The Heart Crusher: a delicious, heart-healthy, hidden veggie smoothie
“EWWWW! What IS that mom?” Jenn exclaimed when I picked up a package of pre-cooked organic beets while shopping. To her, these veggies of dripping with nutrition were yucky, bloody balls of “don’t eat it”. But I had a plan up my sleeve to make a hidden vegetable smoothie she would love.
And guess what?
Both my 4 year old and 2 year old drank every last sip.
And I happily drank my own knowing that it was a heart-healthy and energizing breakfast option to start my day.
Affiliate links included to put food on our family’s table.
Heart-Healthy smoothie for adults that’s also kid-approved
Sometimes it’s a trick to hide more than one super healthy ingredient into a dish or smoothie to get your kids to try it, but fortunately this is one that the whole family can love and no one has to even mention all the power-packed foods inside of it.
Hidden vegetable smoothie ingredients
Start with a half cup of pomegranate juice at the bottom of your blender. If you choose to use frozen fruit, you will need more like a cup.
Note: For purposes of taking pictures and to make enough for both girls and myself, I doubled the recipe.
Then add 3/4 cup of blueberries, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup spinach, 1 cooked beet, and 1.5 tablespoons of flax on top. Replace your lid and blend. On my Vitamix, I typically do a low to medium speed, pulsing when necessary.
Plus check out how to use beets to make a healthy, natural red velvet ice cream.
Add ice cubes or cubes of a frozen beverage such as milk or lemonade to thicken as desired. We personally use three cubes of frozen milk (the heart shape in the blender picture) per serving.
Serve immediately and enjoy as a quick, nutritious breakfast, after dinner dessert, or anytime snack.
Read more about quick, kid-approved breakfast ideas.
And just to recap the ingredient list…
- 1/2-1 cup pomegranate juice (more if you use frozen fruit)
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1 cooked beet
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1.5 tablespoons ground flax
- Approx 3 Ice cubes or frozen beverage (we have frozen milk, yogurt, and lemonade before)
More healthy ideas even kids will enjoy
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 6 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
