With every year that goes by, I’m becoming a bigger fan of having things prepared ahead! I’ve been delving into all areas of making things easier in the kitchen, from slow cooker recipes to mason jar salads – and now on to smoothie packs for the freezer! We have a pretty good routine for Monday – Thursday every week (my husband works four tens) – every morning we make a smoothie and put together our breakfast/lunch items to go. That being said, when those 4 days are over, I find myself slacking off for the other 3 days of the week. Come Friday morning we’re both so wiped out from 4 long work days that the smoothie making, healthy routine business goes right by the wayside! So when I saw this idea on Pinterest for prepping smoothies ahead of time, I knew this was just the solution for those days where I’m really not feeling it. On a side note, if you’re looking to change your habits, try looking at the reasons you don’t accomplish something (an obvious, but new concept for me)! With not wanting to make smoothies on the weekend it’s about having a break, and not wanting to put forth the effort some days. So once I figured out my ‘weakness’ the solution became pretty obvious – have a break but still have a nutrition packed smoothie by using up 1 of my handy pre-made smoothie packs!
I prepared all my smoothie packs the first time in sealable plastic bags, which can be reused a number of times, but I’m loving the 4-cup Ziplock plastic containers with lids for smoothie prep. I think the containers are even easier than the bags – they can go straight in the dishwasher with no fuss! Here’s how to turn any smoothie recipe into a freezer smoothie pack:
- Place all the ingredients except for the liquids in your freezer container of choice.
- Label each container with the name of the smoothie, date, and any liquid ingredients that you need to add before blending.
- The night before you want to make your smoothie, remove your smoothie pack of choice and place it in the refrigerator to thaw. If you use plastic bags, be sure to let them thaw in a bowl in case any liquid seeps out. The next morning add your additional ingredients, and blend until smooth!
- In a pinch you can blend your smoothie right out of the freezer – simply run the container under hot water to loosen the smoothie ingredients from the sides, and empty it into the blender. To blend you’ll probably need a bit more liquid than the recipe originally called for, and you may need to use the tamper that comes with your blender to keep the mixture moving. I made 4 different recipes for my freezer smoothies because I like lots of choices! I split each recipe into 2 different containers for around a 4 cup serving per freezer smoothie pack.
- Tropical Strawberry Bliss
- Mango Madness Smoothie
- Holiday Detox Smoothie
- Vitamin C Booster Cranberry Orange Smoothie For more food prepping tips and ideas, check out our Food Prep 101 for everyday healthy eats!
