Share your summer smoothie recipes with Arla Big Milk for a chance to win a £250 voucher!NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Arla have asked us to find out which nutritious smoothie recipes your DC love in the summer.

Here’s what Arla say, “Arla Big Milk is the only fresh cows' milk enriched with essential nutrients to support your child's growth and development, as part of a healthy balanced diet. Containing added iron, vitamin D, vitamin A, and naturally rich in calcium; Arla Big Milk has been developed to specifically support the needs of children aged from one to five.”

So, what nutritious summer smoothie recipes do you have up your sleeve? Maybe you make a breakfast smoothie which gives your DCs a brilliant kickstart to the day? Or a fruity ice cream smoothie you treat 'em with on a warm summer’s afternoon? Even better, a veggie smoothie that they're happy to drink - or that you enjoy making for yourself. We’re looking forward to hearing the different things Mumsnetters whack into a blender to create delicious, nutritious smoothies!

Everyone who shares their smoothie recipe on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Simple smoothie recipe,

Milk, banana and linseeds

My children love this rainbow smoothie I make. I just freeze each layer for about 5-10 minutes before adding the next layer to make it a bit more visually interesting for them. I always serve it in those mini milk bottles you can buy. Blend together each layer - starting with the coconut layer. For the first layer I blend coconut milk, honey and crushed ice, then strawberries and crushed ice, then banana and oranges with crushed ice and for the final two layers (which are merged around the back of the smoothie in this pic) kiwi and ice, and blueberries and ice. Delicious!

I use milk, bananas, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries with a handful of oats. Gives lots of energy and great way to start the day and fill me up until lunchtime whilst boosting my immune system!

Mine like milk, banana and strawberries with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Yum!

Strawberry, Mango and banana

and then add a dash of honey

My favourite: fresh ginger, rocket and fresh pineapple.

Kids favourite: pretty much anything if they get to choose the ingredients! I let them make them individually so they can put the quantities they like in and leave out anything they don't fancy. Usually something along the theme of raspberry, banana, orange juice, apple, mango yoghurt. Even better when frozen into a lolly!

Milk
Natural yoghurt
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Maple syrup.
Amazing

aah. an old fave==== strawberries, mango and milk. delish

smoothies are our favourite thing!

ADULT PICK-ME-UP SMOOTHIE: dates soaked in coffee, then cooled, frozen banana, almond butter, almond milk, maca powder

GREEN TEA SMOOTHIE (another adult one): avocado, coconut water, spinach, mango, matcha green tea powder

DC BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE: oats, peanut butter, milk, frozen banana, choc chips

DC GREEN SMOOTHIE: milk, mango, spinach, frozen banana, chia seeds

DC FAVOURITE FRUITY POWER SMOOTHIE: milk, blueberries, banana, dates, mango, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, almond butter

I make extras of DC smoothies and pour the rest into ikea ice lolly makers so they can have it in frozen form on hot days

Those sound delicious americastortured.
What do you use to make it in? Not sure my hand blender will do the sunflower seeds but never tried.

I like yoghurt, banana and strawberry with a dash or two of milk to loosen the consistency. Lovely way to start the morning and even better as I can drink it one handed whilst feeding the baby!

SIMPLE BUT DELICIOUS &PACKED FULL OF GOODNESS
Great smoothie starter: Strawberries and Cream Smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mixed berries (the more berries you add, the more purple it looks)
1 banana
1 cup low-fat milk
1 cup fruit juice
1/4 cup fresh baby spinach

Banana, strawberries, milk and a touch of maple syrup! It tastes like a strawberry milkshake but has more fruit. Plus the maple syrup adds a toffee-like flavour. The key twist in the summer is to use frozen banana and strawberries, then it's immediately cold!

Merrymarigold I have a pretty bog standard kitchenaid blender...hence presoaking dates cos it doesn't really blend them very well unless they're really soft. So takes planning but I just make an extra cup of coffee in the morning ready for the next day (or later that afternoon)

Also, not smoothie, but we quite often just blend frozen bananas and strawberries with a touch of milk for ice cream

Ooh, some great ideas here, will take note!

My afternoon pick me up is coconut milk drink (not tinned stuff), dates or raisins, banana, a dollop of nut butter (almond preferably) and cinnamon. Sweet and nutritious! I'm dairy free due to baby's allergy but sure you could try it with milk if you wanted. Just don't use peanut butter as its bleurgh with it!

My kids love banana, strawberry & blueberry smoothies all whizzed up with ice cream. Yummy :D

DD1 is enjoying banana milkshakes at the moment which is literally just half a banana and some milk. But it makes bananas more exciting and encourages more milk drinking in this hot weather.

Favourite smoothies include orange juice as the base to stop the blades getting clogged then a banana as that makes a good base. On top goes frozen berries such as strawberries and raspberries. I particularly like how raspberries break into tiny little ice buds in the smoothie. Kiwi fruit is delicious but turns the smoothie murky. Blueberries make an interesting colour which excites DD. Apples and pears are good for fillers but don't really add much to the taste. Pineapple and mango make it really juicy.

So my perfect recipe would be:
Orange juice, banana, mango, pineapple, frozen strawberries and raspberries.

My favourite Smoothie recipe has to be..
Milk
Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Yoghurt
Ice Pieces

So tasty! :)

I haven't been very adventurous so far compared to others on this thread, usually just chuck some fruit and yogurt/milk in, don't think we've ever had the same mix twice. I am inspired to try some new stuff now after reading this though

Thanks Americas, though kitchenaid is pretty top of the range. Does it do ice? I heard nutribullet pulverises anything.

Can we now have a thread on the best gadgets? I had a smoothie machine and it was rubbish. Hand blender just as good and much easier to clean.

merrymarigold yeah when I say bog standard I mean "not vitamix"!! it does crush ice, think mine was about $125 (I'm in the US) compared to $650 for the vitamix which is what everyone else where I live seems to have (LA, go figure)

I don't see what my smoothies above you couldn't do with a hand blender though - maybe not nuts?

I like the basic banana crush

2 bananas
teaspoon of sugar
1/2 pint of milk
crushed ice
scoop of vanilla ice cream
blend blend blend

milk, banana, dehydrated peanut butter powder and cocoa nibs is delicious!

My favourite souvenir from a trip to Australia was this smoothie recipe:

Whole milk
Ripe bananas
Almond butter
Freshly grated nutmeg

And whizz.

Heaven.

Also

Whole milk
Avocado
Fresh coriander
Kale

And most importantly...

Wasabi paste