We all want our children to experience life’s exciting adventures. Whether places to visit, activities to do, or food to try, life offers a wide array of unforgettable moments waiting for them to make. However, to do this, they will need a strong and healthy body.
There are lots of methods we can try to keep our kids healthy. While regular exercise will always be at the top of that list, their food intake plays a vital role in making them healthier. Nevertheless, it’s no secret that healthy food can sometimes be tasteless and boring.
That belief ends today. In this article, we’ll teach you one secret in which your children could be healthier in an exciting way, and that is through healthy smoothies.
Making Healthy Smoothies
We already know that healthy smoothies can make a huge difference in our children’s lives. To maximize the results, you may need to be mindful of what you put in their smoothies. That being said, here are some tips to remember when you make a healthy smoothie.
Use Veggies
Do not turn a blind eye to the veggies. Smoothies, after all, are meant to keep your kids healthy, and vegetables are probably the most nutritious ingredient you can ever add to them. Make sure that you always include veggies in the mix. Try using a different kind for each bottle to find the taste that your children prefer.
Add Citrus Fruits
We don’t want to spoil the fun and make your kids feel like smoothies are meant to taste bad. We know vegetables may have a bitter taste, but there’s a trick you can utilize to prevent that. Using citrus fruits like lemon or key lime prevents the vegetable taste from overpowering your kids’ drinks.
Don’t Forget the Protein
Smoothies are also capable of making your kids feel full for an extended period of time if you use the proper ingredients. Protein-rich foods are the best option for this purpose. If your kids are on a strict diet and need to cut down on their food consumption to avoid diseases or disorders such as diabetes and obesity, soy milk and oatmeals are great protein sources.
Avoid Adding These Foods to the Mix
Making a smoothie may seem like a free-for-all type of thing, and you could just put whatever you want inside a blender. However, some food that claims to be healthy may not actually be good for your children’s smoothie. With that in mind, make sure that you avoid putting the following foods when you make their smoothies.
Fruit Juice
Do not ever use fruit juice on your kids’ smoothies. Whether you don’t want to waste the store-bought fruit juice on your fridge that’s been there for weeks, or you just want to lessen the thickness of the smoothie by adding liquid, fruit juice is not the way to go. These beverages do not have the same nutritional value as natural fruits and are packed with lots of bad carbohydrates. If you want to add liquid to your children’s smoothie, use coconut water or dairy products instead.
Ice Cream
The refreshing, almost dessert-like appearance of a smoothie makes it tempting to add ice cream to the mix. After all, ice cream does have milk in it, right? However, ice cream is not just purely milk. There are countless other harmful ingredients on it and would reduce your kids’ healthy smoothie to just another unhealthy drink. If your kids want the consistency of ice cream on their smoothies, frozen fruits are great alternatives.
Artificial Sweetener
One common mistake parents make when blending a smoothie is that they use too much sweetener to make it taste better for their kids. The problem with it is that they often use artificial sweeteners, which do not hold any nutritional value. Apart from that, they may even be damaging to your kids’ health and cause connective tissue diseases in their jaw. Ensure that you know where to find treatment for TMD and other mouth diseases if your child develops symptoms because of artificial sweeteners. Additionally, if you really feel the need to make their smoothies a little sweeter, stick to using fruits like strawberries or mangoes.
There are countless recipes to make your kids’ smoothies. Just remember that it’s meant to keep them healthy, so make sure to use healthy foods as well. That way, they get the optimal results possible when drinking their way to healthiness because at the end of the day, what matters most is your child’s health.
