Wednesday, April 3

Banana Juice

B has a new love. He calls it "banana juice." And he will literally beg me to make it daily. Which I feel okay about, because it's actually good for him! Yep, "banana juice" is just a green smoothie, meaning it has green leafy veggies in. The kid goes gaga for it.


And it doesn't hurt to add a bendy straw for extra fun. Do you see how full that cup is? Most days B will down the whole thing if I let him. But I usually try to get a little for myself too....


Which is no easy task when a certain little boy doesn't even come up for air.


He will come up long enough to protest if I say "Hey! Look at the camera! Look at mama!" enough times. Apparently he has no time for such nonsense. My mistake.


The basic gist of green smoothies is just a mix of fruits and veggies put through the blender. So it's a really easy and yummy way to get some veggies in your diet. I especially love sneaking in things like spinach that B would never put in his mouth. But it's not even really sneaking. He knows we put spinach in, so when we're making a smoothie he pulls it out of the fridge for me. :)


You can pretty much put whatever you want in there. We always start with a banana (sometimes frozen) and add another fruit or two like strawberries or kiwi, and a big handful of spinach. Sometimes I add other veggies like carrots too. For liquid I'll usually add a splash of water or sometimes milk, and sometimes a little yogurt too. It's pretty flexible. Then I just blend away until it's nice and drinkable. If you like to have more specific recipe ideas, I just found this site with lots of yummy sounding green smoothie ideas. I can't wait to try a few!




We just kind of play it by ear and add whatever we have around the house.


Just watch out, things can get a little messy for with a banana juice lover in the house.


This one is obviously less green than the first two. Partly because I added a handful of blueberries which turned it very purple. Also partly because I cut back the spinach. Once I realized just how much banana juice this boy can drink, I decided I didn't want to overload him on any one thing (and spinach has a lot of iron specifically so I didn't want to over-do it) so I'm going to try mixing it up with some different veggies next time. Today we just had more of a fruit smoothie and went light on the spinach.


He didn't seem to notice any difference. He may never meet a smoothie he doesn't care for.


 And of course it makes his mama happy to see him devouring a pile of veggies.


And it makes him happy to have a yummy snack and use a cup and straw like a big boy. I think that's half his fun.


I started out planning to make smoothies a couple times a week but he's been asking for one almost every day! I guess we'll just make it a good healthy habit.


You know it's a good one when it reaches the level of handlebar mustache.


Any of you guys drink green smoothies? Or have any tips for getting veggies into a little boy?

2 comments:

  1. I love making green monsters (that's what I know them as) for breakfast during the summer. I love freezing fruit and spinach when I find a good deal on it and it is ready whenever I want a smoothie. Enjoy making new combinations! It looks like you have a great taste tester :)

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    Replies
    1. Ahhh, never thought of freezing the spinach! What a great idea!

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