Make Ahead Freezer Smoothies are going to save you so much time while still keeping you healthy and on the go.
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Freezer smoothies. It's a thing that you 100% need in your life, especially as the busy on-the-go mom that you are. Honestly, they've saved my life a time or two.
But first of all, hi!
I feel like it's been 2 billion years since we last chatted. Life is insane.
As I sit here typing away, I'm struggling with the fact that I can't run my washing machine because my dishwasher is running. And my family has to coordinate shower time with other people using the bathroom. And you better not both try and brush your teeth at the same time because it's just not gonna happen.
Yup, something is wrong with our water pressure, and I'm about to lose my mind.
4 loads of laundry need to be done in the next 2 days. I have 4 recipes to make, creating lots of dishes. Plus there's normal dishes that happen throughout the day. Oh, and yeah, we should probably take care of our general hygiene as well.
To say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement.
So do I have time to make healthy snacks for my family this week? That's a hard no.
Do I have time to make a fresh smoothie for me smack dab in the middle of the day? Probably not.
But let me tell you what I can do.
I CAN make a smoothie right before bed for the next day.
Thankfully, my partnership with Vitamix has made my life just a little bit easier with the help of their innovative tools - as always, all opinions are mine and are 100% honest.
I know what you're thinking - an overnight smoothie is gonna taste gross by the next day. It won't be mixed properly. The flavor will change. It'll all be wrong.
I had those same thoughts.
But then I was determined to figure it out. There's got to be a way I can make a smoothie ahead of time right before bed for the next day.
On top of that, I also wanted to have a smoothie ready for when my son got home from school. But again, no time.
So here's what I did.
I popped all the smoothie ingredients into my Vitamix Ascent cup, twisted on the blade, blended it all up RIGHT IN THE CUP.... you guys!!!
Once it was all ready to go, I put on the spill-proof lid, placed it in the freezer, and went to bed. In the morning, I took it out the freezer. I put one cup in the fridge for me, and one in my kiddo's backpack so he could start on it right after school before even getting home!
This is perfect for so many things -
- between school and sports practices
- road trips
- weekend tournaments
- between work and the gym
- after the gym
- just a quick pre-made snack in the afternoon
Note that it does take about 6-7 hours to completely defrost, depending if you have it in a backpack/lunchbox or if it's in a fridge.
Just give it a good shake and you're ready to go!
Let's think even beyond smoothies with these jars:
- homemade dressings
- chopping garlic
- baby food
- simple purees
So many options here!
I mostly love that with the smoothies, you're making it all in the same jar that you'll be drinking out of. So you're doing LESS dishes - which is obviously an issue for me at this moment in time...
Here, let me show you exactly how these Make-Ahead Freezer Smoothies work in action!
MAKE-AHEAD FREEZER SMOOTHIES
Ingredients
SPICED APPLE
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 apple cored
- ½ banana
- ¼ inch ginger root no need to peel
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
PEACH CRUMBLE
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 peach chopped
- ½ banana
- ⅛ cup oats
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- pinch cinnamon
Pina Colada
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 banana
- ½ cup pineapple
Berry Blast
- ½ cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup strawberries
- 1 banana
- ¼ cup oats
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients together in blender jar, preferably a high speed blender.
- Freeze overnight in a freezer-safe container.
- Remove from freezer to thaw at least 6-7 hours before you are planning to drink it.
- Give it a good shake once thawed and enjoy!
NOTES:
- Place ingredients in jar in the order listed if you're using a Vitamix jar. Otherwise, in a regular blender, reverse the order.
- No need to freeze any ingredients before hand if you will be freezing the smoothies overnight.
- All smoothies are GREEN smoothies except for the berry blast, which is a purple hue.
Silvia says
Thank you for the recepie, I will try the freezing method, since my husband has asked me to make him shakes even the night before but I always thought that sounds disgusting. Now I know that it will be good. Thank you again
Holly Waterfall says
Yes! I know exactly what you mean. Making the night before can sound really gross with the idea of letting it sit, but it's really not. Also, just FYI, I've made smoothies up to a day before and made sure to keep in a glass air-tight container in the fridge without freezing and it tastes just as fresh as if I'd just made it. Good luck! I bet your husband will love this!
Lisa Lightning says
I often make smoothies the night before but always with a decent amount of lemon (or lime) juice included. The juice seems to keep everything fresh! But interested in freezing as well.
Selkie says
Due to the high oxalates in spinach, I would instead use Nettles, salad greens, or Kale.
Thank you for these recipes?
Jennifer says
I put all my ingredients except the liquid into ball jars and freeze them. In the morning, I set it out for about an hour and throw it all into the Vitamix and add my liquid. I usually put it back in the ball jar once it's blended and that is my glass. Sometimes I put it in a fancy glass because I deserve something special. I make enough for my husband and I to have one every day-14 jars. I do this on the weekend when I seem to have a little more time. It works great and I'm guaranteed to get my smoothie in every day! Our standby is spinach, kale, blueberries, raspberries, carrots, almonds and bananas. Delicious! I usually add a 1/4 of a beet to mine since I'm in menopause.
Jill says
Hi! I love your ideas. Thanks much! But I must tell you that about a year ago I called the Vitamix company to find out exactly which order to put the ingredients into the blender. And their advice was not the same as what you wrote. They said to put the liquid into the Vitamix container first, followed by the banana and anything else that is very soft. After that comes the harder fresh fruit, grains, etc. Then, FINISH with the greens, (If ice is used, it always is the last ingredient to go into the container.) In other words, start with the juiciest/softest ingredient(s) and then follow through with harder-and-harder, denser-and-denser ingredients, Do you have any idea why their suggested order of ingredients was different from yours?
Holly Waterfall says
Hi Jill! Hm, that's interesting. And I've always been told that the leafy greens should be toward the bottom and heavier things on top to weight it all down. I don't worry too much about where the liquid will go just because I know it all ends up down toward the bottom once I pour it in. Here's a reference page right from Vitamix for you 🙂 https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/A-Quick-Guide-to-the-Perfect-Blend
Erin Burns says
It is because when you flip the single serve containers, the order is then of course reversed.
Holly Waterfall says
yup, that's exactly right! Thanks for chiming in Erin 🙂
Jeff says
Jill,
My experience as someone who's had a vitamix for about 7 years is to put ingredients in pretty similar to vitamix. I usually do banana, almond milk, protein powder or other powders if you like, spinach, and last frozen fruit. So the only differences are I put the banana in first and then the milk so it doesn't splash and I put the greens under the frozen fruit still.
I used to do spinach first, but found that it wouldn't always pull ingredients down that way so I've found that putting the banana and liquid at the bottom really helps it grab everything and you still get fruit on top of the spinach to push it down.
I do find that the liquid should go in before the spinach though. If you pack your ingredients in, I've found you don't always get enough of the liquid at the blades and that again causes it not to grab everything.
Meeka says
I was told by a Vitamix rep that I should not put my Vitamix container in the fridge, let alone the freezer, because it compromises the seal around the blade. I don't have an Ascent container, but wouldn't it be harmful for it as well?
Holly Waterfall says
Hi Meeka! Yes, the blender jars with the blades attached should not go in the freezer. But these single-serve jars have a detached blade/motor that you'd take off before freezing. Of course, you could always just pour the smoothie into a freezer-safe jar of your choice for similar results. Enjoy!
Alice says
Thanks for sharing! I do notice that when I freeze smoothies, I get a freezer burn on the top layer... Do you have any tips on how to get prevent that?
Holly Waterfall says
Hi Alice! I actually only freeze for about a day or two, not giving it enough time to form a freezer burn. And I'm always sure to use a freezer safe air-tight container, not letting any air in. Good luck!