I am completely smitten with the look of these little lavender-hued frozen smoothie cups and even more in love with their ease and convenience.
All ingredients assembled and goodness sealed into muffin sized cups, they sit in the freezer ready to go. All you have to do is pop two units in the blender, add a little extra liquid when you’re ready to enjoy and presto: instant smoothie.
No cutting, chopping or measuring required. No running out to the grocery store (unfit for public viewing) to buy missing ingredients.
A great way to simplify your morning rush hour or enjoy as a snack any time of day. I leave the blender out on the counter and when my sons return home from school they have an easy, accessible and healthy snack that they can pull together in a minute. The boys also enjoy the smoothie cups before soccer and hockey practise – something light and nourishing – and I tend to use them after working out – an ideal way to rehydrate and take in easily digestible nutrients.
This recipe is completely adaptable to taste preferences, dietary requirements and seasonal availability of produce. There’s no end to the combinations you can play around with and the fun you can have!
Vanilla Blueberry Almond Smoothie Cups ~ Ready to Go Morning Goodness (recipe adapted from Alive Magazine)
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2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
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1 + 1/2 cups hemp, brown rice, almond or other milk beverage of choice
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1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup raw almonds
- 2 tsp natural vanilla essence
- 2 Tbsp blackstrap molasses, pure maple syrup or honey
- 10 or so mint leaves
Makes 12 – 16 muffin cups
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and press go.
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Divide smoothie liquid among 12 (or more) muffin cups.
For unmoulding, you will find it much easier to use silicone muffin liners. Otherwise, you will likely have to run hot water along the back of the muffin tray, risking melting your creations.
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I got my muffin liners at Canadian Tire you should be able to find them at most hardware stores (at a fraction of the price of kitchen stores)Place muffin tray in the freezer for approximately 4 hours. Unmould smoothie cups, removing the silicone liners, and storing the cups in a freezer bag or other airtight container and returning them to the freezer.
When you’re ready to make a smoothie, simply pop two frozen cups in the blender and add about 3/4 cup of milk, coconut water or other liquid of choice. Blend until desired consistency is achieved.
Depending on the power of your blender, you may find it easier to chop the cups up a bit before blending.
Thanks so much for stopping by Sara and for your kind words… there are no perfect substitutes for whole foods but a couple of options for your consideration re: dairy free/soy free substitute for yogurt: hemp powder; pea powder; brown rice powder.
The composition of your photo is beautiful. Like the almonds and blueberries scattered in the background. Hadn’t thought to add mint to smoothies either-inspiring! I’d love to try…finding a dairy and soy free substitute for yogurt though, hm.
How convenient – The frozen ready-to-go smoothie! Perfect timing for back-to-school crazy days we’re experiencing. The color is absolutely beautiful and I love blueberries! It’s always nice to see recipes using them!
Very clever, Kelly, and the colour is quite incredible. I’ll link this post to my nephew, he makes a lot of smoothies and this would save him some time.
What a smart and time saving idea!
Kelly….what an absolutely brilliant idea! Smoothies are pretty easy to make but my boys just don’t want to seem to fuss with it all. These are perfect for them (and me, too!). And what a great way to keep your summer fruits lasting a little longer into the fall! Gorgeous color and beautiful photos as always! : )
What a wonderful idea and a beautiful color! This is a great way to capture those wonderful blueberries in season and enjoy them year round!
What a neat idea….I used to make a similar mixture & put in popcycle molds. GREAT snack for the children & their Mom!
Oh I was all ready to take a bite out of those until i realized they were frozen! Yum. Very cute and good idea.
phenomenal!……thank you so much.
Thanks Lynn! you could use up any fresh greens you have in your garden for these… adds a different taste every time and I’m always amazed by how just a handful of herbs can flavour a whole recipe.
it’s amazing what you can find in a hardware store. my favourite browsing centers: hardware stores and pharmacies… i can spend hours! ;0)
xo thank you food stories!
Haha, Nobel Prize… yeah, that’s me! ;0) Thank you Sally, you’re very kind. I’m glad you liked these little cups – I’m still all excited about them too…looking forward to the story of your singular avocado pursuit…
mmm…wonder if my husband thinks i’m a goddess in the morning?! LOL. ;0)
Cheers Amy, hope you enjoy it if you give it a try. It won’t take but a New York minute – arr, arr.
Thanks Suzanne – me too. Funny thing is, I first made a batch with blueberries and nectarines (so juicy and gorgeous in the flesh) but the colour was so unappetizing, I couldn’t bring myself to post it even though it tasted dynamite! You know how tricky food photography can be…
Haha, I know what you mean; they’re a bit difficult to decipher at first but it doesn’t seem to matter given their enticing colour… ;0). Actually, my eldest enjoys chewing on the cups right from the freezer – a bit like a frozen ice-cream bar indeed. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong – full of flavour and packed with nutrients!
Thanks Ping – i love the colour too… very reminiscent of lavender. in fact, if i didn’t know better, i would think those little purple cups were lavender fragranced candles! (maybe that’s why i like them so much ;-).
I just love the color … and esp when it’s all natural! So very pretty! Great idea to have them all portioned out like that.
When I saw these beauties I thought “whatever it is, I would love it!”. The word “lavender” made me all dreamy… The smoothies in cups must be incredibly good simply as ice-creams and so practical to stock in the freezer until needed.
Now that I have discovered almond milk, I think I know what I would choose as the main liquid ingredient. Thank you for one more healthy, simple and beautiful idea!
Convenient and healthy definitely but what I love is how pretty they are.
You’re so clever, Kelly! What a great idea to speed mornings along. I will definitely be trying this :)
What lovely purple frozen cups!
Brilliance! You are a morning goddess. I love smoothies but make them less than I otherwise would if they were ready to go!
You have NO IDEA how much I love this! NOt only for everything you mentioned (including the “unfit for public view”, that reminded of myself dashing like a crazy woman in search of ONE avocado – long story) – but because it gives me a chance to use my silicone muffin tins – genius!
I will be making these for sure, you should be nominated for a Nobel Prize some day. On a new category: Nutritional Biology ;-)
That is so creative and smart my friend :D
Too cute! And pretty! And delicious :)
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
What a great idea! These are gorgeous & useful … How smart are you :-)
This is so smart!! I am smitten with the look of these, too….who wouldn’t want to wake up and have one of these for breakfast!
How fun are these Kelly! I love how easy this would be. The kids are always requesting smoothies too. And great tip on the silicone liners. I’m definitely checking the hardware store. :)
So convenient! And I love the pretty purple colour too. Gotta hand it to those blueberries!
I love the convenience of these smoothies… great idea to freeze them in a muffin tin ahead time! Nice touch with the mint too!
Lynn