Smoothie Prep for Busy Mornings

These smoothie prep tips will help you save time so you can get your morning dose of good-for-you nutrients even on the busiest of days!

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I know what it’s like to be crunched for time in the mornings.

I get up at 5:30am Monday through Friday, so it just isn’t in the cards for me to prepare a smoothie from scratch every single morning.

But since I don’t want to skip smoothies altogether, I finally came up with a smoothie prep system that works wonders for me. I simply package a week’s worth of smoothies in freezer-safe containers every Sunday!

I started out using Ziploc freezer bags, but I quickly realized that it was pretty wasteful to throw them away after a single use. Reusing them a couple times didn’t really work either because they stayed messy, so I opted for plastic containers instead.

Now, if you have limited freezer space, you may have to use Ziploc bags. Or if you do use containers, you may not be able to prepare a week’s worth of smoothies ahead of time.

But here’s how I do my smoothie prepping, and you can always tweak the system to fit your particular needs.

My Favorite Make Ahead Smoothie Recipes

Josh and I have different preferences when it comes to smoothie flavors. I’m all about some sweet, fruity goodness. He, on the other hand, prefers a peanut butter flavored smoothie.

To make each of us happy, our freezer has both flavors prepackaged and ready to go.

Here’s what my smoothie container typically has in it:

• 1 large handful curly kale (stems intact)
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup blueberries (or pineapple chunks)

And here’s Josh’s:

• 1 large handful curly kale (stems intact)
• 2 bananas

These are the base ingredients for our smoothies. They freeze well and make the morning process a breeze.

I also keep small mason jars filled with healthy mix-ins in our refrigerator, so those get tossed into the smoothies as well. We have separate mason jars because Josh gets an added ingredient in his.

My mix-ins:

• 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
• Sprinkle of turmeric (go easy as this spice can be overpowering)

Josh’s is the same plus ½ cup rolled oats.

My Morning Smoothie Routine

When I get up, I take a container of each flavor out of the freezer so it can thaw a bit while I prepare the other things we’ll have for breakfast.

For Josh’s smoothie, I dump the base ingredients and mix-ins into my awesome Vitamix blender (I highly recommend Vitamix!!), add one heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and about a cup each of almond milk and ice cubes, and blend! It’s super quick and easy.

This recipe makes enough for two smoothies so I only have to make it every other day.

For my smoothie, I repeat the process but use water instead of almond milk, and omit the ice and peanut butter. The frozen fruit is enough to make it thick and icy on its own.

Again, this recipe makes enough for two days’ worth of smoothies.

For your convenience, here are those recipes in a more user-friendly form:

Now, I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t warn you about the color of my fruity smoothie.

When you use pineapple chunks, the color is a pretty, vibrant green. It looks as pretty as it tastes! But when you use blueberries…well, it just isn’t as pretty. It tastes awesome, but you have to get past the purply-green color.

Smoothie Recipe Variations

These are the smoothie flavors we’re hooked on right now. However, I do change out the ingredients every now and then to get some different nutrients.

Sometimes I use spinach instead of kale, or a combination of the two. I also toss in the stems of random vegetables and fruits we ate the day before. I’ve used the leafy parts of celery (go easy here because the flavor can be intense), carrot peel shavings, strawberry tops, and the woody part of asparagus stems.

I don’t like to waste anything, especially nutrient-rich stems and leaves, so sometimes I’ll even collect them in a freezer bag until it’s time to fill my smoothie containers for the next week. This ensures that we get the biggest bang for our buck by not wasting food, and it also gives us the nutrients we’d normally toss in the garbage.

Wrapping It Up

So there you have it! This is my strategy for decreasing smoothie prep time in order to conserve my precious morning hours. I hope you found it helpful so you can incorporate a daily smoothie into your busy routine too!

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• 15 Plant-Based Recipes You Need to Try
• Sinfully Delicious Healthy Chocolate Banana Smoothie
• How to Freeze Fruit: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

What about you? Do you have any smoothie prep tips to share? Let me know in the comments!

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