Giveaways Feb. 20-24th, 2012!
If you're here from Pinterest, Welcome! I hope you'll take a look around and follow along! Thanks for stopping by!
The inspiration for this came via pinterest, my newest obsession. I somehow managed to hold off on joining for quite some time and then finally caved a few weeks ago. I'm HOOKED now!
If you're here from Pinterest, Welcome! I hope you'll take a look around and follow along! Thanks for stopping by!
The inspiration for this came via pinterest, my newest obsession. I somehow managed to hold off on joining for quite some time and then finally caved a few weeks ago. I'm HOOKED now!
I love smoothies, but with them going for $5+ a pop, it's not something I will allow myself to buy often. Insert this quick smoothie recipe and I can have a smoothie anytime I like in a matter of minutes!
Here are my ingredients ready for prep.
I bought pre-frozen strawberries and blueberries because it was a better deal than buying fresh and freezing myself. Also, the strawberries were already sliced so it saves me a little time!
I chose weight watchers vanilla yogurt because, again, it was the best deal. [Also chose to use a magic bullet instead of a big blender b/c a) they are awesome and b)less to clean!]
First I measured 1tbsp scoops of yogurt into a mini muffin tin. I didn't level it off, considering some of the yogurt was going to stick in the measuring cup. Once they were filled, I froze them. [the recipe I found on pinterest used ice trays, but I didn't have any of those on hand so I improvised.]
Next I got to chopping my fresh fruit!
And then arranged them on a silpat mat and popped it in my freezer![You could use a baking sheet if you don't have a silpat! I just chose something that would fit in my freezer & the fact that i could just roll all of the frozen fruit off when I was finished was a plus!] You want your fruit to be pre frozen before you combine them so that they don' freeze together in the packs.
A few hours later when everything was frozen, I layed everything out to prepare to bag my individual "smoothie mixes". If you use muffin tins like I did, let them sit out for a few minutes so they loosen up a bit, then use a spoon and they will pop out like ice cubes. [DON'T dip the bottom of the pan in warm water to loosen them up. I tried that(before i even bothered using a spoon) and they got melty really quick and i had to refreeze them!]
I used just short of a cup and half of fruit for each bag and 3 yogurt cubes.
After they are all bagged up, pop them in the freezer! Next time you want a smoothie, you're ready to go! Just add a little juice or milk and voila! I may try to add a little oatmeal or wheat grass next time to pump it up even more since I'm treating the smoothies as breakfast.
I was able to make 8 smoothies with the amount of fruit I had.
1 bag of strawberries, 1 bag of blueberries, 3 bananas and 2 kiwis. My total cost was $11 including yogurt, which brings my total for each smoothie to a whopping $1.37 & averaging around 200ish calories.
Lacey-1 Smoothie King-0
[all photos via me]
DISCLAIMER: I am not a nutritionist or health professional, I'm simply a girl who likes a quick smoothie! So, unfortunately, I don't know the answer to all of your great questions. I know... bummer. I can only suggest that you google it! That's what i would do! If there is something you think I may know the answer to, I'm happy to try! If you have a question that is health/nutrition related- I can refer you to a great Wellness Coach who I am sure would be happy to help you with your questions!
[all photos via me]
DISCLAIMER: I am not a nutritionist or health professional, I'm simply a girl who likes a quick smoothie! So, unfortunately, I don't know the answer to all of your great questions. I know... bummer. I can only suggest that you google it! That's what i would do! If there is something you think I may know the answer to, I'm happy to try! If you have a question that is health/nutrition related- I can refer you to a great Wellness Coach who I am sure would be happy to help you with your questions!
81 love notes:
This is a great idea! I keep meaning to get on making more smoothies but I am always missing the fruit:)
That is an awesome idea! I think I am going to try that out!
OMG. What a fabulous idea! I usually drink a protein shake for breakfast but I love a good smoothie. I'm soooo doing this! So pinterest has recipes too? I really should jump on the bandwagon.
My daughter was sitting on my lap while I was reading this and she said "Kiwi". It's her favorite fruit!
Thanks for the great recipe!
You are so smart! I LOVE this idea! I have been on such a smoothie craze lately and I bet this would save so much time in the mornings! Oh man, I can't wait to try it!
Yum!!!
Stopping by from TMT Tuesday =]
I love this idea and have been seeing it on pinterest too. But what I love even more is your kiwi/banana yum, so cute!
I've been on such a smoothie kick, what a great idea!
Well thank you sweet thang! LOVE!!
Such a great idea!! Thanks so much--my sons will thank you too!
I found your post via Pinterest! I love making smoothies for my little man so it would be awesome to have everthing on hand and ready to go! Thanks for sharing!
Fabulous idea!
Found this on Pinterest -- I'm new to it too & totally addicted! I love the idea of kiwi in a smoothie and will definitely be trying these out!
This is a great idea! The last time I bought a big tub of yogurt for smoothies, the expiration date came before I could use it all! This would definitely solve that problem!
If you freeze yogurt, do you still go by the expiration date? If not what is a good rule of thumb to know when to use it by?
This is so smart I love it! Thanks for sharing :)
This is so smart I love it! Thanks for sharing :)
Brilliant! Totally doing this over the weekend!
Fabulous idea! Makes me want to chuck my Kitchen Aid out the window and get a magic bullet! Dear Santa...
BTW found you via Pinterest. :)
So smart!
You rock! :)
Very good idea. I will definitely be trying that! Check out my blog I'm a newbie :) fallwith.us
I make these everyday and i love them!!!! The oatmeal addition and a teaspoon of organic almond butter makes them UBER delicious!!!!
After you have your smoothie bags frozen and you are ready to blend your smoothie, do you have to thaw it out first?
A few answers to questions asked in this comment section!
- If you freeze the yogurt, do you still follow the expiration date? Nope! I follow the same guidelines for freezing milk. It can keep for 3-5 months in the freezer, or 1 year in a deep freezer. I use my packs up within two weeks, so that has never been a concern for me ;)
Do you have to thaw out your smoothie packs before you blend them? No way! Having everything frozen keeps you from having to add ice! Just add juice or milk to get it all moving together in the blender!
i use the frozen fruit already. but i didn't know you could freeze yogurt. That makes it super easy. Can't wait to try it.
Wow! How have I never thought of this? Makes soo much sense for an easy fast morning!
I do this and yes it makes great sense, specially on I got up late this a.m.!!give you a hint any ball/kerr canning jar fits on a blender...........I found it on Pinterest.
I found you off of pinterest. I love this idea. Thanks so much and cute blog! =)
See there, joining Pintrest did someone some good... ME! Love this idea and I'm off to the store to pick up fruit and yogurt, THANKS!
What a great idea!
A good addition would be fresh spinach leaves. The banana and yogurt really cover the taste so you don't even know it's there! Plus an awesome dose of fiber to keep the body working! And maybe a dash of protein powder, just to even it all out. The fructose can really spike blood sugar so having other elements for the body to digest will help prevent the spike/fall sugar effect.
My yogurt and fruit are in the freezer. I was stupidly excited to this. :)
I only buy the yoplait ones when they are on sale and I have a coupon. I really do love them so this is a great way to get the same taste and nutrients for about the same cost as when I use coupons. Thank you!
I just wanted to thank you and say you're a genius!!!! I just did a mango, pineapple, and yogurt with orange juice. It is delicous.
Thank you for sharing!! Can't wait to try it myself!
Great idea! Saw this on pinterest. I also have more muffin tins than ice cube trays, plus we have a magic bullet. Have you tried this with store-bought frozen fruit? That might be the route I go. Thanks for sharing!
-caroline @ c.w.frosting
LOVE this!! I have my yogurt freezing right now. Found you on Pinterest, just like everyone else. Thanks so much for sharing! This will be a lifesaver in the mornings for us!
Sarah
http://www.mommade.org
Thanks for this idea. I made the bags yesterday and just made my first smoothie. I used almond soymilk. It took awhile to blend because of it being frozon (I kept having to stop and rearrange everything so it would "go" again). Would the Bullet be better in this case? Also, I like the idea of oatmeal & sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you just put uncooked oatmeal in with the smoothie stuff or is it cooked? Thanks!
Please leave me an email address to reach you at if you ask a question! I've tried to email quite a few of you answers, but can't(sad face) b/c your accounts are set up to be "no reply bloggers" Here is a post on how to fix that!
http://laceyinloveblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/nobody-likes-no-reply-blogger.html
I am wondering if you can take it one step further.
Cut up all the fruit, freeze. Then measure your yogurt and place the fruit in the yogurt and freeze together.
Then pop out everything all at once?
Great idea, but I am trying to go dairy free. Can you freeze soy or almond milk?
GREAT IDEA---I do this a lot mainly in the summer when fruit is so abundant and cheaper - but I have never frozen the yogurt. I add a scoop of Juice Plus Complete all plant based protein powder and I have a complete meal. Good to add fresh spinach as well. It will change the color but not the flavor. I will also use this idea when I do my smoothie classes!
Tammy Carrithers
Holistic Nutritional Counselor
This is a fantastic idea! I am always looking for ideas to help busy, budgeting people eat better - and this is quite a nugget! Great pix, great info.
Tiffany Youngren
Transfer of Health
Healthy Living and Recipes
Just did this with doubling the recipe! I ended up with about 15 bags. I used wax paper in a cake pan and just dropped the yogurt on there to freeze. It was so easy to peel the yogurt off the paper after it was frozen. I can't wait till tomorrow to try one for breakfast!
What about using fresh fruit? Can you just freeze them in packs and then pop them into the bullet or blender whenever you're ready?
Alton Brown calls his smoothies "purple breakfast" or something similar. His recipes are like 32 oz, but it's so good for you & filling.
I found this idea on Pinterest and used it in my blog post for today! Thanks for the awesome idea.
Saw this on Pinterest--surprise! Great idea here with so many combinations You'll never get tired of them. Thanks!
Hey, I know this was posted awhile ago and I think it is an amazing idea. I have just one question : When you make up your bags do you just put one thing of yogurt from the muffin tin, so essentially you could make 12 bags of smoothie mixes? And if you use ice cube trays you use 3 ice cubes of yogurt??
Thanks :)
I used to make pre-measured frozen yogurt with my dog's omega-3 mixed in. I'd line a mini muffin pan with press'n seal before filling them and then cover the whole thing with another piece of press'n seal to cover it all. It made it really easy to pop them out, didn't need to let the tray sit out for them to all soften when we only need one at a time.
I don't even worry about scooping. I buy individual sized yogurts and freeze them in their tubs. Run outside in hot water and then squirt in to bags. Also, I take a liquid vitamin, so I put that in with some protein powder
Would Greek yogurt work with this?
I use Greek yogurt with mine.
I know it works for other stuff but I'm not sure if it would work for this...have you tried spraying the bottom of your muffin pans with Pam to see if the frozen yogurt pops out? Just a thought...also, I'm going to make these today...thanks for the idea.
I put my Greek yogurt in silicone muffin cups and they just pop right out.
I.m so gonna try this,I always buy fresh fruit and add a little bit of juice &, protein powder& blend it.But I don't freeze my fruit,I make one smmothie at a time.
The silicone cups work awesome if you.have them. Tis the best thing to have available in the am!
And did you know that Kiwi is good for hurrying the healing of canker sores?
This is an awesome idea... something to make it quicker for you... I've a couple of these that I use for baby food and stuff but they'd be perfect for freezing the yogurt (and so much easier!)
http://www.qubies.com/
I use the things for home made popsicles. Fill them with smoothies, pop the plastic sticks in them and put them in the freezer. They make great snacks. Like ice cream, but healthy.
What about put a cupcake liner to freeze the yougurt? Then pop it out bag them in a freezer bag?
Thanks Pattie
Wouldn't it just work to stuff all the bags and throw in a spoonful of yogurt and then freeze? It is all going to be blended anyways... Or is that just me?
Great Idea!! These will be great for quick breakfasts. I can also have the kids pick their own mixes of fruit and it still won't be a huge fight if everybody wants something different.
Love this idea :0) Got the mid 40's need to stay in shape feeling going.. This could help Thx!
Our smoothies probably taste the same. I always pick up extra fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mangoes) etc when it's on sale and cut it up and freeze it right away on trays. Then I dump all of it in a huge ziploc bag and keep that in the freezer. I buy natural frozen yogourt (in the ice cream section) and fill up the blender with a few scoops of that, milk/juice, and toss in a few handfuls of fruit. With six of us in the house, I just like making one huge blender full at once and then everyone gets one. I like the idea of individual smoothies, but really, in this house, I can never drink that by myself!
Does anyone know if you can freeze spinach leaves with the fruit or can it only be put in fresh?
Lacey, I found your smoothie idea on pinterest and gave it a try tonight. Genius! I included a paragraph about it in my blog tonight and added a link to your blog to give you credit. Hope that is okay with you!
They prep is in the freezer now so excited to have "fresh" smoothies on hand at all times. :) that is until they're all gone and all for under $7.00 plus I made 36 yugurt cubes instead of 24 so I have some extra for other uses :)
Anyone know mabye about the point value if your doing weight watchers?
For weight watchers, I would guess that you just add up the points associated with each ingredient.
I am now a smoothie addict! Came home from work the other night and made a smoothie instead of ice cream- yea! I also add some powdered Benefiber and almonds to mine. One more bonus- I just found huge bags of frozen sliced strawberries and blueberries at Sam's Club- oober cheap!
My mom has a huge garden with lots of spinach so she freezes all that she doesn't eat fresh and then uses it for smoothies. You would never know that it was frozen! I am sure you could just add the spinach to your fruit or just freeze it in it's own bag because it breaks apart easily when frozen.
Smoothies are standard breakfast fare in our home, and this would speed it up a lot.
Yep, spinach should freeze well. But I find that in our bullet it works best if it's in and blended with some liquid before the rest of the smoothie parts go in.
Try adding almonds. Yeah, there are always a few chunks left at the end that don't get blended in, but ohwow, yummy.
Fantastic idea!
SO going to try this! Great idea
Brilliant idea - cost effective and time saving. Also means nothing goes to waste. Thanks for sharing
Found this on pinterest and followed the link back here. We do a LOT of smoothies (had one tonight!), and I love this. Thanks so much for sharing.
This is brilliant! I have a few left over pieces of fruit I need to use up before they go bad and this is a great way to do that. Thanks for sharing!
I definitely am going to try this. I hate spending close to $5 for the pre-packaged smoothies that are found in the freezer section. Thanks so much for sharing!
I am definitely trying this!!
Going to do this!
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