint
• Coriander

Method

1. Slice and roughly chop your ingredients, and throw into a blender with any of the liquid options below:
2. To thin and blend: liquid ½ cup – 1 cup
3. You need a liquid to help blend the mixture. Start with ½ a cup and add more as needed, depending on how thin or thick you want it.

Here are your options:

• 100% pure coconut water (helps sweeten the mixture)
• Full cream milk, formula, breastmilk, or almond milk
• Full cream yoghurt

Top tip: Adding dairy is a good way to include protein in the smoothie. 

Optional super-food extras

Pick and choose 1 or 2 of the below, or mix it up each time you make a batch by trying different options.

• A handful of almonds, macadamias, or a dollop of nut butter. I use almond, macadamia, or peanut butter.
• A spoonful of chia seeds
• A spoonful of ground flaxseeds
• A spoonful of mixed seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower)
• A spoonful of oat bran (if you want it to be thicker)

How to serve

You can spoon-feed the mixture to your baby, or pour it into a cup with a straw.