While the daily grind never truly stops for us as adults, children everywhere are getting back into the swing of things now that back-to-school time is just around the corner! If the past year and a half have taught us anything, it’s that overall health and wellness is important for success, and in order to have great health, you have to start with great nutrition.

For busy parents, this means finding quick, easy, and nutritious meals on-the-go that children of all ages will love. Blendtopia has you covered! We have all of the best healthy smoothie recipes for kids and all of the tips you’ll need to get your smoothie game on for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  Give your kids smoothies an upgrade!

Healthy Smoothies for Kids

Healthy smoothies are an excellent way to get quick, healthy nutrients into our children without compromising on affordability or taste. Not only are they easy and simple to make, they can be adapted to fit your child’s unique taste ensuring there is always something for everyone! Start with the smoothie as your base. This is where you will want to pack healthy, naturally sweet organic fruits and vegetables into a delicious and easy meal that you can enjoy right away, on-the-go. Or you can use it as base for a more relaxed smoothie meal experience like the smoothie bowl.

To make a smoothie bowl, you want to start by making your base thicker by blending it together using less of your preferred liquid. For a delicious, creamy consistency with lots of added benefits, try using plant-based milks like Almond Milk or Oat Milk. If you want to encompass dairy into your child’s meal, you can also add a scoop of your favorite full-fat Greek yogurt which will give you a nice, thick base.  Learn more with The Best Milk for Smoothies.  

Once blended, you’ll end up with a super-thick smoothie that can be poured into a bowl and topped with fun, healthy ingredients to make a nutritionally dense meal your kids will love. Here are some of our favorite smoothie toppings to help get your creative juices flowing:

• Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries
• Bananas
• Melon
• Chia Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Flax Seeds
• Coconut
• Peanuts, Walnuts, Almonds

If you need some more nutritious topping ideas, you can check out our blog post, The Best Smoothie Bowl Toppings.

High Protein Healthy Smoothies for Kids

A healthy breakfast smoothie high in protein is important for kids, especially when being used as a meal replacement. High-protein breakfasts not only help children maintain focus throughout the day, but it also helps keep their body running efficiently and their overall mood happier. Don’t fret, adding protein to your child’s healthy smoothies is not only easy to do, but it’s just as delicious! Here are some great, high-protein options that will blend right in with your favorite smoothie recipes:

Yogurt (Original, Greek, or Icelandic) – Yogurt is a great, nutritious option to add protein to your smoothies while also giving it a rich and creamy texture. No matter which yogurt you choose, be sure it’s made with whole milk, probiotics, and no added sugar.

Almond Butter – Almond butter is a great option for adding protein to your smoothies while maintaining deliciousness. In addition to providing a good source of protein, it also enhance your smoothie with health fats that help promote overall good health.

Milk (whole) – Using whole milk as a liquid base for your child’s smoothie is a great source of protein as one cup of whole milk contains 9 grams of much needed protein. It also helps give your smoothie a creamy, drinkable, consistency.  For lower fat and/or sugar, try unsweetened almond milk.  

Peanut Butter – What child doesn’t love peanut butter? It’s a household staple in most houses, and contains about 4 grams of protein per tablespoon served. Its thick, creamy, and goes perfectly with almost all healthy smoothies!

Avocado – A RICH source of plant-based protein, blending in some avocado will not only boost nutritional content in any smoothie, it also helps you achieve that perfect, creamy smoothie texture.

Fruit Smoothies for Kids

For parents with picky eaters, fruit smoothies may be the way to go. After all, who doesn’t love the sweet, enjoyable taste of fresh fruit! Making a delicious tasting frozen fruit smoothie for kids is super simple as there is no shortage of smoothie acceptable fruits!

In fact, all fruits can be used in healthy smoothies when appropriately prepared (seeds removed, skin peeled, etc). Some popular fruit smoothie ingredients for kids include:

• Strawberries
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Pineapple
• Oranges

If you aren’t quite down to picking your own ingredients, that’s okay, too! Here is a super simple, yet delicious fruit smoothie recipe your child will love.

Good Morning, Sunshine Healthy Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 frozen bananas
• 1/2 cup frozen orange sections
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 2 small sections of lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons Almond Butter
• 13 oz of blending liquid (ie. almond milk, coconut water, H2O)

Directions:

Add all of your ingredients to your blender and begin blending until you reach your desired consistency. If you want a thicker consistency, you can try blending in full-fat yogurt or cream in small amounts until your desired consistency is reached. Pour into smoothie cups and enjoy!

Green Smoothies for Kids

Getting your child to drink a green smoothie may be a little harder to accomplish than a traditional fruit smoothie, but it doesn’t have to be! Depending on what you mix with it, green smoothies can be just as sweet and delicious. A green smoothie, when paired with delicious fruits and nuts, are a great way to boost your child’s vegetable intake, especially if they are extremely picky eaters.

To start, pick a handful of vegetables and leafy greens to add to your base smoothie. Some great choices are organic spinach, cucumber, and kale. Together with your selected vegetables, add in some fruits like frozen pineapple, bananas, kiwi, or strawberries. To help balance the taste, use a creamy blending liquid like Oat Milk or Whole Milk to blend it altogether.

To Sweeten, or Not to Sweeten

No matter what ingredients you add, some kiddos just prefer to live life on the sweeter side, and that’s okay! If you need to add a little bit of sweetener to the mix, do so! Some good, healthier sweetener options are Monkfruit, Stevia, Xylitol, and Honey. Just be sure to start small and add only what is needed as these sweeteners are usually more concentrated than regular sugar.  For additional resources, check out How to Make a Smoothie Sweeter and The 3 Best Super Seeds for Smoothies.  

Also – we highly encourage you to involve your child in making smoothies. Making smoothies for kids with kids is not only a healthy snack, but enjoyable bonding.  When kids eat their own smoothies their yummy recipes become lasting family memories.  Discovering their favorite smoothie recipe can be a fun project for you both!  

What kinds of kids smoothies do your children enjoy? Do they prefer a sweet fruit berry smoothie or vibrant green smoothies?  And be sure to come follow Blendtopia on Facebook to stay connected, and follow us on Pinterest to get even more ideas for maintaining our mental, physical, and emotional wellness.