Spending a Little Time To Save Even More
/Spending a Little Time To Save Even More
Goal: “Meal Prep” smoothie jars with everything I put in, or at least most, so I can freeze, then dump in the Vitamix with water, juice, herbal tea etc. and save a bunch of time in the comatose morning.
That took me long enough! I really needed to get back into regular smoothie use. I find digestion can be so exhausting! And when I make smoothies, I’m getting better nutrition and fiber, and I feel good and energetic, and I just know it’s a good idea on so many accounts. I kept “meaning” to do it but, ohhhh what am I going to put it in? Maybe the containers all need to be the same. Oh but I have bananas right NOW that need to be frozen or something, may as well portion them up and get it done. I know I want to add Coconut Milk, but so often when I try to use some everyday, it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten about. Not to mention all the powders and plant proteins I like to use but keeping in mind, with ADHD, SO MANY STEPS to do means “ahhhh maybe next time.” It can make things so very difficult and aversive. So if I have to do all those steps, might as well do a bunch at once. Just like my mother always said, cooking for 2 or 20 is almost the same amount of work and mess. Having to get out a spice to measure a teaspoon is not very different from having to measure out two Tablespoons- you have to get it out, unscrew it, measure, etc…. Granted, chopping one onion will be quicker than 10, but if you have a VITAMIX-- oh it makes it so much better!!! Not to mention, once you DO get the onions chopped, putting a BUNCH in the crockpot versus one a day for a week, you are certainly saving electricity!
Now ideally, I would love to do a dozen or so. but such is not always going to be the case and it's a good thing to try a little at a time especially when you're beginning. I got for mason jars out. So I had to use them I wash them with a bit of soap and hot water and started with the bananas. I had 5 bananas and 4 jars so I split the last one up. Then I took a can of coconut milk and split it between the jars after shaking it. I'm constantly intending to get more coconut milk in my diet but again it often gets pushed to the back of the fridge. Thankfully I took notes on what I put in a jar because in the past for whatever reason I would think I would remember it but it only takes a few days. I don't know why I would ever stick things in the freezer without labeling but it took me a while to become a fan of labeling things. I had hemp protein in the fridge that was towards the end and I really needed to just use it up once and for all. I also had some of the protein meal shake mixes and again needed to just get them used up. I figured I would just add vanilla flavoring as well since that match the shake mix. In the end I had some chia lying around so I figured why not throw that in there as well. So I guess now, I'll mix that with water into the Vitamix, and whatever else I feel like at the time. Maybe I'll have some spinach in the fridge that needs to go or some fresh fruit. My original plan had been to add some frozen berries or whatever frozen fruit I could find in the freezer but I seemed to run out of space in the jar.
I tried flipping them upside down and shaking to see how much would be incorporated and if that was a wise thing to do or leave it as is...
So to review, in this batch of 4 mason jar smoothies ready to go:
Organic Bananas- 1.25 per jar
Coconut Milk
Hemp Protein
Hemp Meal or whatever other meal powders I had around
Stevia
Vanilla
Chia
After deciding additional chia was the way to go
Maybe in the future: Cocoa Powder, Greens Powder