Coconut Carrot Mango Smoothie {Two Ways}

   I know, what you're thinking... Smoothie? Again? Well, yes, because this is the most amazing smoothie I have ever made! Okay, I say that about all of the smoothies and juices I blog but I mean it this time, at least until I make another one tomorrow.

    This was another attempt to teach C to drink his way through the color spectrum. He liked this one, orange is his favorite color so that was to be expected. Poor guy bit the inside of his cheek the other day and it is painful so the acidity of this smoothie hurt him to drink too much. I promised him I'd make it again one day after he mouth heals. He is finally get a bit more adventurous with trying new things, so maybe my experiment is working.

   L on the other hand will eat anything we give him and then finish what is on our plates if we aren't careful. He particularly loves smoothies or "moo-bees" as he calls them. As soon as I reach for the blender her gets excited and if I start making one without him he comes busting in the kitchen as soon as he hears it. He jump, claps his hands and chants MOO-BEE MOO-BEE MOO-BEE and MINE MINE MINE until I hand him his own little glass.

 (Normally I use 8 oz jelly jars with these lids for the kiddos) 

   I actually have two recipes for you today. My husband is allergic to peaches so I made him one first then added the peaches and almond milk to mine and the boys' smoothies. I added the milk to add to the creaminess to the texture because that is the way that C likes his and I can always use the extra protein and calcium from the almonds. 

Coconut Carrot Mango Smoothie

Serves 2-3 people

1 large or 2 medium carrots

2-3 tablespoons flaxseeds

1 1/2 cups coconut water

2 cups frozen mango

1 cup orange juice 

1 tablespoon honey

In a blender, combine carrot and flax seed and pulse until chopped up. Add coconut water and blend until carrot has liquefied and flax seed is chopped up finely. Add mango, juice, and honey. Blend there are no longer chunks and is like a thick milkshake. Don't forget to taste it before drinking to make sure it doesn't need more honey.

Coconut Carrot Mango Peach Smoothie

serves 4-6 people

1 large or 2 medium carrots

2-3 tablespoons flaxseeds

1 1/2 cups coconut water

2 cups frozen mango

2 cups frozen peaches

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup almond milk 

1 tablespoon honey

In a blender, combine carrot and flax seed and pulse until chopped up. Add coconut water and blend until carrot has liquefied and flax seed is chopped up finely. Add mango, peaches, juice, milk and honey. Blend there are no longer chunks and is like a thick milkshake. Don't forget to taste it before drinking to make sure it doesn't need more honey.

Cheers!

Cherry Berry Coconut Smoothie {Violet Smoothie}

I have mentioned my picky eater situation before. Since I have to force feed this kid most veggies and several fruits, I decided to get creative. After the continued success with the green smoothie and the fact we have been talking about food coming in all different colors, like the rainbow, I have decided to make him "smoothies of the spectrum." Over the next few weeks, I plan to sneak new flavors into his smoothies and juices under the guise of tasting all the colors in the rainbow. Grocery shopping will be a blast matching all the colors and flavors together. 

   This is the first of colors we are doing is purple. This may not be the only purple smoothie or juice I make through this process because I liked it and L loved it, but C was not totally enamored with it. I'm not totally sure why he didn't love it. Normally, it would have been the type of smoothie he would declare his new favorite, but whatever his reasoning is, he proclaimed this one to be just okay. I should make it again when he's in a more agreeable mood. Clearly from the pictures below that little dude LOVED it, in fact he tried to steal mine. 

Cherry Berry Coconut Smoothie
Serves 3-4

1 large handful frozen cherries
1 small handful blueberries
1 cup coconut water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tablespoon flaxseed

Combine everything in a blender and blend until all produce is broken up, seeds are no longer visible and has a milkshake like consistency. Drink immediately.

Spinach Mango Flax Seed Smoothie aka Mommy's Magic Super Power Boosting Milk Shake Smoothie

   I finally gave up and re-shot the smoothie pictures that I complained about Tuesday. So here is my post I wrote on Monday for Tuesday but had to postpone until Wednesday but then forgot so now I'm posting on Thursday. Make sense? No? Yeah, I don't understand either. Just pretend you're reading this on Monday or Tuesday and it will all make sense.  

   This weekend I ignored my Doctor's recommendation to only eat small meals and stay away from raw fruits and veggies, hard to digest proteins, anything that is highly processed or has a lot of preservatives, basically anything other than carbs and liquids. (I know that a high carb diet does not sound like a healthy thing but it is what I have to do until we can figure out why my stomach no longer wants to digest anything these days) Fast food, lemon curd, cupcakes, rice krispie treats, bacon, brownies, olives, cheese, carrots, strawberries, chocolate cake, a chicken burger, a meatball sub, are just some of the things I devoured. To say that I was/am sick is an understatement! Since I refused to act like a responsible adult this weekend, and chose to eat like a crazed lunatic, I am on a liquid diet today. Therefore it's SMOOTHIE TIME!!!!!

   This smoothie is also the one way I can get more than a couple of bites of anything green into C. He swears aliens use green veggies to control minds. Yes, my 4 year old believes that if he eats broccoli an alien with take control of him. He makes life interesting, to say the least. This is my answer to it. He will also drink it with strawberry instead of mango. He believes that it will give his super powers a boost. He will tell me his Hulk strength is stronger, his Iron Man Blasters go boom better and he's as fast as the Flash almost immediately after drinking it! Don't judge me for lying to my kid! I'm desperate. He has gone multiple days skipping one or more meals because I implemented the, “You eat what I give you or you don't eat” rule, thinking that he was just being a kid who wanted to be picky, I now believe he honestly has a hard time with certain tastes and textures. I never let him go to the point it would be harmful, but this kids has will power like nothing I've seen before. Now, he will try three bites of anything I give him, often it is still a battle but he does try new things now, but he is simply not a fan of certain textures. I'm the same way when it comes to certain foods. I cannot even look at beans without feeling nauseated. I'll eat peas or chickpeas but they have to be pureed. I cannot bite into a whole, raw blueberry or a grape without gagging. So, I know he is trying and he really does want to like vegetables but right now it is a slow process. So I make him a glass of this smoothie a couple of times a week now. He thinks it takes like a milk shake and frankly so do I.

Serves 1-2 people

1 large handful of spinach

1 handful of frozen mango*

6 oz greek yogurt *optional*

2-3 tablespoons flax seeds

approximately 1/3 cup coconut water

approximately 1/3 cup orange juice

approximately 1/3 cup almond milk

Combine everything in a blender and blend until all produce is broken up, seeds are no longer visible and has a milkshake like consistency. Drink immediately.

*Just about any fruit would be good in this smoothie so feel free to swap things out. And, if you want to use fresh but still want the texture of the frozen fruit pre-freeze bananas and add one to each smoothie.

The smoothie pictured above does not have yogurt but I always add it when my son is going to be drinking it. The texture seems more “milkshakey” with the yogurt and he is more likely to drink anything if he thinks I added ice cream.