This smoothie is naturally sweet, healthy and everything yummy! On a mostly plant-based diet, I struggle to get my son to eat those high iron, healthy foods because, let’s be real, those foods aren’t always the most appealing to toddlers, especially picky eaters. This Power Berry Smoothie is popping with so much flavour that it allows me (and now you too!) to be able to add anything healthy that I need hidden!
I truly struggle at meal times with my son. He is a super picky eater and as a strong minded toddler, I don’t have many tools in my toolbox to use to get him to eat. His terms, or none at all. So much fun! As a child who is mostly plant-based, iron and protein are vitamins I constantly keep on my radar and worry about his consumption of. On one of those days, when my son eats either a bite of each meal or barely anything at all, my Power Berry Smoothie is my absolute go-to.
To start off, I will say the portion size of this smoothie is clearly quite big. That’s because I always save half for myself! If you don’t want to have any, then simply cut this smoothie recipe in half, or save for later in the fridge.
I begin by adding about a 1/4 cup of quick oats to my smoothie cup. Providing a great source of iron! I use unflavoured when making this specifically for my toddler, because I don’t want to add unnatural sugars and flavouring that can be sometimes found in the pre-flavoured quick oat packets.
Next I break a ripe banana into three pieces. Make sure the banana is ripe and not just off green. Off-green, newly yellow bananas can be constipating, whereas ripe bananas help those bowels flow!
I usually add a handful of spinach or kale to this recipe. It is not very strong in flavour and adds some greens to your toddler’s daily diet. I tend to buy this frozen for two reasons: for one it lasts longer, and second it keeps the smoothie cold since I will not be adding ice, as to not reduce the flavouring. The nutritious benefits of spinach is folate, iron, calcium, vitamin A and more, while kale is super high in vitamin C, A, and B6. So many healthy nutrients in this mix, the health to taste ratio equals out perfectly!
I then add about a cup of frozen mixed berries to the cup. My mixed berries include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. A great source of vitamin C to help your little one’s body absorb all this iron!
You can choose to add one, two or all types of berries! I prefer this blend because the taste of berries is so powerful and delicious.
To add more vitamins to this cup, I like to find different items that can be ground up without overtaking any flavours. You can add chia seeds, flax seeds, avacado, almond butter, cooked then previously blended quinoa, hemp seeds and more.
For this specific smoothie, I used organic Hemp Hearts and organic ground chia seeds and flaxseeds. Getting in some vitamin E, zinc, iron, calcium and manganese. Yay!
Next I add some cinnamon to taste, for some additional tasty flavour. Did you know, cinnamon is also great to boost and maintain memory! Then to get the smoothie blended you need a liquid. You can use a plant-based milk of your choice, but I like to use Coconut Water. So refreshing and adds a bit of its subtle sweetness to the smoothie.
From just some healthy ingredients to a delicious Power Berry Smoothie! Your toddler will be grabbing the glass for more and more. The best part, that picky eater didn’t technically win today, they actually consumed a meal full or vitamins and nutrients and you can sleep at night (who am I kidding?).
| Ingredients |
|---|
| 1/4 cup Quick Oats |
| 1 Ripe Banana |
| Handful of Spinach or Kale (frozen) |
| 1 cup Mixed Berries (frozen) |
| 1 tsp organic Hemp Hearts |
| 1 tsp organic Mixed Chia and Flaxseeds |
| 1/2 tsp cinnamon |
| 1 1/2 cups Coconut Water (adding more if needed) |
Raw Mom Club 