Green Energy Smoothie

As a parent of a spunky one-year-old I am always trying to make sure Eden's diet is filled with valuable nutrition to help her grow and develop into a healthy and strong young girl. The habits I set up with her now will help prepare her for the future, and will hopefully be what she falls back on when I am no longer in sole control of her diet. With this thought in mind, I am always trying to make healthy food a fun treat. For example, I started feeding her fresh blueberries several months ago and she loved them because they were different and easy to chew. So every day when I pick her up from daycare, I  surprise her with a handful of blueberries, which she subsequently devours. It is something she looks forward to every day and makes fruit something to anticipate. 

One of the ways I get her to eat her fruits and vegetables is to eat them myself. Eden is in a phase when she wants everything that I have, so I use that to my advantage. When I make a fruit and veggie packed smoothie, I always give some to her, and she sucks it down like most kids would a glass of chocolate milk or apple juice. The difference is, she is getting fresh, whole fruits and vegetables free of added sugar and preservatives and loving them.

She has never turned down a sip of mom's smoothie and always wants one of her own, so I've been testing the boundaries of what she might like. I decided to mix up a powerful, nutrient rich smoothie with ingredients most kids would shy away from. I threw in kale, spinach, an apple and celery and blended them with a little agave nectar and pineapples - she couldn't get enough of it! Neither could I to be honest. The flavor is spectacular and every sip reminds me that I'm doing something truly fantastic for my body, and for my daughter. There is a lot of pulp with this smoothie so you'll want to blend it longer than usual or use a filter to separate the juice from the pulp. For Eden and I, we drank the whole thing, pulp and all. 

Kale is a super food bursting with nutrition including: calcium, vitamins A, C and K. It's not hard to find information on the benefits of kale and the benefits of spinach are equally easy to find as the green leaves  are known to be a great source of iron, potassium, calcium, protein and vitamin A among other nutrients. 

So for kids and parents alike, a smoothie like this packed with spinach and kale is a fantastic way to start your morning and a great way to get in healthy greens without having to eat a salad. Eden doesn't have the teeth yet to crunch on a salad, so a smoothie is the perfect alternative. And how much will consuming this smoothie cost you? Less than $1 per glass. 

Ingredients: 
1/2 Granny Smith Apple
1 Large Kale Leaf
1 Cup Spinach
1 Celery Stick
1 Cup Chopped Pineapples and Juice
1 Cup Ice
1 t. Agave Nectar