Make Ahead Smoothie Mix

 I'm not sure what your mornings are like, but I often find I am running out of time when it is time for breakfast.  My morning smoothie has helped immensely as I can take it with me, but I have run into a little problem:  sometimes I forget an ingredient!  (I am sure it is because of the long list of ingredients, right?  And has nothing to do with the fact I am middle-aged - gasp!).  Anyway, I have come up with a solution to both of my problems:  make-ahead smoothie mixes.  Put simply, I put all of the ingredients for each smoothie into individual bags, leaving out the almond milk, and put it in the freezer.  In the morning, all I have to do is put the ingredients into my blender and add the milk :)

In the summer it is easy to get fresh kale and spinach, but in the winter I am using frozen spinach.  I buy the blocks of it in the freezer section, thaw slightly, slice into chunks, and put in a freezer bag.  You can do this with fresh spinach as well - my friend Mary preps her spinach or kale and then freezes it in ice cube trays.  Brilliant!

I use one frozen banana and about 1/3 cup frozen spinach

I use one banana and about 1/3 frozen spinach or kale

1/2 cup blueberries

1 Tb. Chia seeds, one shake of cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla

1 Tb. peanut butter

2-3 ice cubes

And just like that, you have prepped breakfast!  (Store in freezer until ready to use).  You can make enough for the whole week, and then you are set :)

In the morning, pop the ingredients into your blender and add 1 cup almond milk.  The only issue I have had is trying to fit everything into my smaller blender.  When I put the ingredients in individually, I can put the bigger items on the bottom.  That said, this still works :)