Smoothies are a fab way to get your 5-a-day, but many of us don’t venture outside of the usual frozen berry variety. The beauty of smoothies is that you can throw pretty much any fruit or vegetable into your blender and it will work.
Making smoothies at home is a great way to watch your sugar and fruit intake, which is especially important for those following a healthy lifestyle or wanting to watch what the kids eat.
For an easy life, you can buy your produce well ahead of time and freeze it in ready-made smoothie bags, so all you have to do is take them out and pour the contents into your smoothie maker.
All you need are some large ziplock bags, which are ideal for individual portions. You can use jars or Tupperware for a greener option if you have space.
Add the fruit ingredients to the bags and freeze immediately and pour straight into your blender when you fancy a health kick. Add the liquid ingredients before you turn it on. You can even freeze the liquids or yoghurt required in ice cube trays in preparation.
Healthy Smoothie Freezer Pack Ideas
Here are some of our favourite individual healthy freezer smoothie bag ideas you can batch make ready for the week ahead:
Berry Banana Smoothie
- 1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1/4 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1 banana
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup fresh fruit juice
Sensible Piña Colada Smoothie
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 banana
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tsp honey
Green Breakfast Smoothie
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 cup kale
- 1 apple, sliced and cored
- A sprinkling of chia or flax seeds
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 ½ cup fresh fruit juice
- 1 cup oats
Kicking Coffee Smoothie
- 1 banana
- 1 cup strong black coffee
- 2 tbsp vanilla yoghurt or ice cream
- ¼ cup oats
- 1 tsp honey
Kiwi and Lime Smoothie
- 2 kiwi fruits
- 1 large pear
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ cup water
- Juice of 1 lime
Avocado Mango Smoothie
- 1 mango
- ½ medium avocado
- 1 tbsp vanilla yoghurt or ice cream
- 1 cup water or tropical juice
- 1 cup coconut water or shredded coconut
Hidden Veg Choc Smoothie
- 1 banana
- ½ cup blueberries
- 1 apple
- 1 ½ cups spinach
- 1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup vanilla yoghurt or ice cream
An excellent money-saving tip is to buy whatever fruit is cheap or on offer from the supermarket and use it to prepare some smoothie bags that are ready when you need them.
A bunch of bananas reduced to 20p but looking a bit brown? Don’t be put off – they can be peeled, sliced and frozen without losing their taste. Mangos on offer at your local greengrocers but never used mango in your life? It will taste great in a smoothie.