Make Ahead! Frozen Smoothie Packs

I love smoothies in morning... they're so refreshing and filling! I like to drink them on the back porch while I read a book, but my husband likes them because he can whip one up quickly before he heads to work. Unfortunately, I don't always have fresh fruit and yogurt on hand, so these make ahead packs are perfect.
For these packs we are going to use frozen fruit, so there are plenty of varieties that you can mix up.

Ingredients:

• Frozen Fruit (I used Mixed Berry and Strawberry)
• Bananas (1 small per pack or half a large per pack)
• Yogurt (Greek or regular)
• Flax Seed (Optional)
• Baby Spinach (Optional)
• 1 cup of Juice or Milk (This will not be frozen, but added when you make the smoothie)

 The first thing we need to do is freeze the yogurt. I use Greek yogurt because there are always some leftover cubes and I can utilize them in other recipes, but feel free to use any flavor/type that would go well with your fruit. Spoon the yogurt into ice cube trays and throw them in the freezer. It takes a couple of hours for them to really set up, so I normally do this step early in the morning. When you can pop them out from the back of the tray, you know they are ready.

For each pack we are going to use about 1 cup of frozen fruit, 1 small banana, and 2-3 frozen yogurt cubes. I put bananas in all of my smoothie packs. Not only are they my favorite fruit, but they make the smoothies extra creamy and delicious. I've found that the bags of fruit from Sprouts yield about 2.5 packs, so buy accordingly.

Throw all of these ingredients into a freezer storage bag. I like to label them with the type of smoothie and date (But make sure you write on the bag before you put all of your gubs in it).

At this point you could be finished, but I always add flax seed or spinach if I have them on hand. They beef up the smoothie and add some great nutritional value. Today I only had flax seed in my pantry, so 1 Tbs went into each bag.

When the time comes to make the smoothie, throw the contents of one bag into the blender and add 1 cup of juice. I love apple juice or coconut water, but again these are so versatile you can use anything.

And there we go! Once the yogurt is frozen, the total prep time is around a minute per pack. Get creative with this one. Pineapple and Mango with coconut water is great for a hot summer morning!