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.

Consumed a lot of dog puke have you?

No but if it looks like it in colour and texture and smells like it then it follows it would taste like it.

Yes dear, Innocent is such a successful brand because their smoothies taste like dog puke.

Never seen pink dog puke.

Plenty of purple bird shit, mind.

Wow, slight overreaction to what quite clearly was my own opinion tacked on to my answer to the op, no need to get offended on their behalf. I think Heinz soup does too if that makes it less personal.
I have seen pink dog puke though!

I think people need to calm down. She is feeding the child smoothies, not coke with an extra ladle of sugar.

It's exhausting trying to keep up with what is healthy and what isn't. A few years ago, I'd never have even considered fruit to be unhealthy in any way. Now it seems like unless you have a diet that consists of nothing but kale, you're not doing well enough.

OP, you are parenting a child who has issues. That is difficult. Give yourself a break. There are vitamins and fibre in smoothies. That is a good thing. If she is happy to drink them, go for it. There are more important things to worry about than some sugar.

Wow, some really strong feelings over smoothies

Thank you candles

I am feeling a bit guilty now, not for the smoothies as such but perhaps I've got a bit lazy with making new things for dd to try. Her eating stressed me a LOT as a younger child (I used to cry most evenings with worry and frustration) so for my own sanity I decided to relax and just hope things improve with time.

I've never made muffins with hidden veg in but maybe I'll try now. So....any chocolate muffin recipe and just throw in some grated veg? What's best in terms of nutrients and how well it will be disguised?

Don't feel bad, I've been exactly where you are and the fact that they are eating without it being a big issue is a major source of relief and not surprising that you haven't been trying to push the boundaries.

I don't do the hidden veg thing so much in baking as I don't bake a lot, however I would say that carrots grated on the smallest bit of the grater so you basically have carrot pulp is certainly the easiest thing to hide in pasta sauce/bolognaise. So I would say carrot though I think beetroot is probably similar and would hide well in chocolate.

My son has gone through phases of eating things like mini tomatoes and sweetcorn and peas to not touching them at all and gagging but there are enough things he will eat so I don't sweat it anymore - he will eat tinned apricots, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, bananas and apples without any protest. he will eat pineapple, brambles and tinned pears with a little protest. He knows I put carrot in the bolognaise (have to blitz the tomatoes/pasta sauce though) and is happy to eat it but wont touch carrot otherwise. he will drink smoothies and any kind of fruit juice especially pomegranate and blueberry. he will also eat beans as long as I make them spicy with tabasco and pepper.

I think their tastes do change as they get older, I am lucky that he will eat any kind of meat and eggs - I wish he'd eat potato as it does get hard thinking of side dishes but at least he will eat noodles (as long as there are no green bits), rice and pasta and bread.

Good luck with it all and you are doing well - just take things slowly and don't get too discouraged if things don't always go as you'd have hoped.

Ffs its a smoothie not McDonald's everyday

Actually, there's not much in it from a calorie perspective (300 in 2 x smoothies v. 330 in a McDonald's hamburger and kid's fries). I think this is a large part of the obesity problems we face; just because something contains vitamins/is natural/made from scratch, it doesn't make it the best option.

Certainly from the perspective of your teeth (and satiety levels) there is a lot to be said for the McDonald's

Pavilion, you are being ridiculous. There are far more nutrients and fire in smoothies. The OP didn't say she was worried about obesity

Fibre not fire ????????

I'm one for everything in moderation - I am sure that there is more vitamin c and nutrients in the smoothie as compared to the McDonalds but can't say that I've checked tbh. It's not always about the amount of calories it's more about where they come from. I'm sure there are similar calories in a bowl of fruit with cream as there are in a bar of chocolate but I know which one I'd rather my children had. That said, my children are no stranger to an occasional McDs - they are not the devils food - just something to be treated as an convenient food option on an occasional basis rather than a lifestyle choice - Mine would not have been happy with a Happy Meal at 12 though. It wouldn't have touched the sides but 12 year olds do vary in size and appetite.

My point is that people's perception of 'healthy' eating has become really skewed. Just because something contains fibre and nutrients, it doesn't mean it is a good choice.

As long as people are aware of this, and make choices for their DCs accordingly, then there should be no issue with occasional consumption of both smoothies and McDonald's. The trouble is (as is evidenced on this thread) that people mistakenly attribute far more weight to the source of a nutrient than the actual chemical effect of the nutrient itself.

For obese individuals, most would be far better off in the long term eating their TDEE in kitkats and taking a vitamin supplement than they would be consuming TDEE + say 20% in 'healthy', homecooked food.

I could quite happily eat my entire daily allowed calories in chocolate unfortunately I'd be starving most of the time as I'd never be full - not sure what kind of effect it would have on my digestive system :o

Food isn't all about nutrition/calories either, it fulfills emotional and psychological functions too (it's true though that most of which in my case could be fulfilled by chocolate)

Right, I have in my oven now - a batch of chocolate muffins with the equivalent of one medium carrot grated into them.

A question though - how is this different to the smoothie? Surely the principle is the same - i.e. a lot of bad stuff for a small amount of good stuff? Per muffin there's a lot more sugar than the tiny bit of carrot, is it worth it?

Well I guess if you'd be eating the muffin or equivalent anyway then now it is just healthier?

I've always been of the view that if DC were having a treat I'd rather it was cake than sweets as at least the cake has egg and milk in it rather than just sugar iyswim?

I don't think it is a substitute for what you were doing before, just another opportunity to gain some veg in the diet.

When DC were babies there was a recipe in a book I had for "best chance" muffins where the premise was that if all you could get them to eat was a muffin, at least make it the healthiest you can. I gave away the book, can't remember what it is called and can't find the recipe anywhere but there are times where I really wanted to try it again.

Hope the muffins come out well :) - you'd probably have to reduce the amount of "wet" ingredients and add a bit more raising agent to account for the weight of the carrot says she who doesn't bake but watches The Great British bake-off" :o

Well they've come out the oven and look delicious

I used a MN recipe which had good reviews. I peered at them as they came out to see if I could see any specks of orange

I will report back!

I was terribly fussy but no diagnosed issue when I was a child - I survived for years on a very limited diet that consisted mainly of cornflakes, sugar, milk, processed cheese slices, white bread and rhubarb (with sugar). I gradually changed my tastes as I got into the older teenage years and now eat most things so I keep living in hope for my two - they certainly eat better than I did but not as well as DH who would eat anything except liver.

fab - if they taste nice then link to the recipe - I might be persuaded to risk my dodgy oven and try some (oven cooks unevenly which I've learned to like as I can cook stuff at vastly different temperatures at the same time depending on which corner of the oven they are in.)

Consuming a smoothie in no way compares to an equal calorie mcdonalds. The fructose is easily converted to energy, whereas the processed carbs and fat in the McDonalds is not easily converted to energy. Hence consuming 2000 calories of smoothie a day versus 2000 calories of mcdonalds isn't likely to make you fat and lacking in energy like the second. Plus the combination of fat and processed carbs is more likely to over eat than just one alone. Op hasn't mentioned any concerns about her dds weight, so let's assume she's doing fine on that front. And yes I do the 'if you're eating crap I'd rather there was goodness too'

My ds lives on wholegrain bread (Vogels/Burgen etc) with a bit of marge or butter, peanut butter, a bit of milk and cereal, tinned spaghetti, fish fingers and chips, and Innocent smoothies. And would like crisps and biscuits etc but knows they need to be balanced by fruit and veg, so he hardly gets any.

Dietician approved. All the major food groups included.

Carrot muffins go down well too, but some of the online recipes are dire.

We've got a nutribullet and I promise if you do it half spinach and half fruit you can't taste the spinach - I'm a fussy eater, if you could taste it, I would!

If you're making sugar free muffins with veg in, like the baby led weaning book recipe, just remember they go mouldy ridiculously fast with no sugar. Sugar has its benefits!

What trilbydoll says.

My dd2 has ds and sensory issues with crunchy fruit and veg, she also needs a high fibre diet. So, dp bought me a nutribullet last summer (for us on a health drive) but really we use it mostly for her in the mornings. I try to use low gi fruit such as berries, I often keep frozen ones in especially for smoothies. You can also add vanilla or cocoa powder for flavour. Mostly I use spinach + frozen berries (not raspberries/blackberries as too many seeds) + koko milk (trying to avoid too much dairy).

About your question re sugar and carrot in the muffins - well it's no different is it?

Truly, Dancergirl, give yourself a break. The smoothies are FINE.

Or what whitecandles said:

OP, you are parenting a child who has issues. That is difficult. Give yourself a break. There are vitamins and fibre in smoothies. That is a good thing. If she is happy to drink them, go for it. There are more important things to worry about than some sugar.