To give my dd Innocent smoothies?

[Dancergirl]

Dd2 is 12 and has dyspraxia and sensory issues which makes eating very difficult for her. She eats no fruit or veg other than a small piece of broccoli and/or apple or cucumber which I insist on but it's difficult for her.

She does like the individual Innocent smoothies so I buy those for her, she might have one or two a day certainly no more.

But then I start to worry about the sugar and how we are supposed to be cutting down on fruit juice etc.

So good or bad in these circumstances? I give her vitamin tablets too btw.

Nutri bullet is the incredibly expensive smoothie maker. Smoothie makers are better for making completely smooth smoothies, better than blenders or blender sticks. They usually come with individual cups with lids which is IME great for letting the DC fill their own smoothie cup. Personally I find the £20/30 versions perfectly good.

But is sugar really, really bad for you unless it's causing obesity? If regular tooth rushing hapoens and smoothies are given with meals, what's the issue? Where's all the solid evidence against this?
I'm intrigued.
OP, some people feed their kids nothing but KFC. Sounds like you're doing a great job

The Aldi ones are just as nice and less than half the price.

I can't get worked up about kids drinking smooshed up fruit. Crack on.

Nutri bullet blends into a smoither smoothie, which for ds was important, but if you already have a kenwood could you try a smoothie using that?

Ha, what Welsh said. Kids plus squished fruit = good result to me

My dentist said that as long as only 5 acidic foods/drinks per day not to worry and that eating a small piece of cheese or small amount of milk helps prevent damage to tooth enamal. The sugar i wouldnt worry about unless she is diabetic in which case it gets absorbed too quickly and causes sugar levels to be up and down.

Isn't it odd that it always seems to be things like this they can't eat and not, say, chocolate muffins?

Add message | Report | Message poster Oly4 Thu 16-Jul-15 17:40:13
But is sugar really, really bad for you unless it's causing obesity? If regular tooth rushing hapoens and smoothies are given with meals, what's the issue? Where's all the solid evidence against this?
I'm intrigued.
OP, some people feed their kids nothing but KFC. Sounds like you're doing a great job

That's like saying well done on being a child molester, some people are murderers lol

IMO the biggest problem with Innocent (and others like it) is the smoothies are pasteurised so they no longer even have the benefits of fruit only the downside being a lot of sugar (almost 7 teaspoons of sugar in a 250ml smoothie).

The way I see it, its not much different to opening a jar of sugar and eating 7 teaspoons of it for a snack.

My Ds1 doesn't like "damaged" food - the fact that as soon as he takes a bite it is then "damaged" doesn't seem to occur to him. But things like the skin of the grape being ripped where you have pulled it off the stalk would lead to him rejecting it - this equally applies to biscuits but doesn't seem to be a problem with crisps.

Apples with odd shading (i.e. some of it has been in the shade) are rejected too - Any "blemish" needs to be cut out which is progress as in the past the whole item would be rejected. Grapes can't be squishy, strawberries have to have any of the white core bit removed, raspberries have to be whole and un-squished. We have been told by CAHMs that he is probably borderline Aspergers but we haven't gone for the full diagnosis.

OP - he doesn't like pizza too tomato-ey either - i've found either home made where you can control the proportion is good but he also seems to like the Pizza Express supermarket ones as they don't have that puree kind of tomato paste on them. For home made I blend a little bit of Lloyd Grossman tomato and basil sauce and use about a table spoon on a pizza and add plenty of cheese.

I bought my DD4 one in the Waitrose cafe this afternoon. If they're in the Waitrose caff, they must be OK no?!

Youareallbonkers, now you are being well, bonkers!!

Ooooh yes, if they're in Waitrose they must be ok. Love a bit of Waitrose

Pentaquark, but milk is pasteurised isn't it but still contains calcium?
Where is all the solid evidence for these claims pls? Show me the way....

I would definitely consider a nutri bullet or nutri ninja unless you're really short of cash and can't afford to lose £100 ish. My very fussy DD will eat smoothies made in one because they do get the fruit ultra smooth. It would pay for itself very rapidly compared to the cost of individual innocent smoothies.

We use almond milk as the liquid and add extra unnoticeable protein too.

I put some frozen fruit in to get them sufficiently cold - strawberries, raspberries, mango, pineapple, blueberries all available in Lidl, Aldi or Costco. You can buy cheaper forest fruit packs but I don't really recommend them as they don't get totally smooth.

I think normal milk is better source of protein than almond milk:

www.healthline.com/health/milk-almond-cow-soy-rice

I think it's fine. My DS has sensory issues and doesn't like homemade smoothies as the texture is not smooth enough. Have you tried tinned fruit? I know it's not as good as fresh fruit, but my DS likes tinned fruit in juice and there are lots your DD could try.

A Breville Active blender is a good alternative to a Nutri Bullet and a mere fifth of the price.

" would pay for itself very rapidly compared to the cost of individual innocent smoothies. "
You can get a lot of Innocent smoothies for a hundred quid. And you won't waste anything, you'll have no hassles, you don't have to remember to buy extra fruit and there's no washing up.

DS2 won't touch most fruit and veg and only drinks water. He quite likes fruit and rhubarb baked into a cake. Banana bread is always a goer. I've made cakes and muffins with carrot, butternut squash and courgette, all successful. He loves blueberry muffins. Rhubarb crumble is an absolute winner. Admittedly it's all sugary, but since I do the baking, most of the time, I can control the sugar levels.

I used to be able to get some tomato in him in the form of pizza, but he turns out to be highly intolerant to cheese (triggers abdominal migraines).

Pasta is a no go (he's tried and tried and always gags on it), as is any potato that hasn't been turned brown in the cooking process and all rice. So no hidden veg, really, unless I faff about making meatballs or similar - but more veg means more crumb to bind it, which means it reaches a point where picky with the texture of meaty stuff DS1 will reject it and I've given myself a sore neck for very little gain.

He has a houmous sarnie for lunch most days. He used to have peanut butter, regularly, but the smell of it puts DS1 into meltdown and he can't take it to school because he ends up wearing it.

So yes, if DS2 decided he liked innocent smoothies, he'd get some, with a meal, most days, simply because it expands his diet just that little bit further.

Don't give her chia seeds they are a weird (horrid!) texture! For a healthier muffin just grate a tiny bit of carrot, banana or courgette into a normal choc recipe and of she will eat, gradually increase!

bonkers (speak for yourself, btw) my boys can't eat chocolate muffins.

Well they could, but I don't enjoy wiping it off the bedroom carpet at midnight. And neither of them enjoy the blinding headache.

My sister in law sneaks puréed butternut squash (homemade or Ella's kitchen) into macaroni cheese.

Yabu because they look and taste like blended dog puke.
But yanbu if she likes them and the usual way isn't an option
Yanbu because of the sugar, contrary to whatever moronic theory is being pedalled in the media by the deluded sycophants of the anti- carb gods we actually need glucose/fructose for energy, so as long as the sugar levels don't stop her ability to remain with a sugar intake suitable for her needs, then it's not an issue. Just try and time it near toothbrushing
Everyone discussing nutri bullets, blenders and homemade smoothies ywnbu to compare the result to vomit.