It has always been a constant dilemma for parents to feed children in their early years. There are plenty of meal-quarrels, superhero voices mimic, incentive provisions, and other feeding strategies being presented at the table to get their cooperation. As a parent, you might be wondering why providing nutrition for your kids has to be this frustrating?

Children go through phases where they refuse to eat certain types of food. Apart from genetic reasons, it is somewhat because they don’t have ample tasting experiences yet with various food flavors as adults do. There are a lot of ways to help your fussy little humans get the right amount of nutrition they need. Although there will be a lot of stirring, smelling, playing, and spitting that will happen before you get the right formula, it is still the ideal process to go through. Regardless, you can credit everything to the parenting experience anyway.

Making every meal fun and creative is the most effective strategy. Superfood smoothies as one, bring everything that you need from presentation to nutrition. Here are smoothie bowl recipes you can apply to stoke your kids’ appetite.

Healthy Smoothie Bowl Recipes for Toddlers

For kids 1 to 3 years old, timing is crucial. Make sure you don’t force your kids to eat what you want them to eat. Reason being that children have their natural way of regulating their food intake.  Slowly but surely, introducing new flavors is the key. Recipes you can curate in preparing smoothie bowls to aid your toddler-feeding struggles as follow: 

Tropical Carrot Smoothie

If your kids are refusing to eat vegetables, you can present another type of ingredients that are barely green or leafy. You can trickle an aesthetic smoothie bowl with a tropical vibe just by using carrots and oranges as main components. The colors themselves call for excitement and enthusiasm.

Ingredients

• 1 small carrot, peeled, trimmed, and chopped* (about ½ cup)
• 1 Clementtine, tangerine, or ½ an orange, peeled
• 1 heaping cup frozen pineapple, mango, or a combo of both
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or non-dairy yogurt)
• 1 pitted date (or 1 tablespoon honey)
• ¼ cup coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds (optional)
• Handful of ice

Procedure

Toss everything into the blender. Add ice if you want to make it thicker, and add shredded coconut for garnish.

Blueberry Constipation Smoothie

For toddlers who often experience constipation brought by too much sugary and processed food, consider adding some hidden fruits and vegetables, specifically with probiotics to aid their digestion, such as yogurt or half non-dairy milk. You can also jump off through this recipe.

Ingredients

• plain kefir
• frozen blueberries
• frozen mango
• zucchini
• coconut oil or avocado
• hemp seeds or chia seeds

Procedure

Toss everything into the blender. Start to blend from slow to high speed for 30 to 60 seconds until you reach the smoothness and thickness that you desire. 

Healthy Smoothie Bowl Recipes for Preschoolers

Smoothie bowl recipes are flexible and versatile. For your kids who are starting to form their learning hobbies, adding subtle fruits and vegetables to the mix can be a hit for them. Its health benefits also help in their physical and mental development.

Additionally, they can carry until they reach adolescence and adulthood the established foundation of taking nutritious meals.

Eat-the-Rainbow Smoothie

The stark colors of this smoothie bowl recipe appeared to be more stimulating for kids aged 3-5 years old. For parents, this can be a go-to meal so your kids can slurp up their dose of vitamins and minerals without fail. If you want to be extra “artsy”, you can also add cloud toppings for this smoothie using a cauliflower. 

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 strawberries
• ½ banana
• 1 clementine mandarin or 1/2 small orange
• Large handful of baby spinach and/or kale leaves
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• ¼ cup yogurt or dairy-free alternative
• ½ cup frozen riced cauliflower
• ¼ to ½ cup of milk or water

Procedure

Cut off the stems of strawberries, peel bananas, and clementine. Toss fruit first into the blender, followed by the remaining ingredients. Add milk until you reach your preferred thickness.

Sweet Potato and Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowls

This smoothie bowl recipe is rich in antioxidants. It also contains prebiotics to feed the healthy bacteria in your kid’s gut. Potatoes also serve as a vital part of children’s diet as early as age 2. They need 50% body fuel that they can acquire through carbohydrates, of which potatoes are a good source.  

Ingredients 

• 1 cup cooked sweet potato
• 2 packets dragon fruit or 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 2 cups frozen mango (or a frozen banana)
• ¼ cup almond butter
• 1 pitted date, optional
• Pinch of vanilla powder, optional
• Splash of water

Procedure

Toss all ingredients into the blender. You can add more water as you please until you reach your desired thickness. Add toppings and serve!

Smoothie Bowl Recipes For School-Age Children

Good nutrition and balanced diet help kids perform better in school. However, instead of helping children stay focused, energetic, and participative in classroom discussions, most food available at the school canteen hinders their mood and ability to learn. For parents with children age 6 to 12 years old, preparing pack lunches for your school kids is advisable to minimize their intake of unhealthy foods. 

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl

This simple smoothie bowl recipe is rich in protein that optimizes brain function to help them bring out their best at school. It will be enjoyed by your kids while being away from home as it tastes like ice cream.

Ingredients

• strawberries
• bananas
• plain Greek yogurt
• chia seeds
• kiwi (for garnish only)

Procedure

Add the liquid into the blender, toss frozen fruits and yogurt. Blend until you reach your desired thickness. Make sure not to add too much water as you might produce a smoothie instead of a smoothie bowl. 

Green Monster Smoothie Bowl

It is one of the best green smoothie bowl recipes out there as you can let your kids help with the preparation. You will not only establish a bond with each other, but you can also help them harness their creativity by decorating their smoothie bowls with funny monsters. 

Ingredients

• 1 small apple
• 1 small frozen ripe banana
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 clementine, peeled
• 1 cup spinach
• 8 fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 cup milk

Procedure

Toss ingredients into the blender until smooth and decorate after. You can design a face using apple slices, clementine half for the nose, sliced strawberries for the mouth, and raisins or blueberries for eyeballs.

Parenting Challenge 

Parents have their original child-rearing style. But the struggle of skimming nutritious food to give their children is one common denominator. It requires a lot of work but just seeing their kids healthy unquantified all the difficulties. 

Consequently, if you are a parent with a bustling lifestyle, readily-made smoothies that are plant-based, have traversed their way into the market as well. You may want to give it a shot too!