Why go through this every day? Because they will choke on those delicious gummy vitamins that only older kids can eat. Because they're no longer on breast milk or formula which is loaded up with vitamins already. Because they have iron deficiencies. There are a host of reasons that parents give their children a daily vitamin and I am a big believer in them for my family as well. It's the whole GIVING the actual vitamin part that is awful. I did a lot of research and finally found a powdered, food based vitamin that you can actually mix into your kid's food or drink. I just didn't want to mix the vitamin in milk or something that couldn't mask the taste easily. I also was having problems getting my toddler to eat whole fruits. Blueberries diced into 1/36th of their size so she wouldn't choke. Fresh strawberries that were hand selected for ripeness and sweetness. All thrown on the floor in disgust. What the heck was wrong with this kid?? She had the purees of fruits just fine. Then it hit me. Puree. Smoothie. Make a smoothie!
The smoothie accomplishes a few things: First, it lets me get that vitamin mixed in without a trace. Second, it allows me to sneak in more veggies and fruits so that if she has a picky eating day, I can do my evil laugh and know that she still got at least 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies. Third, making smoothies can really help when your toddler is teething and doesn't want solids. The cold smoothie will soothe those poor, swollen gums and you will feel better that your kiddo ate something a bit more substantial than milk that day.
But I don't want to A) make a smoothie every day B) wash that dang blender every day or C) both A & B. So what to do? Make a huge batch and just leave it in the fridge and dole out a serving every day? NO because all the research points to fruits and veggies losing vast amounts of nutritional value the longer they're sitting in the fridge after being prepared. Enter freezer-friendly jars! I found some great plastic freezer jars on Amazon and just portion out the big batch of smoothie into those jars once a week. I freeze them all immediately (thereby locking in all that nutritional goodness) and every morning while the little is pounding away her pancakes, I take a jar out of the freezer and leave it on the counter to defrost. It usually takes between 2 - 2.5 hours to fully defrost so it's ready just in time for her 10 AM vitamin infusion and morning snack, which as it happens, is her smoothie! This also works great for kids who attend daycare or school because moms can usually pack the smoothies in their lunch box which serves to keep everything else cold and the smoothie will defrost by the time snack time rolls around at school. I stick a reusable wide-mouth straw directly into the freezer jar and just kinda hold it for her while she sucks it down. I've tried to put the smoothie in her Zoli Bot Straw Sippy Cups but it's so thick she can't suck it out with those straws. I'm including a link to the vitamin powder, jars and the straws I use below. I hope these ideas help! Feel free to modify the ingredients for allergies and for toddler taste.
Ingredients:
2 cups of mixed frozen berries
1 cup of diced frozen mango
1 super ripe banana
2 cups of kale and spinach blend
1 cup of Kefir or Greek yogurt (I use the plain, unsweetened Kefir)
1 cup of milk (I use whole, but you can easily sub for anything you like)
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
2-3 tbsp of agave nectar or adjust to taste
Throw all the ingredients in a blender until you get the consistency you desire. It shouldn't be too thin/watery or too thick. Remember, your toddler should be easily able to suck it up with a straw.
Portion out the smoothies into 6-7 freezer jars and freeze. Allow at least 2 hours to defrost before serving.
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