Green smoothies seem to be everywhere at the moment and I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon but after reading this post and making Sherilyn’s version, it got me thinking that this wasn’t such a bad trend to follow… then I saw this absolutely adorable video made by Anya of Golubka fame that sealed the deal for me. From that day on we’ve been enjoying our own version of the famed green smoothie for breakfast, using freshly picked (organic) silverbeet from the garden.
I get loads of people asking how I get our kids to eat as many vegetables as they do and you know what? The simple answer (as seen also in that video) is that all you need to do is expose them to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from day one. Eat them daily, prepared in exciting ways and they will grow up knowing no different.
Our kids fight over who gets to eat the last shred of raw kale in the salad bowl, and no it’s not a miracle. It’s just what they know. A perfect example of this is when I made a Mexican inspired dish for dinner recently. This was all rather new to them as it’s not flavours I tend to cook with very often so they weren’t overly keen or excited to try it, but if I had put a bowlful of chickpea curry (similar spices and heat factor, but familiar) they would have gladly eaten a whole bowlful with rice, because that’s what they know.
They haven’t always loved all vegetables. Kye was especially slow to get excited about vegetables, especially cooked ones. But we just never gave up, we kept on offering them every day, whether he ate them or not and slowly but surely they both now give nearly every vegetable a go. (Kye still won’t go near mushrooms, but hey everyone has to have at least one disliked vege eh?).
The kids have always loved spirulina smoothies so getting them to try a green smoothie for breakfast wasn’t to much of a stretch, but to further disguise the silverbeet (chard) I’ve bumped up the flavours by adding some freshly squeezed orange juice and virgin coconut oil, so even the most weary reader will enjoy it too! The orange juice provides a good boost of vitamin C which will help the body absorb more iron from the silverbeet, while the coconut oil provides great amounts of lauric acid and has this amazing ability of being able to disguise the somewhat grassy nature of green leafy vegetables, making it almost undetectable in smoothies like these. Perfect, I hear you say!
Spinach could be used in place of the silverbeet (chard) I’ve used here, but do try your best to obtain organically grown greens where ever possible.
I planned to have a photo of each kid drinking their smoothies but Ada gulped hers down so fast that by the time I had taken a few snaps of mine, she had polished off nearly two glasses of it!
Lastly, for any of you who like to look at photos of peoples vegetable gardens (I’m sure I’m not the only one right, right?) I’ve started up an album on my facebook page, that’ll keep you up to date with what’s growing in our garden right now…
If you like your greens as much as we do, you might also like my:
*salt + vinegar kale chips
*raw kale salad with garlic feta dressing
green smoothie
Spinach leaves can be used in place of silverbeet (chard) if preferred. Chopped peach or nectarine could be used in place of mango, if not available or just add another banana. Squeezing your own orange juice will make for a much nicer smoothie, if you don’t have quite 1 cup of juice simply top up with filtered water. Also, this makes a lovely thick smoothie, just how Iike it. But you could always thin it down with more orange juice or filtered water if you prefer a thinner smoothie.
serves 3-4
- 1 ripe mango, peeled, stone removed and roughly chopped
- 1 ripe banana, peeled
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (around 2 oranges)
- 2-4 large silverbeet (chard) leaves, hard stem removed (discard) and leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil (solid or melted slightly, doesn’t matter too much)
- berries (fresh or frozen) to serve, optional
Place everything into a blender *, except for the berries. Blend on high for 1 minute or until bright green, smooth and creamy. Serve immediately topped with berries.
* I find that if you have a regular blender like I do (not a vitamix), it’s easier on your blender if you layer the softest ingredients and liquids first. I usually add the banana, mango and orange juice to the blender jug first, then top it with the chopped silverbeet (chard), ice and coconut oil, before blending. It will thank you 🙂
Recipe shared at:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-free
31 Responses
Delicious, and beautiful pics! Yay for kids eating greens 🙂
Heidi xo
My darling glutin and dairy free grandchildren arrive tonight for the holiday weekend. I can hardly wait to try many of your recipes on them. (Not that I needed an excuse to try them…I'm just saying)
Can hardly wait to do some cooking with little Ben & Kieran. Thanks for all the great ideas and photos that make it all so apealing!
Julia
First – look at the size of your silverbeet! And love the green colour of your smoothie. 🙂
Now that's out of the way…we've been thinking of green smoothies in our home as well. They seem to be all the rage now. Think we'll try with spinach though since I'm not a fan of silverbeet. We went blueberry picking last summer at this organic place and planning to do so again this summer. Blueberry and leafy greens smoothie. What dya think?
I love that glorious, glorious green colour! I've fallen off the smoothie wagon recently but am keen to get back on – I love them in the mornings. I never knew to add a little coconut oil to the mix but I'm going to try that from now on. Love your attitude to veges, too 🙂
Heidi~ totally xx
Being Julia~ You are so welcome! Enjoy your cooking with the grand kids xx
Shirleen @ sugar and spice~ Yep those leaves are huge!
Blueberry + leafy greens smoothie sounds yum as. Only thing though, your smoothie won't have that vibrant green colour if the berries are wizzed up in it. Will taste great though 🙂
Laura @ hungry and frozen~ I try to sneak coconut oil into everything and it really does do a great job of masking that grassy flavour 🙂
Ohh how yummy! I get my little to eat lots of veggies by paying her to grow them. The more she grows, the more I buy, the more she has to eat 🙂 win win!
Wow this looks stunning. I love reading about you and your family's attitude to healthy food.
my kids (age 1 & 3) LOVE green smoothies!! we try and have one every day with our rainbow silverbeet out of the garden, but it largely depends on the banana supply… I usually just do a big leaf of silverbeet, 1 banana, a teaspoon of honey and a couple of frozen berries. YUM! apart from the colour you can't even tell it's got silverbeet in it.
Ah great, yum! Banana's have finally gone down to under $5kg over here, thankfully. They were around $19kg 6 months ago!! Ekk
Great work having your kids love a green smoothie! Berries on top are a lovely touch, too. 🙂
I'll take your advice. Thanks for posting this. My little girl eats her veggies sometimes, other times frowns over them…at times I have to disguise them. I would be the happiest if she could eat them the way your kids do. I have to expose her more, then. I had spinach with pears earlier and she had a sip or two, so I guess we are getting there. Thanks for the post!
How could anyone restist something that vibrant in colour, I love Kyle's green mustache!
Cute aye 🙂
I am working on getting my boys to eat more veggies, my younger boy likes them but my older one doesn't 🙂 It's a work in progress but I totally agree with you on constantly exposing them to them!
Wow, what a beautiful colour! It sounds as good as it looks.
yum, sounds soo good. I've been making my own green smoothies, and randomly tried Spinach Banana and Fejoas. Its my fav
What an amazing looking smoothie! I might make one of these today…yum!
Anonymous~ Green smoothie with feijoa?! Now you're talking!! Yum. If only Aussies loved feijoas as much as us kiwis do. They are so hard to come by over here…
Winnie~ Enjoy xx
Love reading about your perspective on kids and healthy foods – and it's encouraging to see that your kids love veggies, especially since SO many of my friends' kids only have a taste for processed foods. Great job on training them right! 🙂
You've inspired me – I'm picking up more greens today to make this one. I used to make smoothies often and it's time to start again.
Looks amazing and super healthy!! I bet it tastes delicious and refreshing!
oh wow look at that vibrant color! its great that your kids are so open to veggies i hope mine are the same (if and when i get to that day of having kids!)
Hi Emma
My coconut oil is set hard. I think it only melted one day last summer as it is cool in my pantry. Do you have to melt it first to add to the smoothie please?
I have been putting coconut water & coconut milk into my smoothies- but I know the oil is better than the milk. Thanks. Love your blog.
Sue from NZ
Thanks Sue.
Yes I had that same question on my facebook page, but forgot to add the note on here! You can do either, if I'm feeling lazy I just put the oil in while it's still solid (not that it is at the moment here in Perth!), but you could always slightly warm it until it melts too. Up to you really. It all gets wizzed up anyways so I wouldn't stress too much.
That sounds delicious. Could I substitute the mango though – they are a bit hard to find in small town NZ! Would apple be OK instead?
I know, sorry Kirsten I do remember 😉 I'd use a peach, nectarine or just another banana. There's no hard and fast rules with smoothies. Just use my recipe as the base and put in whatever else you have at hand 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing! I have just recently found your blog and am feeling very inspired!
Do you add spirulina to this recipe; or use a different one? I'm still trying to find a way to get it into my two little ones. 🙂
You're welcome Louisa. I don't follow an actual recipe when I make spirulina smoothies, but it usually goes something along the lines of; apple/orange juice, banana, frozen berries, spirulina powder and sometimes a touch of honey. Sometimes other fruits go in the mix too, kiwifruit, peaches etc etc…
I made this for my 18mo baby today and he LOVED it! Thanks so much for helping me to get his greens into him.
Awesome! I love hearing stories like that 🙂
I've been telling friends this about kids for years. My kids eat all veggies and many other unusual foods and it's because they've been raised that way. Can't wait to try this recipe!