Homemade Smoothies

I add wheat germ and/or ground flax seed to get extra vit/minerals, or a small handful of stemmed spinach. Sometimes I add some soy protein powder, but I think it makes the smoothie taste chalky.

Hi L.---I use a really great soy/rice bran/chickpea powder based protein smoothie base that has lots of great nutrition in it...all of it food based. It contains fruit and veggies powders from 15 different fruits and veggies, as well as spirulina, jerusalem artichoke, yucca, pumpkin seed, wheat grass, kelp, pea protein and other plant derived vitamins and minerals.

I don't know what your opinions are of soy, but the warnings out there on the internet are patently false. I have tons of research to show that soy is a healthy PART of a balanced diet. Doctors who know this even recommend it to their breast cancer patients. I would be happy to share this info with you. In fact, this product is part of a research study at the MD Anderson Cancer Institute concerning quality of life issues with ovarian cancer survivors. Initial results are so good that doctors at MD Anderson outside of the study are recommending this product to their cancer patients. BTW...I can also share info on why you should NOT use whey/dairy based protein products. Please go to www.thechinastudy.com to learn more. Again, I can share info on that as well. If you want to learn more about how to optimize your health, look up the movie Forks Over Knives, www.forksoverknives.com. It's in theaters right now. This movie discusses the dairy issue.

It is available in vanilla and chocolate. If interested in additional info, I would be happy to tell you more about it. Smoothies are such a good way to get additional nutrition into the diet. Any smoothie that is good for you would be good for your daughter too! Good job. Be well, D.

Do you eat an otherwise balanced, healthy diet? extra vitamins might not be necessary. See the attached from the FDA.

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm118079...

If you want to get calcium, consider adding calcium rich greens like the ones mentioned on this smoothie site.

http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/green-smoothies/how-to...

Hello. I always add A Handful of spinach to my smooties, good for you and you cant taste it :)

My husband adds protien and other powders from GNC. Not great, not bad. I just don't like that he buys ones high, high in calories LOL!
If you really want to add those, I'd start with the vitamin shoppe or GNC and bounce their recommendations off those who work at/own health food/holistic stores.
Good luck and YUMMY:)

Hi,

I love smoothies too! I make it easy on myself and put my actual vitamins in the smoothie. If its a capsule, I break it open and pour it in--- I would just set aside some of the smoothie for your 3 year old before you add the vitamins.

M

Here is what I found online : "Smoothie joints add vitamins so that their customers feel extra healthy when ordering a drink. Don’t make this mistake at home. Swallowing a vitamin takes half a second – crushing a vitamin into your smoothie will mess with the entire flavor of your drink, always in a bad way. When a Jamba Juice employee says “actually, vitamins aren’t recommended with that smoothie,” what he’s really saying is “that smoothie doesn’t taste strong enough to mask the bad flavor of the vitamin.” Be warned."

I would either find fruits that have the vitamin I want more of, if it is calcium add dairy (yogurt, milk), you can throw a little veggies in without changing the taste and if you do try breaking the multivitamin some may make it taste bad. I just stick from fruit, dairy and OJ in mine... there is a lot of great health benefits right there.

With fresh fruits and veggies and a dab of nutmilk a smoothie has enough vitamins for a perfectly healthy breakfast. Throwing in a little baby spinach helps with iron and is totally not detectable in the smoothie other than turning it a little green.
My smoothie this morning was a banana, 5 blueberries, 5 grapes, 6 leaves of spinach, a teaspoon of pulverized flax seed and a splash of coconut milk. I wont be hungry for about 4 hours.

Vitamins in the form of food are best:

Avocado (just thickens slightly, no real taste - VERY good for you)

Spinach (don't even taste it! Perfect for kids)

Kale (again, no taste)

Milled flax seed (or oil, but I prefer the milled. Careful not to add too much of the milled, or your smoothie may end up gritty - play with it and start with a little at at time)

None of the items I listed above can be identified by the taste buds when mixed with fruit

My fav recipe:
big handful of organic baby spinach
frozen strawberries/mango, fozen blueberries, whatever you like
half of a sliced banana
half of an avocado (use less or more depending on desired thickness)
some milled flax seed
fill with OJ to top (or approx 3/4 to 1 cup - just use enough to make it whatever consistency you like)
MIX and ENJOY