smoothie packs &
my favorite smoothie
I've got another quickie for you tonight. It's more of an idea than a recipe. I'm sure a lot of you Budget Byters already stock your freezers with these handy smoothie packs, but I wanted to share the tip for those who may be new to the kitchen. Not only does this make smoothies faster and easier to make, but they're a fraction, a small fraction, of what you'll pay at your local smoothie counter.So, the formula is easy. Three one pound bags of frozen fruit of your choice, and four bananas. Divide the frozen fruit up into 8 bags, and place half of a peeled banana in each bag as well. Seal them up tight and toss them into the freezer. When you're ready to make your delicious smoothie, place the frozen fruit in the blender, add milk (or soy or almond milk), and whatever else you want and press go! No more hauling ten ingredients out of the freezer every time you want to make one smoothie. Just grab one bag and add a liquid. Sure, I also add spinach, cinnamon, and ground flax seed, but it's still way easier to have the fruit divided up. And it only takes about 5 minutes to make all 8 packs.
This is my favorite smoothie - peaches, strawberries, raspberries, banana, spinach, light vanilla soy milk, ground flax seed, and cinnamon. It works, trust me! If you like things sweet, add a touch of honey and it'll blow you away.
Smoothie Packs:
| INGREDIENTS | COST | |
| 16 oz. | frozen strawberries | $2.69 |
| 16 oz. | frozen raspberries | $4.15 |
| 16 oz. | frozen peaches | $2.69 |
| 4 medium | bananas | $0.86 |
| COST PER PACK (MAKES 8) | $1.30 | |
Fruit n' Flax Smoothies:
| INGREDIENTS | COST | |
| 1 | frozen smoothie pack | $1.30 |
| 1 cup | light vanilla soy milk | $0.41 |
| 1 handful | baby spinach | $0.53 |
| 1 Tbsp | ground flax seed | $0.03 |
| 1/2 tsp | cinnamon | $0.03 |
| COST PER SMOOTHIE | $2.30 | |
Step By Step Photos
This is what goes into the frozen smoothie packs. I switch up the fruit a lot (I like blueberries too), but I always try to have at least three. Adding frozen bananas to a smoothie gives it a nice ice cream-like texture. If you've never used a frozen banana in your smoothie, then you haven't lived. Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme, but you've got to try it.
Divide the fruit between 8 freezer bags. One of my bananas turned out to be completely rotten inside so I could only make six this time around. I always tend to over estimate how much fruit is needed per smoothie and then I can't fit it all in the blender. So, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of each of the frozen fruits per bag. Then just pop them in the freezer until you're ready to make a smoothie. They'll stay good in the freezer for a couple of months. The bananas will slowly turn brown, but they're still good eats for a while.
When you're ready to make a smoothie, just put the frozen fruit in a blender with some liquid (and whatever else you want) and you're ready to blend. I add spinach for the nutrients, not the flavor... you can't taste it with all of the fruit. It blends easier if the spinach is at the bottom.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE milk... but in my smoothies I like light vanilla soy milk. It just has more creaminess than milk and the vanilla goes great with the fruit. In the old days, before Silk was everywhere, I used milk and added vanilla extract. So, that's an option too.
I like to add some flax for fiber and omega-3s, and cinnamon just because I like it :) If I'm craving something sweet, I'll add a tablespoon of honey or so, but usually the fruit and silk are sweet enough for me.
Blend that sucker up 'till it's nice and smooth! Sometimes I have to add a touch of water or more silk just to get it going. That's what will happen if you have too much frozen fruit in your pack. It'll be waaaaaay too thick to blend properly.
Oh yums. It's good. And good for you. And spinach? What spinach?
I loved the suggestion to put avocados in smoothies (thanks, Brent!) and I can't wait to experiment with that. So, for all of you smoothie lovers out there...
58 comments:
Awesome idea!
Great tip! Can't wait to try this :)
why can't you add the cinnamon, flaxseed, etc. to the frozen ingredients? leaving only the milk to add later ?? just curious :)
(p.s. - thanks for the tip!)
Anon- You probably could, I just never think of it ;D That's why I love it when everyone shares their ideas! I like to add the spinach fresh too, though.
I really love doing, 1 medium avocado, 1 medium banana, about 6 ounces of unflavored yogurt. It makes several smoothies but it's very yummy.
This is a great idea! My freezer always has at least one frozen banana in it (for emergencies ;) My favorite go-to smoothie is 1 frozen banana + 1 cup almond milk + 1 tbsp flax + 1 tbsp peanut butter + 2 handfuls of spinach :) My mom thinks the spinach makes it gross, but you honestly cannot taste it and it helps gets those greens in too!
Thanks for your blog! I make smoothies every morning but for some reason i never portion them out! Some times you just need some one to tell you to do things :)I am for sure going to portion them out now! i do frozen mango, peaches, spinich, banana, blueberries and water....best smoothie ever!
Love this. I hate taking all of the bags out every single time, I can't believe I never thought of this before.. so Thank You. I don't really like Soy or Regular Milk in Smoothies, I always use Coconut Milk.
What would you suggest in place of bananas? My other half is allergic to them but loves smoothies. Any thoughts?
Yum! We make protein shakes a few times a week with vanilla protein powder, pulpy OJ, a banana, and whatever other fruit we have lying around.
Mestina: Try avocados! You get that creaminess and some lovely other nutrients. Greek yogurt (or even regular yogurt) would be a great addition, too.
It's so funny how you see something once and then it's everywhere you look. Earlier this week I saw a similar idea on Pinterest and have been planning to make my own freezer bags. Thanks for breaking it down for us!
Mestina: I agree about the avocado. I throw that into my kids' smoothies as they are underweight so it really bumps up the calories.
Love, love love this idea. Makes me wonder why I didn't think of this before!
I like fresh mango, banana, and Greek yogurt smoothies with a little bit of Splenda and if I have it, I toss in a handful of spinach for the vitamins! Keeps me full for a good six hours thanks to all the extra protein in the Greek yogurt!
Mestina - I have to agree with the other suggestions. Avocado or yogurt. I saw someone once who froze yogurt in an ice cube tray and added a few cubes to each smoothie pack!
Yum great idea! I go in and out of smoothie moods all the time, this is perfect. I like to add some peanut butter into mine too!
Amazing idea. Thanks for posting :)
I bet this would become even more cost effective if you use seasonal fruit and buy on sale.
yum! i buy a 5 lb bag of strawberries at sam's for smoothies. it's about $7-8 i think. they also have a mixed fruit bag, blueberries, and mangoes, but our little freezer doesn't have room for a variety. sad day! but i like 1 cup vanilla yogurt, several handfuls of spinach, milk, and 1/2-1 cup strawberries. oh, and i add chia seeds too!
and a frozen banana too. duh!
Just wondering, where is the cheapest place to buy frozen fruit? Great post!
Anon - it's probably different in every market so you might have to just shop around a bit. In general, national chain stores tend to be a bit lower in price than local stores, but that's not a hard rule. Also, check weekly circulars for sales, since they will stay good in your freezer for a few months at a time. Check warehouse grocers (Sam's, Costco, etc.) or if you have any restaurant supply stores that are open to the public (they usually sell large volume packages that cost less per unit).
Our favorite is kale, strawberries, OJ or an orange/tangerine, banana and blackberry.
I slice up the bananas and flash freeze them before I put them in baggies, because it helps it blend more smoothly. I also occasionally do the yogurt frozen in ice cube trays...it makes the smoothie nice and creamy, and I can add fruit juice instead of milk.
Love it. Do you ever freeze the spinach in the bags, too? I just bought a huge thing of spinach but I can't eat it fast enough, I've been thinking of freezing it to preserve it for smoothies.
Smoothies are my breakfast of choice in warm months. I'd never though to do smoothie packs.
My favorite combination is strawberry, banana, chocolate soy milk and peanut butter.
I also really enjoy peach, banana and Greek yogurt.
As much as I love smoothies, why the heck didn't I think of this!
I'm doing this next week when I go grocery shopping!
What an awesome idea. I will definitely be trying this out soon1
@emily, i freeze all kinds of greens later for smoothies. i have more freezer than fridge space, lets me stock up if i catch a clearance (like i did last week on organic baby spinach salads) and once they're liquified what difference does it make?
I haven't seen anyone mention that it's important to rotate your greens - spinach and some others are high in oxalic acid, which in large amounts can cause kidney stones. I had a (thankfully) small one, several months after i'd started having a green smoothie every morning, so now i make sure to include a variety of greens from different families. One of my favorites is actually a weed that grows here in the summer called purslane - i've frozen it too, tee-hee! Red cabbage is particularly good in smoothies - sweet, great color - but too much gives a funny texture. Parsley too, and it's EASY to grow, and celery is surprisingly good.
I love to throw a handful of cashews in if I have them (otherwise pb works too) and we get local honey in bulk so that always goes in. I love the freezer bag idea!!!
fresh pears and slivered almonds (along with banana, soy milk, etc) make a delightful combination; plus the almonds add protein. Yum!
Just a word about using light soymilk--almost all of the important nutrients other than protein and calcium, ie the flavinoids and vitamins, in soy milk are fat soluable. The calorie advantage between regular and light soymilk is minimal, and the nutririent loss is significant. Full fat soymilk is comparable to 1.5% milk--not an aggregious amount of fat, and unsaturated at that. You'll only add about 20-30 calories (depending on brand) to your smoothie by using the regular soymilk.
I love this idea. I went with a pineapple, mango, blueberry, banana combo because that is what I had on hand. This will be great on those days I just don't feel like eating breakfast.
2 frozen bananas
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground coffee (reg, I just put some aside when I make my morning coffee)
Silk
The coffee enhances the chocolate flavour. It's the best chocolate banana smoothie ever! Sometimes I also add 1 tsp of almond butter to give it more staying power.
Seconding what another commenter said about the light soymilk. So many nutrients are fat soluable! :)
Tanya,
I see u put kale in your smoothie. Do you have to wilt it first or just throw it in. It seems so "hardy". I see Beth usually cooks it a little before using it in her recipes. I have some in my freezer after buying some for Beth's kale sausage soup which was sooo good by the way. This post sure got a lot of activity!
This looks SO good! What kind of blender would you recommend getting? I don't want to spend too much on one but I don't want to end up getting a bad cheap one that doesn't work well or breaks easily.
This is the blender that I have: http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-51101B-Personal-Blender/dp/B0017XHSAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319059007&sr=8-1&tag=vglnk-c278-20 It's a single serving blender that doubles as a cup with lid. It was less than $15 at Walmart and I've had it for at least 5 years with no issues!
This is such a great idea, I have been thinking to do it earlier, maybe this is just the kick in the butt that I need to start! :-)
Love all the smoothie ideas here! Gotta write 'em down..
At home I always make mixed berry (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry), banana, 2tbsp vanilla yogurt and orange juice. It can be a little tart for some tongues so I add honey when making it for guests :)
This is one of those "duh, why didn't I think of that!" blog reads. I did this last night. In 15 minutes I made 15 smoothie packets. I added 1 TB ground flaxseed to all my packets and spinach to several (mixed berry with spinach and chocolate spinach ...).
My favorite smoothie is flaxseed, banana, 1 T natural peanut or almond butter, 1 c. dark chocolate almond milk and ice. Mmmmm. It's a great dessert!
My favorite smoothie tip: add in silken tofu to boost protein.
I love this idea but it was too big of a serving for me. I will tweak it next time.
I highly recommend the Ninja Pulse Blender!! I recently bought my first blender and went with a cheap Hamilton Beach model. It could NOT get through the frozen fruit and I returned it. I got the Ninja Pulse for Christmas and LOVE IT!!! It comes with a 40oz pitcher and also 2 individual serving cups (I believe 16oz) and with those you go straight from the blender to the car (or where ever). I drink mine on the way to work every morning. You just take off the blender lid and add a drinking lid. Saves on dishes too...gotta love that!! :)
I love adding avocado to smoothies – they taste so creamy that I substitute coconut water for milk/soy milk.
Is there any reason you couldn't throw the spinach leaves into the frozen mix?
I guess I have never put the spinach in the freezer because I assumed that it would change the texture or make it stringy... although I've never tried it!
Where do you buy ground flax seed at? I looked at my local grocery store, but I'm not even sure with in the store where it might be?
Cari - I've bought it both at my local grocery store and at Walmart. At my local grocery store it was with the other natural foods by all of the Bob's Redmill brand bagged flours and grains (the flax was in a bag too - and quite inexpensive). At Walmart it was actually in the baking aisle, in a box, by the flour. I think Walmart also had some in the cereal aisle near the oat bran. So, hopefully, if you check all of those aisles you'll find some! ;)
These are a great idea! Just made up a batch today, used strawberries, peaches, and pineapple. I had one for lunch, it was way more filling than I thought it was going to be. I think I'm going to get the fixin's to make some chocolate peanut butter banana smooths too. Yummo!
This is such a great idea that will save some time on rushed mornings. Thanks for sharing, Beth! I just made some with strawberries, peaches, and blueberries. :)
Great idea! Thank you for sharing :-)
everyday i have a yogurt smoothie,a bowl of your oatmeal raisin muesli with milk and a cup of coffee w/milk...but this a.m. i only had a ltiny bit of milk and used it up in my java...so i added my usual 1/3 cup oats to my smoothie made w/plain no fat yog, 1/2 an orange, 1/2 a banana and 1/4 cup frozen bluberries...whipped up in my blender it tasted great! next up pb and why not spinach? a quick nutryious meal in a glass!
Great stuff!
Great idea! I sometimes buy over-ripe or bruised fruit at the store for a fraction of the price, but am always pressed for time to use it up before it goes back (generally just a couple of days). This is a perfect solution for my dilemma!
Favourite smoothie, which we drink in the morning during the summer: Espresso coffee (or leftover very dark coffee), very ripe banana, almond milk, a drop of almond extract, dash of cinnamon. To make it a "meal", add a scoop of plain protein powder.
Oops: back=bad.
Hey Beth, how much smoothie did you end up with? If you had an idea cup or oz wise?
Leah - I'm going to say about 3 cups... maybe slightly less. Between 20-24 ounces.
I put a couple of pieces of Kale in my smoothies the kids never know! It has cancer fighting elements when it is pureed, lots of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidents!!
Amy O
I just came accross you blog today, via Pinterest. I have seen this tip a few times and it really helps me to know that you have the same single serve blender that I just got two weeks ago! I have have been worried about what kinds of veggies and fruits that I can put in it because of the low wattage.
I am bookmarking your blog to my computer at home! :)
my husband and I have a magic bullet, and thats great for making single servings of smoothies... but now that hes starting to drink them and im hoping to get my 9 & 10 yr olds to start drinking them we bought the ninja blender, full size and the shorter one... but not the pulse blender by ninja (too similar to the magic bullet I couldn't validate it.. but the to-go cups with the ninja pulse are bigger than the magic bullets... I wish the ninja was out before i bought the magic bullet!!!
Great article and comments...I will be doing this from now on.
However, when I make way too much to drink I use my popsicle molds and freeze them to enjoy as a cold treat later! Yummy! My kids love them either way.
I also have a Magic Bullet. It makes just enough for myself (sometimes too much). I have read a lot of good ideas here and I am going to try them. Never thought of the idea of making up packs, or adding some of the other ingredients. Thanks everyone.
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