Josh and Korey

Jacob is in a phase right now where he doesn’t want to be spoon fed.
That would be exciting except that it is hard to get as many veggies in his diet when things have to be baby-appropriate finger foods (which he throws half of). A lot of prep time goes into shopping for, preparing, and trying to get him to eat healthy foods, and I was getting concerned. He is still a pretty great eater, but he has his picky days. I wondered if I could purée veggies until they could be eaten through a straw, and that is where the smoothie idea came from. I make this in the morning and we both have it for breakfast. I put Jacob’s in a straw cup and he will drain it!

Korey and Jacob’s Healthy Breakfast Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients:
One banana
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup raw kale
1.5 cups raw spinach
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain)
1/2 cup frozen strawberries and blueberries
2 tbl. Ground flaxseed (meal)*
Ice

You will fill your blender without ice, so blend it a bit to make room. The greens condense really quickly. As with everything, I don’t measure, so the color varies from a deep purple to a swampy green or even brown. I’ll show you the color variation in pictures. I squeeze my own orange juice most of the time from the oranges that grow in my yard. I wash and dry the spinach and store a bunch in the produce saver box you’ll see below so it’s ready to go. You can add more yogurt for a creamier smoothie, or leave it out for a stronger fruit taste.

*I do not add flaxseed meal to the blender. I pour Jacob a cup first, then stir it into my portion. It has a lot of fiber and I don’t want to take chances with that affecting his little belly. Also, I store my ground flaxseed in the freezer, as it goes bad quickly at room temperature. If you didn’t know, ground flaxseed is better than whole. Whole flaxseed tends to leave your body un-digested.

Not using kale gives a brighter, more pink smoothie.

I put this picture in to show you how much orange juice I make from 6 oranges. It’s quite a lot! And it has a strong flavor.
I also will add whole organic milk to Jacob’s for some additional whole-fat dairy. Whole-fat dairy (all fats, actually) is so important for babies as they are building their brains, which are made up of fat. Avoid skim-fat dairy for young children (in this case, I used my skim Greek yogurt, so I added whole milk to his portion).

I might freeze some of my OJ in an ice cube tray for a faster smoothie later in the year. I pretty much have oranges all year around, but you never know…maybe we will prune the tree or something.

Approximate servings included:*

One serving banana
One half serving each strawberries and blueberries
One serving kale
1.5 servings spinach
One serving orange
Half serving of carrots

Total:
3 servings of fruit, 3 of vegetables. The USDA recommends 5-9 per day, so this is either a really good start to a healthful day or over the minimum recommended amount if you were not to eat any more. With a whole day ahead of you, chances are you will sneak in a few more servings without even trying!

Some wonder foods:

Kale is high in beta carotene, vitamins K and C, lute in, and calcium. It has anti-cancer benefits as well!
Spinach is rich is vitamins A, B2, B6, C, E and K, lute in, magnesium, manganese, folate, became, iron, calcium, potassium, folic acid, protein and omega-3 fatty acids!
Berries, particularly blueberries, have anti-inflammatory powers.
Greek yogurt is rich in protein and contains the wonderful bacteria that help with digestion and so many other things.

Enjoy this delicious smoothie!!!