I love my smoothies thick – thick like you need to eat them with a spoon thick. The key to this is using lots of frozen banana. I always have a decent stash of frozen banana in the freezer, but I have been playing around with other combinations to achieve a super thick smoothie without banana.
Chia seeds turned out to be a great alternative to make thick smoothie! But you need to have at least 20 minutes to soak the seeds first. You could even soak them in a jar of water and leave them in the fridge over night if you like to have a smoothie first thing for breakfast in the morning.
I used a mix of black and white chia seeds with water.
The youngest two kids were fascinated about how the chia seeds and water had formed a gel and dared me to tip the glass upside down, which of course I did! 
This recipe does use protein powder and over the last couple of months I have been using a protein powder from a new Australian company called Primal Health Products, called Revive Whey Protein Isolate Coconut. It tastes great and isn’t filled with lots of artificial bits and pieces like you usually find in protein powders and it is very reasonably priced. The ingredients are:
Whey protein isolate, coconut water powder, dried coconut, sunflower lecithin, chia seeds, maca, mesquite, lucuma, linseed, sunflower seed, tapioca dextrins, silica, stevia.
You could add fresh fruits to the smoothie, but I find frozen fruits help with the thickness and coldness of the smoothie. 
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup raspberries (120 grams)
- 1 serve protein powder
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut (optional topping)
- Add chia seeds and water to a glass and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes (overnight is perfect!).
- Add all ingredients except for the shredded coconut to food processor or blender and pulse for around 30 seconds.
- Pour into a bowl and top with shredded coconut.
More family friendly recipes
If you are looking for further recipe inspiration, check out my complete list of Family Friendly Recipes. You might like to also check out Planning With Kids Menu Planning App.
The kid friendly menu planning app allows you to:
- Create weekly menu plans quickly, choosing as many meals per day as you would like to plan for.
- Generate the shopping list for all the meals selected.
- Modify the shopping list to check off items you already have at home.
- Email the shopping list to yourself and/or others.
The most popular recipes from the blog have been included and more will be added on a regular basis. Each recipe lists the ingredients required, easy to follow instructions and a photo from the blog.
Are you a thick smoothie fan too? What’s your favourite?