Kyan loves smoothies. I started including smoothies in his diet since he was about 8 months' old. After we passed the internet-mandatory try-each-food-for-three-days-rule to make sure he had no allergies, I dove into making smoothies for him and he loved it. He drank three 11oz bottles each day from this bottle he absolutely loved. It was really easy for him to hold and we used it for a good long year and used this one for road trips. The main reason we switched bottles during road trips was because driving through higher altitudes caused the smoothies to get "forced" out of the spout.
Having the smoothie as part of his diet made life a lot easier for me. I knew he was getting his nutrients, fibers and proteins from the smoothies he drank religiously. We could go to restaurants and just let him explore whatever we ate without stressing over whether he was getting enough to eat.
Making smoothies in our house is largely a "feel" thing. Our smoothie recipes evolve slightly with the seasons. During summer, we make them more citrusy and berry-ish. During winter, we make them more hearty and use more ground roots like carrots and beets. But our base recipe remains largely the same and Kyan likes his smoothies very green and not too sweet.
We love our Blendtec (Costco is still the best place to get it. They will replace your jug/machine no questions asked if you have any problems. Hassle-free.) and have traveled extensively with it. We even brought it with us to Shanghai & Singapore and bought a step down transformer for it. Kyan was 15 months' old then and it was invaluable in providing him with nutrition on the go.
Now that he is old enough to make his own smoothies, I encourage him to take whatever veggies he like from the fridge and put however much he feels he wants in his smoothie. He really likes to pack in the greens, sometimes too green for my likes. But he loves it anyway.
Summer Smoothie
Base:
1 red fuji apple
Handful black/red grapes
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 frozen ripe banana
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 cup yogurt
Handful spinach
Handful kale
1 cup ice
1/2 cup water
Options for summer:
Wedge of organic lemon with peel and zest and/or
1 cup frozen berries (we like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries mix. Raspberries makes a gritty smoothie, if that's your thing, go for it.)
1 tomato
Put grapes, tomatoes (if using), celery into blender first. Mushy fruits go in first so the blender blends easier and "sucks" down the harder fruits as it goes. Harder fruits like apple, carrots, goes in the middle. Next, leafy veggies, yogurts, chia seeds. Frozen fruits and ice always go on top. Add water, cover tightly (very important!) and blend twice. I've noticed putting celery in the smoothie makes Kyan go potty more frequently than he normally would. So we avoid putting in celery when we are on the road so we have less pee-breaks.
We keep our leftover smoothies in glass mason jars and they keep for 3 days in fridge although we usually drink them all within the day.
The important thing about making delicious smoothie is to go with your feel. Your body will naturally tell you what you need and is good for you. Some days when your body is lacking in certain nutrients, it will prompt you for it. Taste often and add more of what you feel is lacking. Trust your instincts and have fun with it!
Sharing his smoothie with Logan