Getting into a new routine

Happy Monday!  Monday’s are both my best friend and worst enemy.  I never sleep well on Sunday nights as my mind starts flipping through all those things I have to do in the next week at my day job. Sometimes the to-do list is a real doozy.  On the other hand I get excited about all things I’m going to accomplish. Monday morning always come a bit too soon and requires a Venti coffee from 5bucks before I can really get started. For my daughter, morning is all about smoothies – this morning it was a Pomegranate Banana Berry Smoothie.

My daughter hasn’t started school yet – we are about a week away as they school board has been working on finding the right placement for her and in the meantime she continues to have a busy schedule with therapy sessions 6 days a week. We are also working extra hard on getting her diet in check to help prepare her for a change in the rest of her routine. She has never gone to school for full days before and I’m worried about whether she will eat at school.  3 years ago she went to a local daycare for 3 full days each week and she wouldn’t eat all day – just refused.  I don’t want this to happen again so we are working on finding some easy solutions that she will both enjoy but can also eat without too much assistance.

I fully expect that we’ll be sending her to school with a thermos filled with smoothie each day.  This should alleviate some of our fears in terms of keeping her tummy full but also gives us an easy vehicle to ensure she gets her much needed supplements throughout the day. 

K tends to like more fruit based smoothies and juices with an occasional green smoothie (see her favourite – the “beginner green smoothie” here) so we’ve been experimenting quite a bit over the past week or so since we’ve been back from our vacation.

We found a winner to add to our growing list to ensure we get some variety or at least have a list of “K approved” smoothies to draw upon once she gets bored with the current favourite.

Pomegranate rocks

I never had pomegranate growing up – I doubt very much that the local grocery store in my small childhood community would even stock it today.  Even this past week I couldn’t find one at our store in a big city but I did pick up some POM pomegranate juice to give a try. I’m keeping my eyes open for pomegranate though since I’d prefer to start with the whole fruit. That being said, POM juice has no added sugar which I think is great for a fruit smoothie – they are sweet enough that they don’t require any additives.  Pomegranates are a good source of antioxidants and potassium.

I also selected raspberries and blueberries because my daughter loves them fresh or frozen and they are high in Vitamin C, manganese and fiber. One last addition – a frozen banana for some sweetness and to add creaminess to the smoothie.

The Results

A creamy, sweet and nutritious smoothie that is sure to be a lunchbox favourite or slurped back with ease on the way to school.

This Pomegranate Banana Berry smoothie recipe makes 2 servings and when I serve in a glass I like to add a bit of frozen berries to the top. With my little one, this helps signal what is in the smoothie and helps convince her that she will like it without even taking a sip.