Amy Roskelley - 201 Healthy Smoothies and Juices for Kids: Fresh, Wholesome, No-Sugar-Added Drinks Your Child Will Love

This book is dedicated to my family and the amazing online community that has made this book possible.

I would like to thank my kids, who lovingly drank their hearts out and drowned themselves in smoothies and juices along with me.

Morning Sunshine:
Drinks to Jump-Start the Day

Ready for Anything:
Drinks on the Go

Better Snacks for Better Kids:
Drinks with a Purpose

Just for Fun (and Then Some):
Drinks for Dessert

One Sunday afternoon, I had prepared what I thought was a delicious dinner for my family: lasagna, fresh spinach salad, and whole-wheat rolls. My oldest child, who was about four at the time, declared he was full before dinner even started. He told us he had absolutely no room in his stomach for any of the food that was on his plate. Of course, being an enlightened mother in the twenty-first century, and not wanting to feed my child when his hunger cues told him not to eat, I allowed him to visit with us during the meal and not eat a single bite of his dinner. Then we dished up dessert. My son in the most sincere tone informed us that although he was not hungry for dinner, he was definitely hungry for dessert. That was the first of hundreds, if not thousands, of similar conversations between me and my children. They are hesitant to eat what is good for them, going so far as to say they are too full to eat, yet so quick to dive into dessert as if they hadnt eaten all day.

If your family is anything like mine, this story is familiar! Kids have a huge variety of healthy and not-so-healthy food to choose from today. Its easy for them to pick and choose the foods they are hungry for. Store shelves are crowded with bright packages of foods, with new ones being added daily. Unfortunately, these attractive foods arent necessarily good for our children. Many of them are filled with preservatives, artificial ingredients, synthetic dyes, processed sugars, and large amounts of sodium.

We know that our children should consume real foods like whole fruits and vegetables in order to receive vital nutrients without the added sugars and empty calories. Whole fruits and vegetables provide children with the perfect balance of proteins, carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals.

But how can we get them to eat these fruits and vegetables? Our kids may not like the flavors or textures. And in our fast-paced, fast-food world, sometimes we just see fruits and vegetables as too inconvenient. Washing, chopping, preparing, and cooking are sometimes too much of a hassle.

Homemade smoothies and juices are the perfect answer for todays kids. These fruit- and vegetable-based drinks have all the good stuff of fresh fruits and vegetables, minus all the bad stuff of preservatives, synthetic dyes, sugars, and sodium. They can provide kids with essential nutrients in a way they wont complain about. As your kids begin to make a habit of drinking fresh juices and smoothies, you can feel confident that they not only survive the sick season but thrive the whole year. This cookbook is the solution for showing you how to make smoothies and juices your kids will always be hungry for. Instead of refusing fruits and vegetables, theyll be asking for more!

This book is your go-to reference for making healthy changes in your childrens diet. Whether you are just beginning this journey or have been committed to healthy habits all along, the juice and smoothie recipes in this book will help you on your way.

Each smoothie recipe can be custom-made for the way your kids like it. We almost always add a few ice cubes to our smoothies if we arent using frozen fruit. The ice gives smoothies a milkshake texture that my kids enjoy. The juice recipes can also be customized. My kids enjoy juice more when I add a touch of water to make it thinner and chill the drink in the fridge for a few minutes so its super-cold.

Chapter 1: Helping Kids Become Super Healthy shows you how the juices and smoothies in this book can help your kids become healthierand stay that way. The recipes themselves are divided into four chapters.

Chapter 2: Morning Sunshine: Drinks to Jump-Start the Day contains smoothies and juices that are perfect for starting the day in the healthiest way possible. The fuel our kids consume after waking up should be full of good carbohydrates to get them going, and the smoothies and juices in this chapter do just thatwhile keeping out the artificial junk of traditional breakfast cereals. Replacing sugar-laced cereals with a smoothie or fresh juice is best for sending kids to a long day of school. The midmorning sugar crash will go away, and theyll be able to pay attention in class better.

Chapter 3: Ready for Anything: Drinks on the Go gives your family recipes for smoothies and juices that are perfect for kids on the move. When your family is busy and you need to grab and go, these are the best recipes for you. These drinks are ideal for heading out to soccer, or even just spending a day on the lake.

Chapter 4: In Better Snacks for Better Kids: Drinks with a Purpose, each recipe has a specific feature that will help make kids healthier. From helping quash motion sickness to enhancing memory to strengthening immunity, the recipes in this chapter will boost your kids health.

Chapter 5: Just for Fun (and Then Some): Drinks for Dessert contains all the delicious dessert recipes you can imagine. Birthday parties, celebrations, and after-dinner treats can now be filled with health and wellness instead of sugar and illness. The best part is kids will enjoy these treats as much as, or even more than, traditional dessert foods.

Each recipe is designed to appeal to kids and to be simple for parents to whip up. To make the recipes even more helpful than usual, the recipes feature several bonuses.

Each recipe includes a sidebar packed with details about the recipe that will help you in your journey to wellness. Youll find six different types of sidebars:

Time Saver Tip. This type of sidebar gives shortcuts and ideas for saving time and making the recipes as quickly as possible.

Nutrition News. This type of sidebar offers information on how certain ingredients in the smoothies and juices will help your children stay healthy.

DIY. This type of sidebar offers do-it-yourself ideas for making the most of the juices and smoothies in this book and to encourage your children to eat healthfully.

Picky Eater. This type of sidebar gives ideas and techniques for helping picky eaters learn to love their fruits and veggies.

Green Tip. This type of sidebar gives you choices for being as environmentally conscious as possible when making and serving these juices and smoothies.