In my last post on “Fresh Juices Toddlers Will Love“, I provided a recipe for the Green & Red juices my son loves. I also stated that I wanted to write a separate post about the health benefits of the ingredients in the recipe! We make it part of our lifestyle and love making juice everyday.
Nathan especially lovesss his juices. Sometimes I find him trying to climb onto the table to assemble the juicer! It’s so adorable! It’s really beneficial that we started him early when drinking and eating fruits and vegetables so that he can carry it on later in life. Giving him fresh juice is one of the best options to hide the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables advised by his pediatrician. Fresh juices contain the highest quality of nutrients that are essential in a child’s development and growth.
As mentioned in my latest post, the green juice contains : pineapple, kale, cucumber, lemon, and ginger. The lemon and ginger really take the taste level up a notch and makes it so refreshing. I researched the health benefits of each produce because I don’t want to just add fruits and vegetables that has a lot of sugar (natural sugar at least) with not much nutritional content. I used kale instead of spinach because they are larger in size and more juice comes out of it than spinach. Here are the health benefits of the fruits and vegetables, which I got from the website Juicing For Health.
Health Benefits from Green Juice:
Kale:
-Kale is rich in n calcium, copper, iron, and potassium. Also, high in protein and in Vitamin K, C, E, B1 & B2.
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Pineapple:
–Pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C, B1 and smaller amounts of B2, B3, B5 and B6.
-It is also rich in manganese, copper, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid, and dietary fiber.
Cucumber:
-Cucumbers contain vitamin C and A (anti-oxidants), folate, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica, sulfur, and lesser amounts of vitamin B complex, sodium, calcium, and phosphorus.
-Composed of 96% of water, which is great for juicing.
-Helps normalize body temperature, great for hot summer days!
Ginger:
-Composed of essential oils, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin C, choline, folate, inositol, manganese, panthotenic acid, silicon, and a small amount of vitamin B3.
There’s so much health benefits from Green Juice, and that’s why I love drinking it for myself too. Also, it helps with detox and weight loss for myself.
I also added a recipe of a Red Juice in my last post, and it consists of : beets, carrots, oranges, and ginger.
Health Benefits of Red Juice:
Beets:
-Composed of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C.
-The greens have a higher content of iron than spinach.
-Beets also contain high amounts of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron.
Carrots:
-An excellent source of pro-vitamin A (which are great for your little one’s eyes!), vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6.
-High contents of biotin, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, organic sodium and some trace minerals.
I did not include the health benefits of lemon and oranges anymore because we all pretty much know them already! They’re excellent in Vitamin C of course! There are so many health benefits from drinking juice, but people also need to be aware of the dangers of them. For example, some children may have an intolerance or allergy to one or more fruits and vegetables listed above. So please use and make the juices with extra caution when giving them to your little one. They may be good for some kids, but doesn’t necessarily mean they are good for all kids.
Extra Juicing Tips for Toddlers and For You Too!
1) Try to use organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible because they are free from pesticides and chemicals. Ralph’s has a great sale going on for organic kale this past summer. 99 cents a bunch! You can check your local farmers market for inexpensive organic produce, as well.
2) Wash and rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly! For non-organic fruits and vegetables, ensure rinsing them really well.
3) Make sure your hands are squeeky clean! You don’t want to risk any food borne illnesses or cross-contamination.
4) Ensure cutting tools, chopping board, juice extractor and it’s parts are also thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Especially, chopping boards!
5) If your child is picky like mine, and refuses to eat his/her fruits & vegetables, try to get them to help you make the juice to show them that it’s fun to eat/drink your fruits and vegetables! They like the independence and they think it’s fun putting something in a machine, and the outcome is different! Wash their hands thoroughly, as well!
I hope this post was beneficial and useful to you guys! Let me know if you like reading posts like this or if you have any suggestions on what I should write about next! I love to juice and I make it part of my family’s everyday living. It’s a great habit to start! Let me know your juicing stories!
The Memoirs of a mommy 
Thank you for sharing the health benefits of green juice and the wonderful tips for juicing for toddlers.I love making smoothies that both my little boy and myself can enjoy.
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Thanks for all the tips, I think my girls would really enjoy this. We typically do the basics like fresh squeezed orange juice, but i would love to do more.
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