This easy kid-friendly smoothie is perfect for supporting growth and meeting iron needs for vegan kids
Over the past few weeks, my three year old daughter has been requesting smoothies for breakfast. Like, every single day.
It’s a bit unusual for her to ask “Mama, can we make smoothie?” since we actually don’t have smoothies regularly as a vegan family. I’m not sure where she actually got the idea of making smoothies but like any other toddler, kids go through phases and I suspect this is one of them.
We’ve been switching the ingredients for our breakfast smoothies and one morning I remember talking about iron rich smoothie recipes with a past client of mine. We each talked about our smoothie creations and the type of vegetables we add (I love these conversations with clients). I had shared how I love adding frozen zucchini to mine. Have you tried it? It gives the smoothie a creamy consistency.
Anyway, my client shared that something she typically adds to her smoothies is green peas.
It never occurred to me that green peas can be added to smoothies. And l looooved the idea! For one, the green peas serve as a source of iron and protein, making it a great option for vegan kids who need a little boost of iron in their overall diet.
So, while making a smoothie with my daughter one morning, we added frozen green peas to ours to try it out. Wow! Let me just say that this was a genius idea from my past client because not only can you not taste it in the smoothie but it provides nutritional value.
As a legume, green peas provide iron, protein, zinc, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C—all nutrients important to support the growth and development of vegan kids.
Whether you’re looking for kid friendly smoothie ideas for your vegan kids or just want an easy smoothie recipe that you can alternate throughout the week, give this one a try. I know your whole family will enjoy it and help meet their nutritional requirements.
If you have a vegan picky eater at home, this smoothie recipe helps meet their nutritional needs. I encourage you to try making this smoothie with them as a way to build trust and offer exposure to them to different plant foods. As tempting as “sneaking” in fruits and vegetables to smoothies may be, allow them to be a part of the process as this is more beneficial to helping them learn how to try foods.
And if you have a vegan baby at home under the age of 12 months old, you can still provide this smoothie to them. I just recommend not to offer more than 2oz as to not displace breastmilk and/or infant formula intake. This should be their only source of liquid for nutritional purposes.
Let us know what you think in the comments when you give this smoothie recipe a try.
Green Pea Cherry Smoothie
Makes: about 1 ½ cups (360ml)
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
1 ripe banana (190 gm unpeeled)
½ cup frozen pitted dark cherries (75 gm)
⅓ cup frozen green peas (45 gm)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (11 gm)
½ leaf of fresh kale, destemmed (6 gm)
1 ½ cups of full-fat oat milk, preferably fortified (360 ml)
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Directions
In a blender, add the ingredients in the order they are listed.
Blend until well combined and serve on desired cup for child.
Notes
I recommend using either oat milk for best flavor but you can use another type of plant milk like soy milk or pea milk (although I have not tested flavor with these).
Here is an article about the best plant milk alternative for a vegan child if you’d like to learn more about the ones that are appropriate for proper growth.
