Posted on February 18th, 2017

Smoothies are a great way for young children from approximately 6 months and older to get valuable nutrition. They are perfect for hiding in lots of different foods and half the time your kids don’t even notice.

Between the ages 0-12 months children need to avoid high GI carbohydrates as their immune systems are still developing. Protein is also essential as your child is developing at a rapid rate and protein is required to ensure optimum growth, development and repair while fighting off illnesses at this early age. I have included raw nuts/seeds into these smoothies to add some protein.

**If this is the first time your child is being introduced to nuts/seeds just keep an eye out for anything that may indicate an intolerance or allergy (i.e. rash, change of mood, upset stomach, excessive tiredness or changes in breathing).

From 12 months onwards, fiber becomes more important for establishing good bacteria in the intestinal tract.  Also important for healthy and regular bowel movements. Fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, seeds and coconut are great sources.

Here are some simple and quick recipes for smoothies that contain fruit, a healthy fat source plus complex carbohydrates for your little ones J My good friend Kelly gave me the idea to use brown rice flakes in the smoothies as they blend up so well and the mild taste makes it easy to hide into smoothies.

Alternatively you could swap brown rice flakes for quinoa flakes however they can be bitter, or even wholegrain oats if preferred. Brown rice flakes just tend to blend up well without the kids noticing. You can also swap out fruits and replace nuts and their nut butters with seeds of choice or seed butters.

Please note that depending on the age of your child will depend on if they consume the whole smoothie or if it will serve as 2 small meals.

Also be careful adding in superfood powders such as; cacao, maca and spirulina for example as there isn’t a lot of study to support it being completely safe for very young children. Cacao for example is a stimulant and may have side effects in small children and spirulina can sometimes have a detox effect on adults and may upset a little ones tummy.

Strawberries and Cream Smoothie

• ½ cup strawberries
• Small handful of cashews or dessert spoon of cashew nut butter
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Coconut milk to blend

Apple and Pecan Smoothie

• 1 small apple
• Small handful of pecans
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Almond milk to blend

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

• ½ banana
• Dessert spoon of peanut butter
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Almond milk to blend

Mango Madness Smoothie

• ½ mango
• Dessert spoon of tahini
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Coconut milk to blend

Blueberry and Banana Smoothie

• ¼ cup/small handful of blueberries
• 1/3 banana
• 1/8 – ¼ avocado/ or dessert spoon tahini
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Almond milk to blend

Raspberry and Peach Smoothie

• ¼ cup raspberries
• 1 small peach
• Small handful or macadamias or dessert spoon of macadamia nut butter
• 2 tbsp brown rice flakes
• Coconut milk to blend

Blend until thick and smooth, adding as much liquid as required.