I posted a little Instagram story last week about how I have been prepping my morning green smoothie in batches.
I realize now that it was a very timely topic, as several people have reached out to me about it with questions and interest! New year, new us! How thrilling.
Why a morning green smoothie?
Tyler and I have been drinking green smoothies for breakfast for years now, and I can confidently say that it’s the most important pillar of our health regimen.
I used to get sick all the time. In college, I just totally trashed my body. I didn’t eat that well, worked out way too hard, drank vodka on the weekends (why?), stayed up past midnight (every night), and then wondered why I felt like crap all the time.
It honestly makes me shudder even thinking about it. (I also hadn’t yet discovered self-tanner and didn’t know how to properly moisturize, but that’s a topic for another day).
Pretty quickly after joining the “real” world, I discovered that you can’t just be rocking a common cold every other week in an office setting. Bit of a faux pas.
It took a couple of years to get my act together, but I now get so much joy out of taking care of my body. And I feel SO much healthier than I did when I was 21. Of course, we all know that both pregnancies brought out an intense need for Ben & Jerry’s, but for the most part I try to live a balanced, clean lifestyle.
One of the first big changes I made was drinking a green smoothie every morning. This change was inspired by Kelly Leveque of Be Well by Kelly. Her “Fab 4” smoothie formula is designed to keep you full and your blood sugar balanced (greens + protein + fiber + healthy fat).
I highly recommend checking out her Instagram and book if you are looking for some inspiration and practical tips for getting your health in check. You can also read my full review of her grass fed beef chocolate protein powder here.
My best advice: just make one change at time. No need to burn it all to the ground just to give up a week later, you know?
Small changes add up.
In my opinion, if you’re only going to do ONE thing to change your lifestyle at first, the best bang for your buck is to make a giant green smoothie every morning.
Anyway, that’s enough soap boxing (for now).
Prepping smoothies in advance
Since having baby #2 (Hi Emmie), I haven’t had the time to make a smoothie from scratch every day. I don’t know why, but it seriously takes ages to get all of the ingredients out and put together a smoothie.
If I don’t have a stash of prepped smoothies in my freezer, then I’ll skip it. And then before I know it, it’s noon and I’m utterly famished, standing over the stove shoveling mac and cheese into my mouth with the baby on my hip. (Sidebar: have you guys tried Banza’s new mac and cheese?? It tastes exactly like Annie’s).
This summer, I started batch prepping my smoothies during a major nesting bender I went on before I had Emmie. And I’ll never go back.
What used to take me 15 minutes now takes 2, and I have essentially removed any and all excuses to fuel my body in the most nourishing way possible.
I buy all of my supplies at once and put together Ziploc gallon bags of one day’s worth of ingredients. Yes, plastic bags are bad but so is scurvy. Can’t have everything.
I am usually able to prep between 18-20 days’ worth of smoothies at a time. Each bag has enough to make two big glasses for me and Tyler and a tiny one for Char.
I lay everything out on the counter at once and start stuffing. I usually pour the protein powder into a bowl and mix the chia, flax, and hemp in a separate bowl too. This makes scooping MUCH more efficient.
Morning Green Smoothie Recipe
(Forgive my vague measurements; “eyeball” could be my middle name).
- Spinach + Kale: TONS. This is your moment, just stuff that bag full.
- Blueberries: a handful (option to sub this for ⅓ of a banana which I do occasionally)
- Chia + Flax + Hemp: at least two, if not all three of these. I do about ⅓ cup
- Almond Butter: raw, unsweetened, ALMONDS ONLY. I like the one from Trader Joe’s. Large spoonful
- Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides: 2 scoops
- Be Well by Kelly’s Chocolate Grass Fed Beef Protein Powder: 2 scoops (Use my code RUTH for $5 off your order).
- Cinnamon: a dash.
Once all the bags are stuffed, I press the air out of them and roll them tightly. 18-20 smoothies can fit snugly on one of the smaller shelves of my freezer.
The prepping process is a bit involved, but now that I have the hang of it I can usually wrap things up in an hour or so.
THEN. All I have to do each day is pull a bag out, dump the contents into my Vitamix. I add lots of ice, water, and almond milk and blend, blend, blend.
Charlotte has a tradition where she runs and jumps into my arms every time I turn the blender on and squeezes me TIGHT, so that’s part of this regimen too.
Check out some more ideas for clean eating here.
