Summer Smoothies-on-the-Go

Who doesn’t love a good, cool, fruit smoothie?! We love them around here. I amazed my kids last summer by freezing them in a cup, then handing them a spoon and letting them have at it.

They thought I was the BEST. MOM. EVER. Seriously. I’ll take it!

We make smoothies almost every day. My kids favorite job is helping add frozen fruit, ice cubes, or yogurt to the blender. Then they run away when I turn it on (TOO LOUD!) I’ll post some of our favorite combinations below, but when I saw this idea on Heidi’s Recipes … Smoothies-on-the-Go! … I knew it would become a new summer favorite around here.

Photo from Heidi’s Recipes

The GREAT idea?! Just add a lid. Freeze your smoothies in a plastic freezer jar (I had no idea! A freezer-safe cup with a secure lid … see them on Amazon here).

I’ve always frozen ours in a cup, so we’re kind of limited to eating them around the house and in the backyard. We could throw these in our backpack or picnic bag and have smoothies at the beach, on a hike, at the lake, on a bike ride, at the park. Heidi says that after a few hours, they’re soft and ready to eat with a spoon, a straw or sipped straight from the container. What a perfectly cool and healthy snack when you’re on-the-go!

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Our Favorite Smoothie Combos

2 cups vanilla yogurt 1/2 can 100% orange juice concentrate 1 cup frozen banana chunks or strawberries 1 tsp. vanilla extract 6-7 ice cubes 2 cups milk

2 cups vanilla yogurt 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 2 envelopes hot cocoa mix or 2 spoonfuls of dry chocolate pudding mix 2 cups milk 6-7 ice cubes 1 cup frozen banana chunks

Tips

• I always peel and cut our browned bananas into chunks, throw them in a ziploc baggie and then into the freezer. Makes the smoothie thicker and creamier.
• Add a handful of fresh spinach leaves to any smoothie. Yes, it turns it a funny green color (my boys love it) but you can’t even taste the spinach and it’s extra healthy!
• Let the blender run for 30-60 seconds so there aren’t any chunkies and it’s nice and smooth and creamy.