It’s no secret that my Vitamix gets a daily workout around here. We are big fans of smoothies in this family. I am also constantly on the look out for new ways to simplify making meals for a hungry family of 5. First off, you gotta have a plan. Let’s face it though, life can get a way from me and cooking of the fly happens. Just a fact. But just like having fruit or veggies prepped in your fridge or a jar of homemade soup in your fridge can save you when you need it, doing a little prep work with your smoothie ingredients can save time and save you in a pinch!
Three quick steps to quicker, healthier, simpler smoothies:
1. Buy organic bags of frozen fruit to keep on hand when fresh isn’t in your kitchen. Our favorites, pineapple + mango.
2. Try slicing freezing bananas ahead of time. This not only cuts down on time when prepping of smoothies, but it’s a great way to use up those ripe bananas before it’s too late! Slice them, place them on a cookie sheet, freeze, then divide them into individual portions for easy smoothie making.
3. For green smoothies, you can pre-blend your greens. Great way to use up produce that may otherwise get tossed. Blend with liquid of your choice until smooth. I use unsweetened almond milk. Then portion out into individual servings and freeze.
I had a box of baby kale and part of a bunch of Tuscan kale that were on the verge of going bad. Give them a rough chop and toss them to blend.
I wanted to measure out how much kale I was using. This is how I typically measure for smoothie making. A large fistful per person. So exact! My Vitamix holds 4 large fistfuls loosely.
Add your liquid and blend. I use about 3/4 c for each fistful.
I ended up blending the rest of my kale for a total of 6 large fistfuls and 4 cups of unsweetened almond milk. For freezing them, I used a bunch of these old yogurt cups. This made six 8 oz. portions perfect for my daily green drink!
