Smoothie

Smoothie Packs

Mornings are crazy for me.  If I don’t have a plan or have something ready to go, I am running behind when I should leave for work.  Lucky for me I know different routes to work and have a little padding on when I would like to leave and the latest time I could leave to make it to work.

One way I help with making sure I have breakfast is to make smoothies.  Getting the ingredients together in the morning can be challenging.  Sometimes my high powered blender has a fit and refuses to blend the ingredients.  That doesn’t help getting out the door on time.

So what can be done to make sure I have a smoothie in the morning?  I could make some ahead of time and then put them in the freezer.  The only problem with that solution is remembering to pull out the smoothie of the freezer so it could defrost so I can drink the smoothie.

Another solution is to prepare smoothie kits so all I have to do is pull the bag out of the freezer and then add the liquid ingredients.  I’ve started to do it and it makes life so much easier.

20140112-205143.jpgHere’s what you need to do:

  1. Gather all the ingredients for the smoothie.  (Except for the liquid)
  2. Place all of the ingredients in a Ziploc type of bag.  If you are going to make a green smoothie, place the greens in a sandwich bag.  Then place the sandwich bags in the Ziploc with the other ingredients.
  3. Place the smoothie pack in the freezer with instructions of what liquid needs to be added to the other ingredients.

When it is time to make the smoothie:

  1. Place the greens with the liquid in the blender cup.
  2. Blend up the greens and liquid until smooth.
  3. Add the other ingredients with the greens and liquid.
  4. Blend until smooth.
  5. If you need more liquid, add a little water until all of the smoothie is blended.
  6. Enjoy!

Some smoothies you can make packets for are:

Fruit Smoothie

Carrot Tropical Smoothie

Key Lime Smoothie

Apple Jack Smoothie

St. Patty’s Day Smoothie

Power Up Green Smoothie

Tastes of Thanksgiving Smoothie

 

Tastes of Thanksgiving Green Smoothie

So last week, I had my blender cup washed after making a smoothie.  The Wee One and the Imaginative One put away the dishes after the dishwasher was finished.  Somehow my blades got put into silverware/ utensil drawer (double drawer) and the band that held the blade was missing.  I had been craving a smoothie but couldn’t make one because of the missing piece.  😦

Today the Wee One found the piece in our cereal/ plastic ware cabinet so I decided to make the smoothie I had been craving.  I had bought some fresh cranberries today so I decided to put them in the smoothie.  Yum!!!  Since I didn’t put any sugar in the smoothie, it turned out tart but that’s okay with me.  If you make this, you may want to put some type of sweetener in it if you don’t like tart flavors.

This smoothie is called tastes of Thanksgiving green smoothie because I love eating cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving and the flavors of this smoothie remind me of cranberry sauce.

 

Tastes of Thanksgiving Green Smoothie

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Stars of the recipe:

  • 1/4 c. fresh cranberries, washed
  • 1/4 c. frozen strawberries
  • 2 c. greens (I used power greens – kale, spinach, and Swiss chard.)
  • 1/2 c. orange juice
  • water if you need more liquids (add a little at a time)
  • optional:  1 Tbsp. your favorite sweetener (more or less depending on your taste buds.)

Steps:

  1. Add all the ingredients to your blender cup.
  2. Blend together on the smoothie setting until blended together.
  3. Pour into a cup.
  4. Enjoy!

 

Printable Recipe

 

 

Carrot Tropical Smoothie

This smoothie looked interesting so I decided to try it. At first, I was skeptical because it contained carrot juice but it ended up being delicious! It’s a wonderful way to get fruits and veggies you need!

Side note: I took it to work one day. Some students asked me what was in it. When I said carrot juice, they all gave me a look of disgust. (They had thought it looked good until I told them carrot juice.)

Carrot Tropical Smoothie

Slender Kitchen

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1/2 c. carrot juice, either juice it yourself or get a brand like Bolthouse Farms
  • 1/2 c. orange juice
  • 3/4 c. frozen mango
  • 3/4 c. frozen pineapple
  • juice of 1/2 of a lime (Stick in microwave for 10 seconds before juicing it. That maximizes the amount of juice you get.)
  • If you want to you, you could add nonfat Greek yogurt for added protein. I haven’t tried it yet but I bet it would be delicious.

Steps:

  1. Put all of the ingredients in your blender.
  2. Blend away until desired consistency. If need be, add water if it doesn’t blend.
  3. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

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Key Lime Smoothie (GF, DF)

One of my favorite smoothies at Tropical Smoothie is the Blimey Limey. It has strawberries, limes, oranges, and pineapples. I love the tang of the limes in the drink. So when I found a recipe for a smoothie that used limes, I was had to try it out. Delicious!

After drinking it, I was super energized. In fact one of my students mentioned I was hyper. I don’t know if it was from the smoothie or from the two cups of coffee I had that morning. (Didn’t sleep well the night before.)

Key Lime Smoothie

Healthful Pursuit

Stars of the recipe:

  • 2 tbsp. key lime juice (about 4 limes) – I microwaved mine for about 10 secs. to maximize the amount of juice.
  • 1 tsp. key lime zest
  • 1 c. unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 1 ripe frozen banana
  • 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I omitted this because I used vanilla almond coconut milk.)
  • 1 tbsp. stevia
  • 1 tbsp. sunflower butter
  • 2 c. baby spinach
  • 4 ice cubes
  • crushed graham cracker pieces (optional) – Leave off if gluten free or use a gluten free graham cracker.
  • Cool Whip or something similar (optional) – Leave off if dairy free or use coconut cream instead.

Steps:

  1. Place in your blender in the order of the ingredients listed, blend until smooth.
  2. Top with crushed graham crackers and Cool Whip, if desired.
  3. Enjoy!

This made 2 smoothies for me.

Printable Recipe

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Someone asked me what you could use instead of bananas.  I found this link for other ingredients you can use instead of bananas.

 

Apple Jack Smoothie (GF, DF, Paleo)

Smoothies are quick and delicious. They can be healthy depending on the ingredients in the smoothie.

This smoothie reminds you of Apple Jack cereal without all the sugar.

Apple Jack Smoothie

Happy Herbivore

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Stars of the recipe:

  • 1 c. Unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 c. Banana, frozen (Mine was not frozen. The smoothie was just more liquidity.)
  • 1 c. Fresh spinach
  • 1/2 Apple, diced
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 date (for sweetness – I left it out of mine and it was okay.)

Steps:

  1. Place in blender.
  2. Blend it until smooth.
  3. Drink and enjoy!

Printable Recipe

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St. Patty’s Smoothie (GF, DF)

Yum! And healthy are 2 words to describe this smoothie.  Since I was going to be making the boys homemade “Shamrock” shakes, I made myself one of these instead.

This is another easy recipe to put together.  This recipe makes four servings.  I put the other three servings in the freezer so I can enjoy them later.  (They are already portioned out so all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer, thaw it out, pour it into a cup, and then enjoy.)

St. Patty’s Smoothie

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1.5 c. of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 tsp. peppermint extract
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c. chocolate chips

Steps:

  1. Place all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips in the blender.
  2. Blend until smoothie.
  3. Add the chocolate chips.
  4. Blend until the chips have been combined.
  5. Pour a fourth of it in a cup.  Divide the rest into 3 quart sized bags that have been labeled.  Place those 3 bags in the freezer for later.
  6. Enjoy the smoothie in the cup!

Printable Recipe