To think that my children really will eat better if i buy a nutra bullet type machine?

[ferriswheel]

Im really trying to cut down on the crap we are all eating at home, and improve the variety of food we are all trying.

Tonight i gave my eldest a recipe book and asked him to choose 3 new recipes and one he chose was a smoothie.

I have a hand blender but love the idea of us all devouring beetroot, kale and puy lentil smoothies or something like that.

Has anyone else upped their families vitamin intake successfully like this?

Mine was a gift and is now clutter. Annoying, multipart, sharp clutter.

Can you experiment with the hand blender and see how enthusiastic you are after a month? It won't crush ice but ok on softer fruit and leafy greens?

Thanks everyone, this is reslly helpful.

A bit disappointed to hear that veggie smoothies are not delicious but i guess not surprised. Can anyone recommend a very healthy yet very delicious veg smoothie?

The only ones I'll drink (generally) are fruit smoothies with hidden stuff. Like spinach, prunes, kale etc

My suggestion is to do veg soups instead:

Fry a bit of onion and garlic, add lots of broccoli, or courgette, or both. Or cook some leek and potato. Add vegetable stock and salt/pepper to taste. Put soup in blender, for a lovely kid-friendly veg soup.

Any veg combo works,really, but my fave is garlic/onion/courgette as it gets really creamy and nice.

I use mine all the time, put fruit in with actimel. I put it in the dishwasher

Your basically processing fruit and veg so sugars are broken down and released so give sugar hit. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing. Taste and texture of food stimulates release of the specific enzymes needed to break down food ( ask anyone who has gallstones why they avoid fatty foods ). If you bypass the normal process then less of the food is digested properly. You can probably find more information on sites dealing with tube feeding.
Eating whole foods is better for the body. Try getting a child to eat 5 pieces of whole fruit in one go and they will struggle. Far too many calories.
It may appear a healthy way of eating but it really isn’t.
Four million years of evolution leading to complex masticatory apparatus and neurological feedback mechanisms undone at the press of a button.
The cynical side is they are just a market ploy by the liquidiser manufacturers.

I read that you can put frozen cauliflour in and no one even knows.

And yes i know adding all this stuff at meal times is better. I suppose i agree but am struggling at the moment. Single mum with 3 wee ones. Im looking for a quick fix.

We have a nutra ninja in the cupboard from 2 xmas ago.

Couldn’t get into to veggie ones such as kale as frankly they were vile, fruit ones were nice. Managed fruit and maybe 1/4 spinach at most, . But to make it taste nice it had lots of fruit in it and as above says even though you have an orange, banana, apple, couple of handfuls of frozen berries and, frozen spinach shared between 3 a smoothie only counts towards one of you 5 a day and has masses of natural sugars in it. Tasty as a treat and to use up fruit but not everyday.

http://www.wilko.com/blenders-food-mixers+processors/wilko-power-blender-plus-1000w/invt/0434822

me and DP got this from Wilkinson's for £30 and it's amazing and blends stuff in under a minute, it's really powerful. It pushed us to start having fruit smoothies every morning and make a lot more soups but we're not drinking kale and spinach shakes

also easy to wash up as the blade is separate and not at the bottom of the jug, it screws in to the lid of the cup and comes apart to wash up

I use frozen spinach (3 blocks) with a banana, apple, blueberries, almond milk and tinned pineapple or peach. It tastes good, and I would never eat spinach normally!

I bought one in hope of kids drinking blended spinach and kale

But they wanted lots of milk, flavoured yoghurt and expensive frozen fruit. So not really the health treat I hoped for at all and I wouldn't let them have one daily.

You can buy frozen smoothie mix, i.e. frozen apple, spinach and celery, very cold so add some hot water.
My dc used it to make coffee chocolate ice cream milkshake, not the general idea.
Great to experiment and I still use mine now and then...

So maybe my hand blender would be the thing for now? Am off to find some more recipes...

As above, smoothies are nutri bollocks unless you have no teeth , swallowing issues or mental health issues. If kids refuse decent stuff it is better than nothing.

Any blender will do the trick, mush is mush.

And never commercial smoothies, huge sugary con. Even with home made ones, easy to guzzle too much and get fat.

I use my NB nearly every day but probably not why you might think.

Yes when we first got it the kids were into smoothies for a bit but it soon wore off and tbh the cost of the fruit got v expensive.

What do use it for is veg mush. I purée onions, carrots, celery, spinach (whatever I have) and add it to most things I cook.

It bulks out things like bolognaise, chilli, stew and adds flavour and nutrition.

It's also good for quick soup.

For example I pulse onion, broccoli with enough water or stock to cover veg (whilst raw), plonk in a pan with a stock cube (if I used water - I like the knorr stock pots). As it's puréed it cooks really quickly and you have fresh soup in 10 mins. Obv the ingredients can vary.

I wouldn't be without it.

Our NB was in daily use for a week, the frequency decreased over the next couple of months then it went to to the gadget graveyard at the back of the cupboard and hasn't seen the light of day since. That was three years ago, the Christmas every other person got one.

We have a nutribullet- use it every morning for smoothie. We always put in half and half veg and fruit with some nuts/ seeds and yoghurt. Top up with milk or water and away you go. It's not going to solve all dietary problems, but better that Cheerios or toast which would likely be the alternative!

A smoothie is not a proper meal. Feed your children properly

My dd (nearly 15) makes herself a smoothie with the nutribullet regularly - was worth the money I think (she does also just eat fruit and veg without blitzing too!)

A smoothie is not a proper meal. Feed your children properly maybe so, but if they have pizza for dinner, which -shock horror- they do sometimes, adding in a green smoothie made of spinach and fruit DOES have nutritional value and so it's a healthy addition to their meal. Yes ideally I'd like them to just open a bag of spinach and eat it with their steamed white fish but that's not my life.

My friend gave me her nutri bullet but its a hassle and I keep going back to my ninja which is great and so easy although I feel guilty.....

I've got a Nutri bullet ferriswheel
You can use up fruit that's getting a bit past it as well. Veg wise I put in spring greens or broccoli or kale with some orange juice and then some other fruit that's about e.g. apples or bananas. Or I do carrot orange juice and ginger. The key for me is to keep it out on the side and aim to use it every day. If it goes in the cupboard then you might lose motivation.
Yes in an ideal world our children would all be munching veg but these kind of things can be an easy way to supplement it

And yes i know adding all this stuff at meal times is better. I suppose i agree but am struggling at the moment. Single mum with 3 wee ones. Im looking for a quick fix

Why do you think making smoothies and washing up the blender and smoothie glasses (which only count for 1 portion of fruit/veg) is less work than putting veg with your dinner?

It’s not a quick fix, it’s just dumb.

I've used mine daily for over 2 years.

I buy frozen smoothie mixes (kale kiwi from waitrose is current fave) and the dds blend them with apple juice. Dd3 doesn't eat breakfast but will drink oats milk banana protein powder ice.