Tapp's Tips

Kale? Seriously? Ewwwwww……

It’s actually amazing. You can’t taste the kale in the smoothie at all. I start by putting frozen organic fruit in the blender. Bananas, strawberries and blueberries. You need a dark fruit in there like blueberries or blackberries unless you want to produce a green smoothie which I fear most kids would reject on color alone.

You will need:

• 4 large strawberries 
• 1/2 cup of blueberries or blackberries
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup of chopped kale
• 1/2 cup of apple juice
• 1 cup  of water
• 1 teaspoon of calcium powder (optional)

The leftover fruit I use is perfectly good but not very pretty. If your kids are anything like mine then one tiny little brown spot will kill the whole piece for them. Squishy blueberries and 1/2 eaten bananas that would otherwise go to waste go into the fruit bag I keep in the freezer. Fruit, especially organic fruit, is very expensive. You don’t want to waste a single bite.

To supplement the fruit bag I use Cascadian farm organic frozen berries. Frozen organic fruits and vegetables are a very good choice. They are picked at their prime and frozen so they retain most of their nutrients. They are more widely available than fresh organic fruit and are less expensive.

 

I freeze the kale in large bunches. I buy organic kale in the summer and fall from a local organic farm so it will be top quality and fresh. Usually 10 1 gallon freezer bags will get us through the winter. Cut out the middle ribbing. Wash and chop the remaining green leaves. I grab a handful for each smoothie.

I add a spoonful of calcium to my kid’s smoothies. This addition is up for debate. My kids eat very few dairy products. They get most of their calcium from greens. It never seems like enough for growing bones. Calcium also supports muscle contraction and nerve conduction as well as providing additional immune support. As important as I feel calcium is, giving any child a supplement has to be a choice that a parent must make for themselves. Consult your pediatrician and consider the rest of your child’s diet before adding any supplements. All of that being said the calcium supplement I use is from Standard Process. It is an excellent company and makes a pure product.

For a liquid I use a fresh pressed organic apple juice. The liquid should come up to about 3/4 of the bulk of the fruit and kale in the smoothie. If you use too much liquid the smoothie gets diluted. Too little and and it’s too thick. I err on the side of too little as you can always add a little more liquid as you are blending.