Smoothies and juices are a brilliant way to get your child eating more fruit and veg. Plus they are super easy to make because all you need to do is bung the ingredients into a blender, whizz it up and it's done. You really can't go wrong.
If you let your child choose which ingredients go into the mix, they will feel much more in control of the process and hopefully more open to trying something new and healthy.
You can make smoothies with whatever you've got to hand in the kitchen. It's a great way to use up over-ripe bananas, though be aware that their strong flavour can sometimes swamp the mix. Feel free to experiment with extra ingredients like yoghurt, honey or ginger.
Here's a yummy recipe from smoothie specialists Crussh It's similar to the Strawberry Cool drink available in their stores. They also do a Detox Cactus Smoothie, but I think that one's best not tried at home!
Strawberry Surprise Smoothie
To make the smoothie below, why not get your children involved with popping the fruits in the blend
er and let them watch as everything is whirled up into a tasty drink.
The frozen yoghurt is full of calcium to help strengthen growing bones and the banana is a great way to give them slow-releasing energy, plus the orange juice and strawberries are full of vitamin C and antioxidants, offering them the perfect healthy snack in a cup!
Blend:
a cup of fresh orange juice
half a banana
then add
a handful of strawberries
one cup of yoghurt - adults will probably want low fat, but for young children you can use full fat yoghurt
a few cubes of ice.
That's all there is to it – and it makes two bright pink smoothies!