Hack Your Morning Smoothie with Smoothie Cubes
Love the way you feel after starting your morning with a smoothie, but hate doing the prep and cleanup when you're barely awake? Turns out you can have the best of both worlds. Use smoothie cubes to streamline your morning rush and start the day with the nutrition your body needs.
Why Smoothie Cubes?
Smoothie cubes are a concentrated version of your favorite smoothie. You'll mix your usual fruits and veg with half the usual amount of milk. The great thing about this method is that you don't have to spend time cleaning fruit, chopping, measuring, and wiping spills every morning. Instead, just choose one day a week to put your concentrate together.
You can also make several different flavors in one prep session. Wake up each morning and choose what kind of smoothie you want, rather than just working with what you have fresh on hand.
How to Make Your Cubes
Making smoothie cubes really isn't all that different from making a standard smoothie. The trick is to add your liquid a little bit at a time. By creating a concentrated version of your preferred smoothie, you'll have an easy breakfast on hand without taking up tons of space in your freezer.
Need a little more detail? Here's an example with our go-to green smoothie:
- 2 cups packed spinach
- 1 banana
- 1 cup pineapple
- 2 scoops Super Greens
- Your preferred milk
Add the spinach, banana, pineapple, and greens powder to your blender. Then add half a cup of milk. Run your blender to combine the mixture. Depending on the size of your banana and how densely you packed your spinach, you may have a pourable mixture. If not, keep adding milk a little at a time until you have something you can pour.
Once you've found the right consistency, pour into ice cube trays. Freeze for at least four hours, then transfer into a sealed container. When you're ready to eat, blend 3-4 cubes with a half cup of your preferred milk (or more to reach your desired texture). This is also the time to include your favorite add-ins, like chia seeds, nut butter, or oatmeal.
Our recipe is enough to make two smoothies. But there's no reason not to double or triple it to save on prep time.
Tips and Tricks
- You can absolutely make smoothie cubes in a standard ice cube tray, but be cautious. Your cubes can pick up odors from your freezer if you're not careful. If you have access to a covered tray or two you'll likely be happier with the results.
- Use your smoothie cubes within two months to make sure you're getting the freshest flavor possible.
- Smoothie cubes are a great way to preserve fresh, in-season produce. Check in with local farmers to get good deals on the freshest fruits and vegetables available.