This toddler smoothie has kale and fruit and is the perfect morning treat! It's packed with fruits and vegetables, refined sugar and dairy-free, and so tasty! The whole family will love this easy smoothie recipe.
Most parents can relate to wanting to sneak in some extra veggies to their toddler's diet and this fruit kale smoothie does just that! This kale smoothie is healthy, dairy-free and sugar-free.
This summer it's been so fun to be able to share that love of smoothies with my toddler!
It's become a routine of ours now to make smoothies almost every day after nap time.
Giving my son a snack between when he wakes up from his nap and dinner time has always been a challenge because oftentimes he wants to snack all the way until dinner and then isn't hungry.
These smoothies haven't given me that issue though. They're filling enough that he's full until dinner but because they are light, he will usually still eat a well rounded dinner!
Plus, I love knowing that we are both getting an extra boost of fruits and vegetables. I'd always heard of people putting kale or spinach into smoothies and my first thought may have been the same as yours - yuck!
I couldn't imagine how you could possible drink a green smoothie that couldn't possibly taste good. Well, it turns out that even a tiny bit of leafy greens will turn a smoothie green and the fruit actually completely masks the taste.
This kale fruit smoothie has been one of our go to smoothies lately. I love it for a handful of reasons:
- It's super quick to make
- It's packed with fruits and vegetables
- It's dairy free.
- It's sugar free.
- And my kiddo loves it. That's enough of a reason for me 😉
This blend usually makes a large smoothie which is perfect for us to share. Sometimes if there's a bit leftover, I'll save it for the next day for him to have at breakfast or as his afternoon snack.
I've found that I don't always love creaminess with tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, which is part of the reason I don't include yogurt in this blend, but you can easily add in greek yogurt or refined sugar-free yogurt if you want a toddler-friendly smoothie with dairy in it for extra protein!
You can use this recipe as a base idea of what to put in any superfood toddler smoothie. You can vary the leafy green you put in it, the type of fruit, or even whether or not there is yogurt in it.
I love being able to share recipes that can serve as a base for you to customize to your taste preferences! I've used this same base for a few different variations, but this one is definitely one of our top choices!
Should you use frozen or fresh fruits for smoothies?
Either will work! If you're using fresh fruit, you may need to add ice to help the smoothie be the right consistency.
How do you make this vegan fruit smoothie thicker?
Thick smoothies always start with frozen fruit which keeps water content down. If you find your smoothie still isn't as thick and creamy as you'd like, the two best ways you can thicken smoothies is either by adding ice or to add more applesauce!
How do you make a smoothie thinner?
If your smoothie gets too thick, you can easily thin it out by adding more liquid, in this case adding more water!
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What supplies do you need to make a smoothie?
A High Quality Blender
Toddler Smoothie Glasses with Straws
What can you serve with this toddler approved smoothie?
My favorite is to add in a delicious muffin to go with it! Some of our favorite toddler muffins are:
- No Sugar Added Blueberry Muffin
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin
- Strawberry Chia Seed Muffins
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins
Kale Smoothie
This toddler approved kale smoothie is the perfect summer treat! It's packed with fruits and vegetables, refined sugar and dairy free, and so tasty! The whole family, kids and adults, will love this easy smoothie recipe!
Ingredients
- About a handful of kale (½ cup - 1 cup)
- ½ cup of frozen fruit (we usually use a mango strawberry and pineapple blend)
- ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup - 1 cup of water
Instructions
- Using a blender, combine kale, fruit, unsweetened applesauce and ½ cup of water.
- Blend on high until smooth, adding more water if necessary.
- Pour into toddler safe cups.
Delia says
Using applesauce is so smart! I've got to try that. I started making green smoothies this year too and it's amazing how well you can mask the taste. I like throwing in a banana and some frozen berries with some milk/yogurt, chia seeds, and a wad of spinach. A dollop of peanut butter if I'm feeling crazy 😉 The banana taste is so strong you wouldn't even know you're drinking a serving of spinach!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
I love that you add applesauce to this smoothie! I've never done that before, and we're totally going to give that a go now! Also, we're big smoothie fans in the mornings, but I love that you use this as an afternoon boost. I bet Lady A would adore this, too!