I've found that an easy way to get my children to consume fruit without sitting down at the table is by serving them fruit smoothies. They can sip these smoothies out of covered straw cups while they are busy doing other things.Here are three easy fruit smoothie recipes that you can make at home with a blender. Each recipe is less than 175 calories per serving.
1 ½ cups skim or 1% milk
1 peeled and sliced medium banana, frozen (Wrap sliced banana in plastic wrap or place in a freezer storage bag. Freeze several hours or overnight.)
½ tsp. vanilla extract, optional
¼ tsp. almond extract, optional
In a blender combine all ingredients, except cinnamon. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds. Pour into glasses and garnish with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, if desired. Yield: approximately 2 ¼ cups.
Blueberry-Orange Whirl:
1 12-ounce package frozen blueberries, unthawed, or 2 1/2 cups fresh
8 ounce low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In an electric blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Yield: approximately 3 ½ cups.
Very Berry Smoothie
1/4 cup berries (your choice!)
4 ounces skim milk
6 ounces calcium-fortified orange juice
Blend together all three ingredients until smooth. Yield: approximately 1 serving.
These recipes were provided by Camp Shane, a weight-loss camp for children that focuses on well-balanced portion-controlled meals and snacks.
Thank you to Kel & Partners for providing the information shared in this article. There was no compensation received for sharing this information with my readers.
