My boys could drink smoothies all day as long as the color suits their fancy. For years, I’ve been making strawberry smoothies, mango smoothies, and blueberry smoothies, so when I suggested they try a “green” smoothie, they asked, “what makes it green?” When I answered, “baby spinach,” they pretty much freaked out. Josh and Simon are teenage boys, so they eat almost anything that passes their lips, except, apparently, green smoothies made with spinach!
Determined to convince the boys that since they like spinach and smoothies they’d like my green smoothie, I set out to create a green-colored smoothie any kid would WANT to drink. Here’s what I came up with after chatting with dozens of my fans on Facebook.
My smoothie didn’t taste “green,” in my humble opinion. I loved it…
As for the boys, Josh liked it a lot, Simon was lukewarm (he’s not a kiwi fan, so maybe that was the deal breaker), and Simon’s friend who happened to be over for the taste test, drank the whole thing. Would I make this smoothie again? Absolutely. But I’ll probably just share it with Josh next time and blend up a different concoction for Simon!
The ingredients are simple: 100% apple juice, 0%-fat vanilla Greek yogurt, banana, kiwi, spinach, agave, and frozen mango.
- Serves: 2
- Serving size: 1 cup
- Calories: 230
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Sodium: 45mg
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 7g
- 1 cup 100% apple juice or orange juice
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach (I used organic)
- ½ to 1 ripe banana (best if peeled, sliced, and frozen)
- ½ cup 0%-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
- Place the juice, mango, kiwi, spinach, banana, yogurt, and agave in a blender, and blend until well combined.
- Pour into individual glasses and serve with a straw.
Let me know if you try the recipe and what you and your kiddos think of it …
Oh teenagers. Can’t win em all, I guess, though this sounds great to me!
Now this is the kind of post I like – anything that encourages to kids to eat (or drink) healthy food can only be a good thing, and the posters’s correct – green smoothies such as the one documented above are delicious. I always try to put more veg than fruit in mine, but maybe that’s a step too far for teenagers! Great post, and sound advice.
I’m obsessed with green protein shakes but I can see how kids would turn their nose at them.
Making them irrefutably delicious is a great way to your kids to like them!
Another way: add blueberries, they won’t be able to see the green, haha!