How to Prep Make-Ahead Smoothie Packs!
Totally going to tell you about the life hack that’s saving my snacks.
So simple. Embarrassingly easy? I’m annoyed that I didn’t think of them five years ago.
Not that it would have mattered – I had all the time in the world back then. Now! I have a kid and like to remind everyone I see that “I don’t have any TIME.”
False. I do have time. I’m just making time for certain things and not making time for other things. Fact.
One thing I do not want to make time for is dragging out every smoothie ingredient every morning, because life everything else in my life said smoothie must be high maintenance. Or it’s not worth it.
We are making TONS (yes, tons) of smoothies every week in this house. I’ve blabbed on countless times now about how Eddie has started drinking green smoothies every morning before working out.
Sidebar: that happens in the garage, because the Vitamix sounds like a jet engine and it’s 5AM.
A few weeks ago I figured I’d try freezing the ingredients together to make mornings (or snacks) easier and it made my planner-loving, list-making, meal-prepping brain go wild.
Meal planning and prep has changed drastically since I had Max. It used to be that I’d easily plan our dinners and then prep one easy snack (maybe granola, or even just some hard boiled eggs), and make a full meal or two (or even three) to share over lunches and dinners.
These days, I find myself not having as much time (oooops I did it again) to make my favorite healthy breakfasts or lunches and I’m grabbing RIDICULOUS choices. Seriously, I can’t even tell you some of the things.
But! I do have more time to prepare dinner AND I still really enjoy it. Riddle me that.
After a bunch of trial and error, I’ve figured out what works fully in meal prepping for us right now: a few snacks to grab, some options put together for lunch, one make-ahead breakfast (like these overnight oats) and then doing a few tasks that will make dinners easier. Things like chopping up brussels to roast, slicing peppers for fajitas the next night, marinating meat for Monday or Tuesday, etc.
My goal with prepping meals is that it absolutely cannot take longer than one and a half to two hours (and that’s pushing it) – or else I just won’t do it. I don’t want to spend my entire Sunday in the kitchen, especially when I spend most of the week there for my job. I don’t even want to spend two hours, to be honest.
I wish I didn’t have to prep anything at all. But if I don’t, I end up reaching for too much junk when I’m starving or just generally eating things that make me feel like garbage. It makes SUCH a difference. And now that I have Max, it makes snacks super simple. Especially if we have to grab something to take with us.
So I was kind of surprised that the smoothie packs saved so much time. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but when it comes down to it, our smoothies mean getting out multiple bags of frozen fruit (sometimes three to four kinds), some kind of green, a bunch of other bags or jars for things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax – all that – and before I know it the kitchen is a disaster again with bags and jars everywhere.
I found myself not even wanting to make the smoothie, which is so simple to begin with(!) because I dreaded getting everything out.
Problem solver right here.
My go-to smoothie ratio is: 1 1/2 cups of fruit + 2 cup of greens + 1 to 1 ½ cups liquid. I find that I can easily add in at least a teaspoon of chia, hemp, flaxseed, maca powder, spirulina – whatever – when blending and it’s a consistency that we love.
I don’t always do green smoothies and I don’t always give them to Max, but we might have them a few times a week. He currently LOVES smoothies, which is what prompted me to start making them daily again in the freezing cold months to begin with.
I freeze all the fruit and greens together. You can use fresh fruit or frozen fruit – I mean, by the time it comes out of the freezer, it’s all going to be frozen anyway. We love to buy the huge bags of frozen organic strawberries and blueberries at Target – first, berries are barely in season here and second, organic ones cost an arm and leg. And the portions are small. So this is more economical, especially since Eddie has at least one smoothie daily.
I also measure out any of my “dry” ingredients for single use and put them containers or bags in the pantry. This is usually 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of flaxseed, and so on. Maybe coconut or cocoa powder. You can easily add protein powder too. I also love spirulina in my smoothies, but find that mixing it in the bag with everything else just makes it stick to the bag. I don’t know. It’s weird.
The only things left to add into the blender are the liquid (ours is almost always coconut milk, almond milk, or coconut water. Eddie sometimes uses juice.) and if I’m using it, yogurt. I rarely adding yogurt to a smoothie for myself (I’d rather eat it) but I will add it to one for Max. Eddie adds it sometimes.
And last thing: nut butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, or whatever butter I don’t measure out before if using it. The same could go for dates or figs if you use those, but you can also stick them in your fruit and greens bag.
Super simple, right? So embarrassingly easy that I had to (over)share. As usual.
Make-Ahead Smoothie Packs
Ingredients
- fruit + greens, frozen ahead of time (at least the night before)
- 1 1/2 cups your favorite , frozen or fresh fruit
- 2 cups greens of choice, spinach, kale, etc
- dry ingredients: chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut, flaxseeds, unsweetened cocoa, protein powder – whatever you’d like!
Instructions
- when adding to the blender: add 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid of choice (milk, water, juice) along with your fruit+greens pack + dry ingredients. Blend it up!
- my go-to favorite frozen fruits to have on hand are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pineapple and mango. we truly mix EVERYTHING – any kind of fruit and green together!
Did you make this recipe?
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Favorite smoothie combo? GO.
167 Comments on “How to Prep Make-Ahead Smoothie Packs!”
Thanks for sharing, what a brill idea !
Love this! My favorite smoothie combination = cashew milk, almond butter, chocolate protein powder, ice, maybe spinach if I’m feelin’ it.
obsessed with cashew milk!
I’ve recently gotten on the smoothie bandwagon. I don’t have them every morning because a lot of days I just get up and leave for the gym and then go straight to work, but days I work from home are smoothie days. This is a great idea to have everything ready to go. I also need to start meal prepping on Sundays. Thanks for the inspiration.
This is a very clever idea!
Smart!! Lately, my smoothie is frozen blueberries and bananas, greens, peanut butter, chia seeds, and almond/coconut milk (yes, there’s an actual mix of almond & coconut milks!). So good!!
Califia’s blend is sooo good!
that’s my fave too! i use the califia everyday!
That’s my go-to everyday, too!!! :-)
I started making smoothies every morning for my husband and I when I was on maternity leave with my second baby. We have the same one every morning: unsweetened almond milk, protein powder, banana, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, spinach, and frozen berries. I usually also add flax or chia seeds. It’s filling, delicious, and has a ton of protein, so it lasts me until lunch. Love the idea of making the smoothie packs!
eddie was surprised at how filling they are too! i love that.
How amazing do those fruits look! This is such a clever idea, saves so much time – need to get on this!
For fruit and veggie smoothies I really love peach mango, strawberry banana, or blueberry banana smoothies made with kefir and some spinach or kale thrown in. But lately I’ve been all about chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies made with coco powder, frozen banana, honey roasted peanut butter and unsweetened coconut almond milk, they seriously taste like a milkshake but are so much healthier!
seriously one of my favorite combos too. tastes like dessert.
This is a GREAT idea!! We just got a Ninja blender & I love it – & I totally agree with you about taking all the bags of frozen stuff, etc. Could you please share your green smoothie recipe? I’ve been hesitant to try greens in smoothies since I wonder if it’ll taste bitter, so I want a good beginner recipe. Thanks!!
try spinach first – it’s definitely the least offensive. i really think that as long as you add a bunch of fruit (try frozen cherries and bananas), some milk and yogurt, maybe even nut butter, you won’t even taste it! kale can be bitter, so watch out for that.
I’ve actually been on the smoothie for breakfast bandwagon for a little over a year now. It’s the only way that I can ensure that I eat breakfast when I work M-F. I’ve been on a kick of spinach, blueberry or strawberries (frozen), banana, PB or sunflower butter, tumeric, cinnamon, Vega Proteins+Greens Chocolate powder, and milk (Fairlife normally). I’m training for a half marathon in a few weeks and this smoothie keeps my nutrition on track especially for run days. At this point, i’m so used to throwing everything together in the morning it doesn’t take me long. We got a Nutribullet and that has made all of the difference in speeding up the process.
i have to try adding turmeric to mine!
It can be bitter but I find that it helps to cut the sweetness of the Vega Protein Powder. You can also add coconut oil with the tumeric–its supposedly more effective when it’s with an oil but I think the coconut oil helps with the bitterness of the tumeric.
I love this idea. I totally know what you mean about opening 10,000 packages for one smoothie. I’m definitely going to try this method, but I think I’ll use glass jars to cut back on my plastic usage. I’ve been meaning to share my favorite get back on track smoothie over on my blog. This has inspired me!
i would LOVE to use jars (that was my initial plan) but we just don’t have the freezer space. Wah! We make about 10 packs at a time and for the volume of the greens/fruit, I don’t have the room. I think I need to get a deep freezer for our basement.
We are on a big smoothie kick at our house too! I freeze everything proportionately as well. Something I have done to also make things easier…I decant all the chia seeds/protein powders/etc. so they are out and ready to go. I know not everyone likes a lot of stuff out on their counters, but these jars are really small and pretty cute!
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/apothecaryjars8.html
oh those jars are so cute!! i have mine in jars too, but they live in the pantry and aren’t super cute ones. maybe i should try this.
just shared on Facebook because YES! this is awesome. love it Jess! x
and my go-to smoothie is kale, spinach, banana, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vegan protein powder, and a touch of almond butter if I need something more filling :)
thank you!!
My husband doesn’t love veggies, so I make him smoothie packs for breakfast and he drinks them everyday! They really are so easy to make and oh, so convenient. I like getting our Bountiful Baskets so that I can mix and match different fruits and veggies each week.
I love this idea, but I don’t own a blender… O_O … crazy, I know. I usually make my smoothies in a food processor so I need to have half of the ingredients fresh or thawed. But I keep saying that I should just do it and buy a good quality high powered blender. Would you recommend Vitamix? What model do you use?
My fave smoothie combo is kale, plain Greek yogurt, mango, triple berry (backberry, raspberry and blueberry) with some chia seeds and granola sprinkled on top!
so i was really on the fence about the vitamix, i think i even wrote in blog posts for about 4 straight years that i refused to buy one because i’d rather buy shoes and purses for that amount of money. (still true.) but when i was writing my cookbook, i ended up buying one and it was LIFE CHANGING. seriously. i wish i didn’t wait so long. it blends smoothies unlike anything i’d ever tried. it makes nut butter, pesto and does incredible things to soups. i still use my food processor often but could never live without the vitamix for smoothies!
I do this but use tupperware containers (no need to waste plastic bags!)
would love to do that but i don’t have the freezer space! we make 10 bags at once for the 3 of us and for the volume of the fruit and greens, i don’t have space for 10 containers or jars in my freezer. i wish i did!
I’ve been making smoothies for lunch lately and I use a couple handfuls of spinach, frozen blackberries/raspberries and almond milk. :)
What a great idea! This coming week I have lots of smoothies on the meal plan so I’m definitely going to try this out. Thanks for sharing! http://www.healthybeemagee.com
This is an absolutely amazing idea! I’m definitely going to start doing this, it would be a lifesaver in the morning! Thank you so much for posting :)
My meal planning/prep has gone down the toilet since I work from home. I always need that pressure and push of having to be somewhere everyday to get me to actually plan ahead. When I had a field job, I was so good about it! Now? Womp womp.
completely understand this! i fall into the same trap sometimes too.
I actually started doing this recently … I leave for work at 7, so to not have to get up even earlier, I’ve been making these. Time saver! I love it. I haven’t frozen my greens though, so next round, I’m doing that for sure. My favorite green smoothie combo is water (as base… I just prefer it, but I’m going to try coconut water, per this post), power green mix (spinach, kale, swiss chard), kiwi, granny smith apple, pineapple, banana and turmeric powder. It’s so good, and I don’t even feel like I’m having “greens.” #winning
yes try the coconut water! it’s so good.
I have been dying to try this hack!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time.
I love this idea so much! I appreciate your less time consuming ideas and recipes that you featured yesterday and today so much.
thank you so much lindsay!
I’ve been eating smoothies a LOT lately, and I try to get 2 servings of veggies in a smoothie, because then I don’t have to worry so much about getting them in my meals later. My two favorite smoothies are kale, banana, pineapple and avocado (with yogurt, apple juice, and flax seeds), and golden beet, carrot, mango and banana (with the same additions). This is great, because I have been making a mess every morning and taking too much time, and with a 3-yr-old and 9-mo-old, I don’t have the time! So thanks for the idea!
golden beet?! i must try!
These combos sound amazing!!
So refresh my memory, what are the benefits of smoothies? This looks so appetizing.
I only think of drinking them in the summer as a treat.
I guess I could make a hot smoothie in the winter?????weird……
you can add your veggies right in there! perfect for someone like me who doesn’t care to eat them. :)
This is so brilliant! My hang up with smoothies is that I am NOT a morning person, and making one takes waaaay to much work, and then I have to clean the blender? No thanks I’d rather dump some cereal in a bowl. But perhaps you’ve found the secret! I will have to try this soon.
Love this idea! I’d been finding the idea of green smoothies so challenging because the carton of spinach goes slimy before I can finish it all. So I’ll be doing this, except I want to find a way to use fewer ziplock bags…maybe mason jars or some other reusable container? My favorite smoothie is banana, yogurt, peanut butter, oats, and cocoa powder. My son and I call it a monkey smoothie!
if you freeze them like this, no more slimy spinach!
I love frozen cherries & bananas with spinach, cocoa powder & chia seeds. It’s like a milkshake!
I love a good smoothie, but don’t make them very often. I might have to try this!
I started to do this a few weeks ago and it has been a lifesaver in the mornings, I love it! when you have to get out the door with a decent breakfast, but don’t have time to open bags of fruit, spinach, chia seeds container, etc. I have been on the smoothie bandwagon for a while, so it was infuriating that I didn’t think of doing this before. The idea came out of desperation of not having enough time in the mornings when things can get crazy and discovering spoiled fruit in the fridge. My usual combos include a mix of frozen strawberries, bananas, mango, peach and pineapples (I mix and match) with spinach (always), califia coconut almond milk blend, a few tablespoons of 0% greek plain yogurt or a few tablespoons of nut butters (one or the other) and 1 teaspoon of the republic of tea smoothie boosters for metabolism. Sometimes just chia seeds, or hemp seeds. My meal planning almost always happens on Sunday and I’m with you, I don’t want to spend the whole day cooking so I try to also cut it out after two hours (many times doesn’t happen) and the way to do that is to do simpler things like you mentioned.
yes i agree! it’s such a huge time saver and so easy!
Adding peanut butter powder is amazing too!
I am so in love with smoothies! Perfect for on the go. Great tips, thanks!
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Amazing idea! I have smoothies daily, I’ll definitely try this. For liquid I usually use green tea, my caffeine in the morning
This really resonated with me as I, too, find myself wanting something quick! I like primarily veggie smoothies with about 1/3 fruit. I also add in mushroom powder for the vitamin D (it is tasteless) and amla powder for the antioxidants plus flax, chia, and ginger.
You have inspired me to make smoothie packs today!
I currently already make my smoothies with an immersion blender in a wide mouth mason jar….I do not know WHY I never thought to pre-sort the stuff into them and freeze that way?!
I’m pregnant and trying to substitute a smoothie for my morning coffee(s)…..any ideas for a smoothie that TASTES like a delicious cup of joe, sans caffeine??
That dry ingredients list inspires.
I love adding coconut oil to just about everything, but I’ve been hesitant to try adding it to a smoothie after I disastrously tried adding it to cold press coffee and blending like a regular hot bulletproof coffee (spoiler alert – the two didn’t mix together at all and I was left with a chunky, undrinkable coffee). Does the coconut oil get chunky in the smoothies with all those cold ingredients??
Thanks for the great tips, Jessica! My fav smoothie lately is a combo of coconut/almond milk, 2-3 dates, 1/2 banana, cocoa powder, maca powder, heaping spoonful of almond butter and ice… perfect after-dinner treat!
I have been considering doing this and think you just made up my mind for me.
My favorite smoothie is pineapple, mango, banana, greek yogurt, chia seeds, maca powder, spinach and baby kale. I’m thinking I may freeze the yogurt in ice cube trays so I can throw it in with the fruit…
The one downside, this makes me have to pee every five seconds. But I find it does loosen my rings if I’ve had too much processed food the day before.
More meal prep ideas please! They are such a help to me being a relatively new mom.
you should check with the doctor about this making you pee a lot – it could have to do with the acidity of the fruits or the maca powder (being like tea) making you have to go more often since it is a diuretic like coffee and can be harsh on your stomach / bladder.
I’m all about the smoothies. Instead of buying a crazy amount of greens each week I started using powdered greens! I ordered from Amazon but they also sell them at my local co-op. One scoop has a mix of spinach, spirulina, alfalfa, wheat grass, probiotics and more! And when mixed with my coconut water, fruits, and protein powder you can’t taste any of it :)
I didn’t read all of the comments, but came here to say that I put all of the frozen fruits and spinach/kale in the same section of the freezer in baggies/containers. Then, I put the dry ingredients in the same shelf of the pantry by the blender. So, everything is quickly accessible to get out and put away. And, I don’t make new smoothies every morning – it seems like too much work to make a small smoothie every day for just me and then I need to clean the blender every day! (Ugh.) So, I make a bigger batch that will last me 2-3 days and put the extra in the fridge in a to-go cup. I can usually just stir it back up quickly or add a little more yogurt or liquid the second day and it tastes like a fresh smoothie! I have also heard that you can freeze the extra blended smoothie and let it thaw out for an hour or two before you drink it at another time. (But, I need breakfast ASAP after I wake up!)
These are perfect! I usually keep them in the fridge in mason jars because I don’t like everything to be too cold this time of year. My current favorite combo is avocado, grapefruit, mango, and spinach. SO GOOD.
Okay, riddle me this! the reason i never did these because i always read you have to freeze everything seperately on baking sheets and THEN make the bags of the frozen fruit and greens. Is that what you do, or do you just throw everything in a bag and freeze it?? I’m curious as to why people would take the extra step if it’s not necessary, but I love this idea because I too hate taking everything out to make smoothies (which my husband and I drink everyday)! Thanks so much for sharing as always!!
you don’t have to do that with this! okay, so that is only done when you’re freezing fresh fruit, because ifyou just add it to a big bag it will all stick together (especially bananas). In this case, we’re making single serving packs, so it doesn’t matter if it all sticks together – it’s going into the same blender at once! also, i use mostly already frozen fruit (it’s more economical for me because i want organic – if i lived in warm climate it may be different!) – so def no need to refreeze. as long as you make single serving packets, you don’t need to freeze anything first!
Love this!! I’m going to prep some this weekend. My favorite combo is banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, spinach, and chocolate protein powder. I use cold coffee (usually I save leftover in the fridge) as the liquid in it as well! Thanks for this blog by the way, I love the way you write :)
Sorry if someone already asked this… but what is that black and white polka dotted thing in the smoothie pic you put with this how-to? It doesn’t look like a second straw…unless it’s a fat straw? Maybe a polka-dotted candy cane? HA! Really though, what is it?!?!
haha! it’s a spoon – for the granola, but it sunk as i was taking the pic! whomp whomp.
thanks for sharing wonderful blog with us. its really more helpful to our institute candidates to get aware some useful knowledge keep sharing more information.
I also make smoothies for my LO almost daily. My favorite combo is banana, spinach, carrot, avocado and coconut water. Yum!
Yes! Brilliant. Why have I never thought of this? I feel same way about taking out all the ingredients that I just end up skipping my smoothies?! Silly. Doing this on my Sunday’s. Fave combo is frozen banana, mango, pineapple, spinach, kale, coconut water and a splash of oj.
hey girl So cool! Great tips!