As all parents are painfully aware it’s a constant challenge searching for ways to provide children with filling, healthy snacks that not only taste good, but do them good. We asked the experts from Happy Monkey Smoothies about their healthy choice for parents and kids
For all the government campaigns and increased awareness of the huge benefits of a healthy and balanced diet, recent surveys indicate that only one in 10 children in the UK are getting their recommended five-a-day intake of fruit and veg.
The statistics around obesity rates in children are equally stark, with half of our kids predicted to be obese or overweight by 2025. Such a worrying scenario would place millions of children at risk of becoming ill in later life suffering with serious medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers while placing even greater strain on an already overworked NHS.
Sugar
A visit to the local supermarket goes some way to explaining how the figures are rapidly getting out of hand. Parents face a barrage of promotions that push easily accessible unhealthy foods loaded with sugar that are both tempting on the pocket and the eye. Such quick and easy solutions that appease fussy eaters and time-deprived parents are difficult to resist, but there is an urgent need to break the cycle of kids eating unhealthily while glued to screens and resisting physical activity.
Thankfully, healthy alternatives to fizzy sugary drinks are available that kids can still enjoy and provide real health benefits. Happy Monkey Smoothies are one such example of a perfect and tasty way to get 1 of your 5-a-day and make it easy for kids to get some much-needed goodness inside them.
Their tasty smoothie range is made from 100% fruit with each carton containing 1 of your 5-a-day with no added sugar. The health benefits from fruit juice smoothies don’t end there, with Happy Monkey Smoothies also containing 100% of a kid’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin C.
Vitamin C
As a nation we fail to meet our Vitamin C requirements, because as has already been revealed, we simply don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. Fruit juice and smoothies play a vital role in bridging that gap.
A recent survey carried out by the Fruit Juice Science Centre suggests that more of us are becoming aware of food and drinks which improve the immune system, but knowledge of the many other benefits of Vitamin C are still rather patchy.
Vitamin C helps protect cells from damage, supports normal bone health, is good for the heart and helps keep muscles healthy. It’s an ongoing challenge, but by repeating the numerous benefits of smoothies and Vitamin C we can continue to increase awareness.
Other essential nutrients that can be found in fruit smoothies and often get overlooked include potassium, folate and manganese; the many benefits of which include reducing blood pressure, stronger bones and improved mental health.
The issue of mental health has come very much to the fore during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The first study of its kind by the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health highlighted that poor mental health in children is soaring but concluded that kids who eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day have the best mental health.
The report also observes that a nutritious breakfast and lunch is linked to emotional wellbeing in children of all ages. Once again fruit smoothies can play an important part in a child’s diet by providing those essential nutrients that contribute to a healthy mind and body and which can be enjoyed at any time of the day from breakfast to evening, in school or at home.
With no added bits or sugar, Happy Monkey Smoothies are the perfect way for children to get one of their 5 a day. Available in three mouth-watering flavours Happy Monkey smoothies are made using 100% pure fruit and free from sweeteners and preservatives. Ready to drink straight from the pack and designed to fit snugly into a children’s lunchbox, they are also the perfect size to be taken on days out.
For more information check out www.happymonkeydrinks.com
