Smoothies: The Toddler Edition

Hallelujah!!! I’ve over here celebrating because my son officially knows how to drink out of those food packs. You know the fruit and veggie smoothies that are intended as purees for infants? Yea, well it’s still a victory because if he can self feed and intake good vegetables at the same time, I’ll be doing my happy dance.

But as most of you know me, I like to make things myself for a number of reasons. One, to save money. Two, to give my son more nutrient dense smoothies than can’t be found on the supermarket shelf.

Now, it would be amazing if my son could drink through a straw with a cup without mess but that magic hasn’t shown itself yet so I’m currently relying on these reusable food pouches to do the trick. These (shown below) are the best I could find that are the easiest to clean and I figure I will be using them until my son masters using a cup and straw.

Since I have decided my son is going to probably eat these on a daily basis and possibly more than once per day at that, I figure I better load these packs with the ultimate punch of rich vegetables, nutrient dense fats and gut flora balancing probiotics. The latter two of which are not typically found in the super market counterparts. The beauty of making smoothies ourselves is being able to control exactly what our child needs. Also, we can avoid certain things we know might upset our children’s stomachs.

Probiotics can come in many forms, but the one I find is easiest to give to my son outside of regular fermented foods is via kefir. My favorite form is coconut kefir! Very easy to hide in smoothies and my son has actually gotten used to me adding it to his water [hello flavored water] and also to his milk. Coconut Kefir can be found at your local health foods store like Mother’s Market or Whole Foods. If you want to be fancy, you can even make your own with starters… maybe we will touch base on that later.

Nutrient dense fats are super important because the smoothie won’t just sustain them for a short while but rather for a hefty amount of time. I strive to make it from meal to meal without my son begging for crackers and with nutrient dense meals and shakes, I typically find that to be true.

There are so many combinations of smoothies that can be made, the possibilities are truly endless! But a staple in each one of my smoothies for my son now includes a probiotic and a healthy fat. Another easy addition to smoothies are fiber loaded oats and flax since they can be blended and mixed in without much flavor but lead to a thicker smoothie.

    Kale, Avocado & Mango Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup lacinto kale, stem removed (or sub any other kind of kale)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp coconut kefir
• 1 cup coconut water

Toss all ingredients into a blend and blend until a smooth consistency. This is a thicker smoothie, if you’d like to thin it out, more coconut water can be added in.

Recipe makes approximately 4 servings. Store in fridge for up to 4 days or 6 months in the freezer. For easy feeding, use these reusable food pouches.