Reduce food waste and the effort it takes to make a healthy smoothie on busy mornings, after school or post-workout. Utilize your ice cube trays to preserve fruits and veggies that would have otherwise gone into the trash.
If you like meal prepping, cool. If you don’t, also cool! This concept lives somewhere on the easy scale between ordering takeout and meal prepping. Use your leftover, castoff or otherwise ugly fruits and vegetables to create a month’s worth of smoothie material that just stays put in the freezer until you want it.
- Carrot, celery and beet tops are common castoffs which contain valuable nutrients. Why waste money and toss them? As you cook, collect them in a freezer-safe container for batch blending when you have enough.
- Bought too much fruit? Blend and freeze it before it goes bad! Nectarines, strawberries, cherries, apples, bananas, blueberries—basically any fruit that’s approaching the end of its shelf life has a pause button in the freezer and a future as part of a refreshing summer smoothie.
- Broccoli, spinach, kale, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots—the above also applies for veggies. When you blend fruits and veggies in a smoothie (and add spices like ginger or cinnamon), the sweet flavors often overpower any bitterness from intense greens. It’s like the best form of food-cheating!
Simply blend the excess and castoff produce, pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Store cubes to later re-blend with water into an endless variety of smoothie combinations—it really is that easy!
Combinations to try:
- Celery, kale, mango, banana and ginger
- Strawberries, beet greens and pears
- Apple, broccoli and blueberry
Tip: To enhance smoothies, try adding probiotic and protein-rich yogurt and flax, pumpkin or sunflower seeds for fat and protein.