A Smoothie Staple At The Smiths.

Have you ever thought about your daily dairy intake? If I’m being completely honest, neither had I until I became a mom. It was only then that I realized the importance of dairy for my two children and their calcium needs. If you really think about it, milk products are essentials that you naturally gravitate towards at the grocery store — but sometimes, finding ways to actually incorporate them into your everyday food consumption can be tricky. One of the simplest and easiest ways for me to make sure that I’m getting enough dairy in our diets is by preparing smoothies.

 When I was pregnant with Kaia, my biggest craving was fruit. I was working at Saint Mary’s University, so to save time in the morning, Matt would whip me up a smoothie before I would head off for the day. Five years later and this is still a staple in our home. 

Fun fact: Nova Scotia is the blueberry capital of Canada. Another fun fact: my father-in-law owns a blueberry field up by his cottage that the kids, Matt, and I visit to pick out fresh blueberries from the field. Not only are the blueberries super yummy but it’s also an awesome way to get the kids outside to teach them about food and how it gets to grocery stores for families like us to buy. That personal touch means we get to enjoy a fresh, nutritious beverage made from so much deliciousness while creating wonderful memories which are, of course, priceless. 

My love for smoothies runs very deep. My kids are picky eaters, something I blame on how picky I was growing up but also on the simple fact that they are tiny humans and not always easy to please. Smoothies are by far the easiest way to add dairy into everyone’s diet. Using both milk and yogurt gives me the confidence of knowing that I’m taking care of our bones and providing the whole family with nutritious foods and key sources to easily absorb calcium. As a mom of two little ones, and another on the way, I’m the first to admit that it is a little intimidating to make sure your children are getting the proper nutrition and healthy options so to that I say hurray for smoothies, saving the day one cup and a time. 

 One of my favourite recipes that I want to share with you guys is the Berry Blaster Smoothie:

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup blueberry yogurt

• 1 cup Spinach, raw 

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries

• 1/2 banana 

• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

 Preparation: 

 In a blender, purée all the ingredients. Serve immediately. 

 As always, thank you for allowing me to use this space to talk openly about something I believe in. If you’d like to find out more information on Dairy Farmers of Canada, you can check it out here - https://dairyfarmersofcanada.ca/en. Their website provides awesome information on dairy products and amazing recipes as well. You can also always reach out to me personally whether it be on Instagram ( @sheridaningalls ) or through my website, that’s what I’m here for!