Looking for recipes for high calorie wheat/dairy free smoothies.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I have a smoothie loving kid who needs to be fattened up. I am stymied as to how to make a great, thick fruit smoothie without yogurt. I have bought coconut milk yogurt but we all think it is yucky.

[pink&bluemommy]

Avocado and coconut milk or cream from a can.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Sunbutter or almond butter, bananas, full fat coconut milk (in the can, not in the carton) my dh adds oats to his but the texture gets to me

[Soror]

Coconut milk or cream makes it rather thick, especially w/out other liquids. I like nutbutters in there as well, especially a combo of coconut cream, pb/ab, a bit of cocoa and strawberries- yum!

[dbmamaz]

I think the body really does better with a broad mix of nutrition, not just fat.  Make it high protein - nuts, protein powder.  And nutritious - spinach makes smoothies really smooth.  Frozen fruit with thicken it, and then just a little ice.  

[fdrinca]

Our thickeners: coconut oil (I think if you get expeller pressed there's no coconut taste), peanut butter, oatmeal (uncooked rolled oats or cooked steel-cut oats), frozen bananas, tofu. 

[mommymonster]

I would add protein powder, soy milk (or whatever "milk" you use), banana, tasty fruit (for me it's frozen strawberries, blueberries, or peaches), chia seeds and flax seed oil. 

[Alte Veste Academy]

Thank you so much for the great ideas! There is stuff here I never would have thought of. The coconut oil will give me lots of caloric goodness and I always have it on hand. This kid LOVES the flavor of coconut, so both the milk and the oil would be groovy. 

 

Any suggestions for a good brand of protein powder? We're whole/natural food people, and I don't really get where protein powder comes from, what it's made out of, the relative health pros and cons, etc. Would love some advice! I could see this kid benefitting from more protein as well. 

 

Thanks again!

[dbmamaz]

I've been using hemp protein powder, which I think is just ground hemp seeds.  It gives smoothies a muddy look and texture, though.  But its completely natural.

[Soror]

fwiw you have to watch when adding coconut oil as it solidifies the 70 degree range so it can be hard to get it smooth.

[kewb]

I use shredded coconut in the smoothie instead of the coconut oil due to the solidifying issue.  I usually throw in nuts/seeds, oats, banana, and avocado.

[ocelotmom]

I use shredded coconut in the smoothie instead of the coconut oil due to the solidifying issue.  I usually throw in nuts/seeds, oats, banana, and avocado.

 

Yeah, avocado is excellent for this - the flavor and color are pretty easily masked by stronger colors/flavors if that's an issue.

[mommymonster]

Protein powders always stress me out -- so many options! The two most popular choices are whey and soy. Personally,  I'm not a dairy gal and I get soy in other forms and don't want to over-do it. I tried hemp and found that (to me) it tasted like dirty socks. I'm sorry, it was probably the brand, but ick. I settled on Alive! Pea Protein (Vanilla). It tastes pretty good. Better than socks. :001_smile:

 

 

[fdrinca]

Yeah, avocado is excellent for this - the flavor and color are pretty easily masked by stronger colors/flavors if that's an issue.

 

 

Oh! Definitely forgot avocado - it's awesome in smoothies.

 

We have a vitamix, so getting the coconut oil blended isn't much of an issue. We also throw in walnuts and chocolate chips, but most blenders couldn't handle those for very long ;)

[LMV]

Our now five year old foster daughter lost a significant amount of weight between her four year old well child visit and when she came to us.  Weight loss in a growing child is almost always a concern so we were quite focused on getting her appropriately renourished.  She had no interest in food (likely because of the concurrent depression---that is much better now) so we also used supplemental smoothies a lot.  

 

Strawberry Smoothie

Grind in Blender:

1/4 C. Cashews

1/2 C. Oatmeal

Add in:

1/2 C. Fresh/Frozen Strawberries (we have a greenhouse so we do have these fresh almost year round)

8 ounces whole milk

1 whole banana (If you use fresh fruit consider freezing the banana)

*Blend together until desired consistency is reached.  

 

[This generally blends together quite well and the finished volume is about 10 ounces or a little less.  Calories~600]

 

You can experiment with other fruit/nut combinations.  

 

 

[LMV]

Thank you so much for the great ideas! There is stuff here I never would have thought of. The coconut oil will give me lots of caloric goodness and I always have it on hand. This kid LOVES the flavor of coconut, so both the milk and the oil would be groovy. 

 

Any suggestions for a good brand of protein powder? We're whole/natural food people, and I don't really get where protein powder comes from, what it's made out of, the relative health pros and cons, etc. Would love some advice! I could see this kid benefitting from more protein as well. 

 

Thanks again!

 

Be cautious with protein powders with kids as they can overtax developing kidneys and even disrupt normal electrolyte balances.  Most of these are not FDA regulated (unless they are sold as "medical foods" where they will be under FDA review) and thus can contain other substances/supplements that may interact with medications the child is taking, exacerbate other problems, or contribute to vitamin/mineral toxicity syndromes.  There is also the concern for heavy metal contamination and accumulation with some products.  

 

In general most kids (and IMO adults) are best off meeting their requirements from their diet.  If children have health problems that interfere with adequate nutritional intake or absorption it would be reasonable to consult with their doctor and possibly a pediatric RD to develop an individualized plan for nutritional optimization.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Be cautious with protein powders with kids as they can overtax developing kidneys and even disrupt normal electrolyte balances.  Most of these are not FDA regulated (unless they are sold as "medical foods" where they will be under FDA review) and thus can contain other substances/supplements that may interact with medications the child is taking, exacerbate other problems, or contribute to vitamin/mineral toxicity syndromes.  There is also the concern for heavy metal contamination and accumulation with some products.  

 

In general most kids (and IMO adults) are best off meeting their requirements from their diet.  If children have health problems that interfere with adequate nutritional intake or absorption it would be reasonable to consult with their doctor and possibly a pediatric RD to develop an individualized plan for nutritional optimization.

 

Thanks for this info. I appreciate it. I think I'd prefer to go the nut butter approach for a little protein anyway. And kiddo does eat plenty of meat and eggs. Your smoothie recipe sounds great too, so thanks! 

[Jenny in Florida]

My son's favorite smoothie is:

 

- 1 banana, frozen (Actually, the best option is to use half a banana frozen and half not, but I'm not always organized enough for that.)

- 1 cup frozen (unsweetened) strawberries

- 1 cup orange juice

- 1/2 scoop unflavored Soy-Free Veg protein powder (I think the brand is Naturade.)

- 1/2 scoop strawberry flavored Spiru-tein protein powder

- a bit of sugar

 

When blended, it is about the consistency of a milkshake.