Delicious and Nutritious: Smoothies

One of the biggest challenges of being a mom is getting nutritious, whole foods into our children.  It is especially hard to get them to eat a variety of healthy foods when they are small and don't have all their teeth yet.  I introduced smoothies to my daughter a little before her first birthday and it was a hit!  For the last year we have been sharing a smoothie for breakfast almost every morning.  She learned to drink from a straw very quickly and will drink quite a bit! 

Here is how I make our smoothies:

Start with a whole, peeled orange and blend it up with either yogurt, kefir, raw milk, hibiscus or other herbal tea, or fresh juice of your choice (I don't recommend juice unless it is fresh juiced from organic, whole foods because of the sugar content and pasteurization of commercial juices).

Once this mixture is smooth add any or all of the following:

• organic frozen berries or fruit (I use blueberries, strawberries, peaches, cranberries and pineapple)
• fresh organic spinach or other green (spinach is mild and doesn't really change the flavor)
• banana or other fresh fruit
• green powder (we like Garden of Life's Perfect Food Berry)
• ground flax seeds
• spirulina, beet powder, olive leaf complex, zinc lozenge or other healthy supplement
• for a treat you can also add cocoa powder, cinnamon, or vanilla extract

Your smoothie will be loaded with fiber and vitamins!  It tastes great and will help you get more fruit and veggies into everyone's diet.  When my daughter is sick I love to add supplements to our smoothie that she would not take alone.  Recently she had a runny nose that she just could not shake and we tried olive leaf complex.  Within 2 days of introducing it into her smoothies and mixing it with her water she was completely better.  Try to use organic ingredients when possible to reduce your exposure to toxins and to get more nutritional bang for your buck.  If your budget limits your organic choices try to stick with organic for the most contaminated fruits and veggies.  A helpful list is located here.