There are a few questions I get really frequently, over and over again. One of them is:
“Do your kids take vitamins?”
And it’s promptly followed by “Which brand?!”
A few months back I wrote about why the answer to the first question is YES.
So the answer is yes, my kids do take supplements and have since they were toddlers. The brands have varied over the years, but I’ve always looked for whole-foods based vitamins with the least
amount of anything added.
For years the vitamins I gave them were a chewable or gummy-style vitamin because toddlers
are fickle and it was the easiest to get them to take. Those vitamins, however, often have an
added sweetener of some kind to make them more palatable, and in my mind that’s less than
desirable.
Now that Meghan is 9 and Luke is 5, I knew they were old enough to switch away
from the chewable and gummy-style vitamins. Now they take MegaFood Kids Daily Multi.
It comes in a powder form and has no added sugar, sweeteners, flavorings, or preservatives.
It’s made with a variety of real foods, including turmeric!
Because it’s made with real, whole foods, it delivers so much more than just vitamins. Your kids
are getting all the phytonutrients from the antioxidant-rich plants that go into the Kids Daily Multi.
The moment I got my hands on MegaFood Kids Daily Multi, I was ecstatic. It’s got everything a
mom could hope for to provide authentic nourishment for her kids and nothing she wouldn’t
want added in.
The powder can be added to your kids’ favorite smoothie, shake, or juice. We are not a juice
family, so I’ve had to get creative in finding ways that they can enjoy the powder without adding
a bunch of sugar.
The good news is that after some experimentation we’ve landed on ways that they do enjoy
their daily multi powder!
Notice I said “ways.” Of course, Meghan and Luke have their own separate preferences. I’m
going to give you the recipes for how they each like to take their vitamins each day.
I’ll start with my 5-year- old, Luke. Instead of adding the powder to juice, I make a “whole juice”
by blending whole fruit and water and add the powder to that. Luke likes to call this his “vitamin
juice.” You can use a variety of fruits here, but we’ve found that pineapple works best because
it’s sweet enough to soften the flavor of the powder. He also likes when I add in strawberry with
the pineapple.
Here’s my boy enjoying his Vitamin Juice.
Vitamin Juice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup cut pineapple chunks
- 1/2 cup water
- 1–2 ice cubes
- 1 scoop MegaFood Kids Daily Multi
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Serves 1
Meghan likes the Vitamin Juice okay, but prefers her powder mixed in with a smoothie. Make it
a chocolate smoothie and she’s golden. I don’t add any sweeteners to this, but do add some
whole, pitted dates for sweetness. They add extra nutrition and fiber, too, so it’s a good thing!
We call this one Chocolate Vitamin Smoothie.
Here’s Meghan chilling after school and being silly enjoying her Chocolate Vitamin Smoothie.
Chocolate Vitamin Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2–4 whole, pitted dates
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1 scoop MegaFood Kids Daily Multi
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
I’m really happy we made this switch to MegaFood Kids Daily Multi. It delivers incredible
nutrition and is 100% worth the effort it’s taken to find ways they enjoy it. My kids’ health is
everything and I’m so glad to have this product to help support my goal of keeping them healthy!
This post is sponsored by MegaFood. I’m proud to be a brand ambassador for this company that I believe makes the best supplements on the market and operates with integrity. All opinions, as always, are my own.
Healthy Living Playbook!
My kids do Flintstones vitamins with iron. Since they’re vegetarians the doctor said iron is important, though I think it is causing my son to experience some constipation. I wonder if a whole food brand would be better on his belly. I haven’t been able to sell him on smoothies but he does like yogurt drinks. Do you think they’d be sweet enough to mask the vitamin flavor?
I definitely think a whole food brand like MegaFood would be better on his belly. I do think the yogurt drinks would be a great option for the powder!
Ani Kay,
It does not matter if the iron is a supplement or from whole foods. The key to absorbing iron is that it must be taken with vitamin C. If your child takes the Flintstones vitamin with a glass of orange juice, it is very likely the constipation symptoms will subside. I know first hand because I am also vegetarian and I take an iron supplement every day. Also, it’s best to take iron (with a glass of orange juice) on an empty stomach. This is because Calcium, as well as high fiber foods impede absorption of iron, so the best way to ensure iron absorption is just to take it on an empty stomach. Trust me, or ask your doctor. Not that I’m assuming you would, but I urge you not to base your knowledge of iron absorption on the opinion of someone who has no experience on this topic.
I’m not sure why you are assuming I have no knowledge on this subject, but I agree it’s always good to speak with your doctor regarding these decisions. However, vitamins made with whole foods DO tend to be easier on a stomach than synthetic vitamins. Furthermore, the MegaFood multivitamin I’m recommending is made without certain ingredients you’ll find in Flinstones vitamins, such as added sugar, hydrogenated oil, and artificial colors. I’m sure we can both agree children are better off without those added to their supplements.
Do thevitamins come in chewables?
Not yet, but they are working on a formula!