Friday, September 16, 2011

Freeze Ahead Peach Smoothie & Food Storage Friday



My family loves smoothies, but during the before school rush I need the process to be streamlined.  I started making Freeze Ahead Smoothies and it has worked out great.  

 What is Freeze Ahead Smoothie?  It is all the ingredients to a smoothie frozen together in a ziplock bag.  I love this because I can buy fruit on sale and in season and then freeze it for smoothies later.  It only takes a few minutes to make up a ton of bags and then we are set for a couple of weeks.  

Tips for success: 
  1.  When making the smoothie, if you have a dorky blender like I do, you may need to break apart the Freeze Ahead Smoothie before adding it to your blender.  I leave it in the bag and break it into pieces with my hands.  Since the smoothie mix was frozen flat it is easy enough to break.
  2. You can use whatever fruit you have on hand.  I use whatever is in season, peaches, strawberries, raspberries etc. 
  3.  I use Greek yogurt but you can use whatever you have.  
  4. You can also add protein powder, flax seed, or oatmeal to make a heartier smoothie. 
  5. When freezing you can stack several layers of smoothies on the cookie sheet.  Just make sure the outside of the bags are clean and that everything is laying flat. 
Freeze Ahead Peach Smoothies
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 banana, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 cup peaches, peeled and sliced (or whatever fruit you like)
1.   In each zip lock bag place ½ a banana, ½ cup Greek yogurt, honey, and peaches.  Squeeze the bag to remove any air and seal.  Place the bag flat on a cookie sheet and spread it out so it lays flat.  Repeat to make as many freeze a head smoothies as desired. 
2.   Place Freeze Ahead Smoothies in the freezer. Freeze solid, usually takes a couple of hours.

To Make a Smoothie:  
  1. In a blender, blend the frozen contents of your peach smoothie bag with ½ cup milk or water.  Blend until smooth.   

Food Storage Friday Link Party