If you love green smoothies AND want to maximize your time and money while making them, then this smoothie prep tutorial is for you! I love buying fresh, in-season produce, yet I don’t want it to go bad before I use it all in my daily smoothie. Meal prep smoothies get me through busy seasons with ease.
Meal prep smoothies are my jam! I love doing smoothie prep in batches so I make one mess at a time and get a week (or month) of ready-to-blend smoothies for my efforts. Today, I’m sharing all my tips and tricks to make smoothies for the week as well as giving you a sample menu and shopping list to get started!
Table of Contents
How to Meal Prep Smoothies for a Week
First, gather the following items: measuring cups, quart bags or canning jars (I like wide-mouth jars best!), a permanent marker, your favorite fruit and leafy greens and either my blog or the Daily Blends Smoothie App. These items will make meal prepping smoothies a breeze. Next:
- Decide which recipes you’ll make for the week and have them on hand. Feel free to use my free 10-Day Smoothie Challenge recipes.
- Slice or cut fruit into chunks. You can also cut fruit into smaller pieces and freeze ahead of time on lined baking sheets or use packaged frozen fruit. This helps keep the fruit and leafy greens from freezing together in a large clump, plus the smoothies blend more easily.
- Label bag or jar lids with recipe name and date. Be specific. You might also want to include how much of which liquid gets blended with each smoothie pack (to have when you’re ready to blend).
- Measure out the ingredients and pack into jars or bags.
- Remove as much air as possible from bags and jars when sealing closed. Pack fruit and leafy greens tightly into the jars and screw on the lids.
- Place in freezer. Don’t pack your bags/containers too tightly together. There should be some air circulation to help the contents to freeze quickly.
When you’re ready to use your meal prepped smoothies, remove smoothie pack from freezer. Add liquid base to container or bag (which helps defrost the fruit slightly). You can also thaw for a few minutes on the counter or in warm water. This helps the fruit and greens come out of the container more easily. Pour into blender and blend until smooth.
Prep smoothies for the week, month, or quarter, whichever length of time fits your time and lifestyle (and space!) best. I took the 7-day Smoothie Challenge inside Daily Blends Smoothie App for recipes and prepped for an entire month!
Tips for Make Ahead Smoothies
- Pick recipes with similar ingredients and buy in bulk. This saves money and cuts down on the number of ingredients needed.
- Buy seasonally! Choosing ingredients that are in season (or better yet, local!) also cuts down on cost. Food has the highest nutrition when harvested during its rightful season. Plus, it just tastes better.
- Help your future self by labeling! Know what that prepped jar needs for the liquid base so that when you are ready to blend, you are prepared.
- Set aside time to prep. Whether it’s on the weekend, Monday morning or Thursday evening, make time for prep. This helps you set yourself up for success.
- If you don’t like to or have time to chop up fresh ingredients then buy frozen! I love getting frozen pineapple and mango from Costco to save myself time. Frozen ingredients are picked at height freshness then flash frozen to preserve as many nutrients as possible.
Have any more tips for meal prepping smoothies? Drop a comment below and let us all know!
Smoothie Prep Menu
If you’re looking for some make-ahead smoothie recipes to get started, try out this plan:
- Beginner’s Luck Smoothie
- Clear Skin Smoothie
- Mango Spinach Smoothie
- Vegan Tropical Smoothie
- Spinach Banana Smoothie
- Island Green Smoothie
- Chia Seed Smoothie
For this round of meal prep smoothies, I stuck with tropical smoothies that have similar ingredients so that I can buy in bulk. Here’s the shopping list to prep the above seven smoothies:
| 7.5 cups Spinach | 3 Bananas |
| 1.5 cups Mango | 1 Avocado |
| 1 Lemon | 2 tbsp Chia Seeds |
| 4 Oranges | 2.75 cups Coconut Water |
| 3 cups Pineapple | 2 cups Water |
If you want to simplify your shopping list further, swap coconut water for regular water (which you don’t need to purchase), and you can meal prep smoothies for a whole week with eight ingredients.
For this list, I would pick up my supplies at Trader Joe’s and opt for frozen mango and pineapple, while choosing fresh for the remaining ingredients. Since avocado is only needed in one recipe, I’d just add it into a few other smoothies for a healthy fat boost.
Common Questions Around Smoothie Prep
Yes! While smoothies start to lose some nutrients about 15 minutes after blending, you can definitely blend one the night before. Just give it a good shake before you start to drink.
Yes! Simply add your fruit and veggies and leafy greens to a mason jar or freezer-safe container and freeze! When you’re ready to make a smoothie, thaw slightly on the counter then dump into your blender along with the liquid of your choice and any superfood boosts you want and blend. This is a great way to make sure your ingredients don’t go bad.
Yes! The key to a meal replacement smoothie is adding in protein and healthy fat. These two components will help you get full and keep you full longer.
Make Ahead Smoothies
Did you know that you can even freeze already blended smoothies? For real! Make sure you use freezer-safe containers and leave space when filling them, as liquid expands when frozen. Put in the fridge the night before you want to drink, carefully defrost in warm water or just toss it into a cooler if you’re taking it with you.
I love smoothie prepping blended smoothies for road trips. They act as ice packs for snacks and are perfectly chilled but defrosted when I’m ready to enjoy them.
Meal Prep Smoothies
Equipment
- freezer
- measuring cups
- quart sized jars or bags
- permanent marker
Ingredients
- 5 cups spinach
- 2 cups kale
- 3 bananas
- 5 oranges
- 3 mango
- 1 pineapple
- 2 cups strawberries
Instructions
- Decide which recipes you'll make for the week and have the recipe on hand. Feel free to use my free 10-day smoothie challenge recipes. For this sample guide I'm using my original Simple 7 Smoothie Guide.
- Slice or cut fruit into chunks. You can also cut fruit into smaller pieces and freeze ahead of time on lined baking sheets or use packaged frozen fruit. This will help keep the fruit and leafy greens from freezing together in a large clump and the smoothies will blend more easily.
- Label bag and jar lids with recipe name and date. Be specific. You might also want to include how much of which liquid gets blended with each smoothie pack (to have when you're ready to blend).
- Measure out the ingredients and pack into jars or bags.Â
- Remove as much air as possible from bags and jars when sealing closed. Pack fruit and greens tightly into the jars and screw on the lids.
- Place in freezer. Don't pack too tightly together. There should be some air circulation to help the contents to freeze quickly.
When ready to use
- Remove smoothie pack from freezer. Add liquid base to container or bag (which helps defrost the fruit slightly). You can also thaw for a few minutes on the counter or in warm water. The fruit and greens will come out of the jar/bag easier too.
- Pour into blender and blend until smooth.Â
Video
Notes
- Smoothie packs will keep for several months in the freezer but are the very best quality when used within 2-4 weeks.
- This sample prep guide uses naturally sweeter fruits. To lower the natural sugar in a smoothie, swap 1 banana with 1/2 an avocado.Â
- If hoar frost forms on the fruit and greens, it is still perfectly safe to consume. It can be rinsed off with lukewarm water.
- Store smoothie packs away from foods with strong odors. Glass jars offer the best protection against odors.
- Pick smoothie recipes with similar ingredients for bulk purchasing and to save money.Â
I love the idea of putting all together in a ziploc bag. Your photo appears so clear seeing separation of ingredients. Are you freezing before placing in the bags? I assume having the greens on top allows for blending first with liquid, am I correct?
Hi Glates!
You can freeze some of the items on a tray for 15 minutes before adding to the jar or bag if you’d like. It helps the items not freeze together!
Hi, I love green smoothies but I have been using spinach,kale, half of avocado, frozen pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, whole banana, fresh strawberries, some sliced almonds, chia seeds, whole kiwi and 1 cup of orange juice in one smoothie. Is this too much in one? Is this a lot of calories? I ask because I am not seeing weight loss.. Thanks…
there is a great deal of fat and a lot of sugar/calories for one smoothie. i use many of the same ingredients and see weight loss. if you nix the banana altogether, use 1/4 avocado instead of 1/2, remove the almonds and replace the juice with water, that should help. i would also be mindful not use too many chia seeds.
I replied earlier but just in case. Thanks so much for the advice. I appreciate it and will try your suggestions…
Hi Glates!
It does seem like a lot for one smoothie. We recommend staying to one leafy green, one liquid, and 2-3 fruits/veggies. We also try to stay to 16 ounces of green smoothie for one serving. Hope this helps!
Thanks… I was wondering if it was too much and may be full of too many calories to lose weight….
Thanks for this tip, I freeze my fruit but didn’t know I could freeze my greens!
I got a question. In the 5 elements theory, frozen products have not much energy left? I am know a bit worried about loosing all the good energy again, when freezing the greens and fruits.
I love the green smoothies and found doing the prepping ahead of time so helpful. I had surgery recently and made up a months worth of baggies with ingredients so my husband would only have to push the button on the VitaMix. Worked like a dream! Love you guys and the 30 day challange….I’ve done 2 so far!
Keep it up, Tish!
I have a question regarding stevia. I just bought a plant and was wondering if anyone has used it to sweeten your smoothies. I try not to use too much fruit do to the high sugars so I thought maybe that would work.
Hi Linda,
We don’t prefer adding sweeteners—even stevia… But do what works best for you! Our green smoothie habits are simply recommendations 🙂
awesome idea, I have been lax on my green smoothies cuz it’s hard to get my act together in the morning AND I usually have a baby on my hip or a toddler pulling at my arm or both!!!! I am going to make a bunch up after the kids are in bed!
Go for it, Kristina!
I love your photography, so beautiful.
Great tip! I never considered doing this. This is the best idea to be certain of consuming a smoothie every single day.
Thanks!
Thanks for the tips it’s very good help.
Oh my gosh. What a great tip! I was already saving myself time by cutting up my greens and freezing them, to save prep there. Plus cutting up bananas and storing them frozen, one banana per snack bag. But putting the whole smoothie recipe in one freezer bag or jar is even better! Thanks!
You can also put a lot of bananas into a gallon size freezer baggie. Break them in half or thirds, then pull out what you need to make a smoothie. If they stick together, carefully pry them apart with a sharp knife, or leave them on the counter for a few minutes. Easy!
thanks for this, i did the challenge and still doing the smoothies, i make enough for the week and put in fridge is that ok to do. thanks
Hi Darlene!
We try not to drink a smoothie more than two days after being blended. Hope this helps!
What a great idea! I normally cut my fruit up and then freeze them but it never crossed my mind to pre make my smoothies.
Thanks!!
Thank you, girls, for your website and for helping people change their lives!
I’ve been making all-vegetable smoothies and enjoy them a lot. My little trick is to add a bit of garlic or onion and a piece of feta cheese for flavour (tiny bit of pink Himalayan sault, if you like more saulty food). It tastes delicious – something like a cold soup. Having said that, I sometimes turn it into a warm soup using a soup button on my Blendtec. It really does make your concoction warm. My favourite is made of tomatoes, cucumber, cellery, spinach, garlic and feta cheese. Yumm.
Sometimes I use hot water to blend it in although it is not recommended in Blendtec manual.
What do you think of this?
Do what works best for you! Love the tips.
Thanks for the very good tips.
thanks so much for sharing this article, some very good ideas that will be incorporated into my regimen