Green Smoothie Prep for an Easy, Healthy Morning Routine

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I started making smoothies several years ago and generally make a green smoothie most mornings during the week. I’ll have it in place of my standard breakfast meal, or in addition to it if I’ve worked out and am extra hungry. 

My biggest hurdle with making my smoothie each morning was that I found myself spending 10-15 minutes pulling out all of the ingredients, measuring, pouring them into the blender, then putting each component away. After much frustration at the length of the process, not to mention several mornings I had to skip making my smoothie due to time constraints, I decided there has to be a better way. That’s where my plan ahead green smoothie prep was born.

Green smoothie prep to the rescue

I have tried the “freeze everything then pour it into the blender” smoothies before. But I find that I don’t get the same creamy texture from the avocado or spinach after being frozen for a few days or weeks.  This smoothie prep recipe finds a balance of prepping ahead with combining ingredients on the day of to create the evenly-textured (and easy to blend) smoothie of your dreams!

Getting started

To start, I went online in search of my smoothie prep containers and ordered glass containers to store some of my ingredients. I got small round* containers for the refrigerated ingredients and small squares* for the freezer ingredients.

The only ingredients that I do not add to my prep containers are avocados, spinach, and the liquid of choice.  Everything else can be placed back in storage on Sunday, not to be seen again until the following week.

Ingredient list

Keep in mind that nutrition is personal. Below are ingredients that work well with my body and make me feel good. Please be sure to modify ingredients based on what works best for you! (serving sizes are for 1 smoothie, multiply for however many days you are prepping)

Produce

• Bananas (1/2 ) **serving sizes are for 1 smoothie, multiply for however many days you are prepping
• Avocados (1/2)
• Spinach/Kale (3 oz)

Frozen fruit (I pick 2 fruits per week)

• Blueberries (1/4 cup)
• Mango (1/4 cup)
• Pineapple (1/4 cup)
• Strawberries (1/4 cup)

Protein

• Almond butter (Sub in favorite nut butter of choice) (1 tbsp)
• Plant-based protein powder (Sub in your favorite type of protein powder, my body doesn’t process whey well so I opt for plant-based pea or hemp proteins) (1 scoop)

Healthy mix-ins (I use as many of these as I have around)

• Spirulina (1 tsp)
• Wheatgrass (1/4 tsp)
• Ashwaganda (1 full dropper)
• Hemp Seeds (1 tbsp)
• Chia Seeds (1 tbsp)
• Flax Seeds (1 tbsp)

Liquids (I choose 1 of the following)

• Coconut Water (12 fl oz)
• Soy Milk (12 fl oz)
• Almond Milk (12 fl oz)
• Oat Milk (12 fl oz)

Time to prep

1. Gather all of your ingredients and place them on the counter, along with your open prep containers.  I start with either frozen or refrigerated containers individually if there is limited counter space. But if you have the room feel free to pull out all the ingredients and containers at once!
2. Starting with frozen fruit, fill each of your frozen prep containers with a serving of your fruit of choice.  Once full, place these containers in the freezer.
3. Measure your healthy mix-ins and place the ingredients in your refrigerated containers.  I generally start with seeds first as these will create a base by which you will not have as many issues with an ingredient like nut butter sticking to the bottom.  Once mix-ins and protein powder have been added, add banana, then add nut butter of choice to the top. Close container and refrigerate.

That’s it for your plan ahead green smoothie prep! Easy Peasy!

When you’re ready to make the smoothie

1. Pull out your blender of choice (I love this food processor*) and start by adding the contents of 1 frozen container.
2. Add your liquid of choice over your frozen fruit, then add the contents from 1 refrigerated container.  (I like to add the liquid first, so the chilled ingredients don’t stick to the sides.)
3. Add avocado and spinach (or alternate green) as desired.
4. Blend until smooth, adding more liquid as needed to reach desired consistency.  Pour and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 48 hours.

Important green smoothie tips to remember

• It’s really easy to go fruity – To pack the most punch with your nutrition and avoid the overconsumption of fruit, make sure to use healthy mix-ins, protein and greens to give your smoothie bulk without going overboard on sweetness.
• Drink slowly – By nature, a smoothie is an extremely drinkable food.  It’s important to remember to drink your smoothie slowly as you are introducing a high volume of calories to your body in a relatively short amount of time. Consider how much longer it would take you to eat all the ingredients from your blender if you had to chew them!
• If you fail to plan, you plan to fail – Prepping ahead has been one of the most important secrets to my success with eating healthier.  Reducing the friction of putting together a smoothie will help save you time while also limiting the expenditure of valuable decision-making energy that can be put into better use elsewhere in your day.

Nutrition Facts – Subject to change based on your choice of ingredients, but generally, these smoothies come out to be between 400 and 500 calories.

Did you try this recipe or do you have a favorite smoothie recipe of your own? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

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