Bulk Make-Ahead Smoothies
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 8 smoothies
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 453
- Total Fat
- 20
- Saturated Fat
- 9
- Carbohydrates
- 67
- Dietary Fiber
- 9
- Sugar
- 30
- Protein
- 12
- Cholesterol
- 4
- Sodium
- 230
- Total: 1 day 20 min (includes defrosting time)
- Active: 20 min
Ingredients
Mint, Chocolate and Banana Smoothies:
4 cups unsweetened almond milk, or any other dairy or nondairy milk
4 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen
1 1/3 cups frozen spinach
1 cup lightly packed mint leaves (from about 1 large bunch)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cacao nibs, plus more to garnish
Pinch kosher salt
Dash peppermint extract
Blueberry, Banana and Yogurt Smoothies:
4 cups unsweetened almond milk, or any other dairy or nondairy milk
2 2/3 cups frozen blueberries
4 bananas, peeled sliced and frozen
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup raw almonds
Directions
- For the mint, chocolate and banana smoothies: Place all the ingredients in an 8-cup blender and blend on high speed until smooth. If necessary, divide the ingredients in half and blend in two batches. Divide the smoothie into four 2-cup airtight containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- For the blueberry, banana and yogurt smoothies: Place all the ingredients in an 8-cup blender and blend on high speed until smooth. If necessary, divide the ingredients in half and blend in two batches. Divide the smoothie into four 2-cup airtight containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To serve either smoothie, the day before you want to enjoy one, defrost a serving in the refrigerator. Alternatively, if you freeze the smoothies in microwave-safe containers, remove the lid and microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Remove from the microwave and stir the smoothie; if it’s still too frozen, continue microwaving at 50% power in 10-second increments until your smoothie is the right texture. You should still have a cold, semi-frozen smoothie; just make sure to continuously check it so it doesn’t warm up.
- Place the thawed smoothie in a glass or to-go container. For the mint chocolate smoothie, stir in additional cacao nibs to give it extra texture. Serve immediately.
Cook’s Note
Each smoothie makes 4 servings at 2 cups per serving but you can store these in any serving size you want. Just make sure to use airtight containers. I like to use storage containers that are both freezer-safe and microwave-safe so I don’t need to transfer the smoothie into anything else if I want to defrost it in the microwave. This method works for just about any flavor smoothie, so use this recipe as a blueprint with your favorite ingredient combinations. If the smoothie has a large amount of raw nuts or seeds, like chia seeds, you may need to stir in a little extra liquid (such as milk or nondairy milk) after defrosting.