Smoothie Meal Prep

This past year my husband and I have been focusing on our budget and really tracking where our paychecks go. We have noticed that we waste a lot of money ordering food instead of making it at home. John tends to buy his lunch but breakfast has always been my takeout meal, picking up an iced coffee and a bagel or sandwich to go along with it. Easy fix was that I started making coffee at home everyday and now grabbing a coffee from a local coffee shop is a treat and usually includes a visit with a friend to sit and chat and enjoy our drinks.

Coffee was not my problem. My biggest stumbling block was making sure I had enough time to cook something in the morning that was fast and healthy. Now my go to easy and quick breakfast is a smoothie and having the fruit and veggies precut and ready to go makes it much easier to enjoy! I prep these on Saturdays or Sundays to have throughout the week. Just a note about increasing the protein; you could try adding protein powder, but I don’t like the texture so I have started adding in some chobani yogurt instead. One other breakfast prep I do is make a bunch of hard boiled eggs to have throughout the week as well.

I have two smoothies I wanted to share with you. The first one is made with strawberries, tangerines, bananas, some baby spinach, peach yogurt and orange juice. You could use apple juice or almond milk as your liquid too, experiment and see what you like! This one reminds me of a drink my grandmother used to buy, I think it was called Tropicana Twists or something along those lines. It was my favorite and she always had it in the fridge for me. I will be starting a bed of strawberries this spring along with spinach so I am sure they will find their way into my breakfast prep this summer!

In the warmer months I love to have my breakfast outside and this next one is a nod to the summer months that are slowly approaching. Filled with pineapples, bananas and tangerines and a healthy dose of spinach, pineapple yogurt and orange juice, of course you can use whatever you like, maybe coconut water or milk for a pina colada spin. If it’s a nice day to hangout by the pool I could see a little rum finding its way into this one. Summer dreaming!

Strawberry Orange Twist Smoothie  1 Serving 6 Strawberries, chopped 1 Tangerine, peeled and segmented ½ banana, sliced ½ cup spinach, packed 1 container chobani peach yogurt 1 cup orange juice Freeze strawberries, tangerine, banana and spinach in a bag, disposable cup with lid, or mason jar. When ready to make, add frozen fruits and spinach to a blender with yogurt and orange juice. Blend until smooth. Tropical Twist Smoothie 1 serving ¼ cup or 6 – 8 cubes of pineapple (I prefer fresh) 1 tangerine, peeled and segmented ½ banana, sliced ½ cup spinach, packed 1 container chobani pineapple yogurt 1 cup orange juice Freeze pineapple, tangerine, banana, and spinach in a bag, disposable cup with lid or mason jar. When ready to make, add frozen fruits and spinach into a blender with yogurt and orange juice. Blend until smooth. I hope you give these a try and enjoy!

Of course, one of my favorite things about cooking at home is adding more material to the compost! Hope you enjoy!