21 Healthy Meal Prep Smoothies (Smoothie Packs) (2024)

Do you enjoy meal prep smoothies? All it takes is a little advance planning and prep to create a healthy green smoothie base along with smoothie packs made with different fruit and vegetable combinations to give you a variety of healthy smoothies you can meal prep and use during the week!

UPDATED: This recipe was originally published in August 2018. It has been updated for photos and content.

NOTE: CookEatLiveLove is supported by readers and links to products I love in this post are Amazon and other affiliate links which means I do make a small amount of money when you click and make purchases. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll come back again soon!

Meal prep smoothies can be the perfect answer for an easy quick breakfast that you can take on the go but they’re also a great way to incorporate more veggies and fruits into your breakfast.

There is so much flexibility in this meal prep recipe which is why I think it works so well. You can mix and match with smoothie packs made with your favorite fruits and flavors, proteins, and other smoothie mix-ins to customize them!

One thing that’s great about them is they can come out like a milkshake, one full of lots of fruits, veggies, and protein, which makes it easier to get in all your servings of fruits and veggies each day.

This smoothie meal prep post is inspired by my other popular meal prep posts Plant-Based Breakfast Ideas and Vegan Meal Prep.

If you love meal prep smoothies as much as I do, I think you will also enjoy this Beet and Berry Smoothie and this Camu Camu Smoothie.

❤️ Why You Will Love Meal Prep Smoothies

• Meal prep smoothies are easy to make!
• Fruit and vegetable smoothies are great to take on the go!
• Mixing fruits with veggies is an easy way to sneak veggies into your diet in a tasty way!
• A healthy smoothie tastes great!
• They’re are PERFECT for meal prep for the entire week.
• Make ahead smoothies are a great way to prepare an easy breakfast or snack when time is short.

🥘 Smoothie Ingredients

We’re going to start first with the green smoothie base. It uses only five simple ingredients, mainly a blend of green vegetables with some green apple added for tartness.

Later on, I will show you how to combine it with the smoothie packs and blend up a delicious drinkable breakfast you can use for your weekly meal prep.

• Spinach: Baby spinach is my favorite because the leaves are tender and blend up easily into the green smoothie base so you barely know it’s there.
• Cucumber: I prefer to leave the skin on so I will typically choose Persian or English cucumbers with their thinner skin.
• Zucchini: This vegetable has a mild flavor and contains lots of water making it perfect to blend up smooth into meal prep smoothies.
• Green apple: For a little tart sweetness.
• Green tea: Use unsweetened green tea so you aren’t adding any additional sugar to the smoothies. Studies show green tea provides protection from chronic diseases including cancer from the polyphenols that tea contains. It just so happens that green tea contains the highest amount of polyphenols than any other tea.

NOTE: I generally leave the skin on the veggies for the base because there are lots of nutrients in this part of the vegetable. Just make sure you scrub and clean the outside of the vegetable well prior to blending.

🔀 Substitutions

• Spinach: Green smoothies work great with kale too!! I imagine you can use other leafy greens as well, though some may have more bitter flavors that are more difficult to camouflage in the smoothie. While I prefer fresh greens you can also use frozen kale or spinach in the bag to make the green base.
• Green apple: Any apple will work but I prefer green for its thematic color and also its tart flavor and texture. Try to avoid mealy apples which may alter the smooth texture of the smoothie.
• Green tea: Water, coconut water, and fruit juice work too. I prefer green tea for the healthy antioxidants it provides. When using other options try to avoid juices with sugar added.

🍽 Equipment

To meal prep smoothies you don’t need much other than a good blender and bags or containers but here are my favorites.

• Blender: You need a decent type of blender for making fruit smoothies. It doesn’t need to be top of the line but I find a blender with at least 600 watts works best. I use this one but if I was able to spend a little more I’d go for the Vitamix which offers much more flexibility. Another great option for making smoothies to drink is a mini blender. These are specifically made for blending thick drinks and even sometimes have cups and lids you use to carry smoothies with you.
• Containers: I try to stay away from single-use bags for meal prep whenever possible. I find these small glass containers are the perfect size for freezer smoothie packs but you can also use freezer bags or even better reusable bags for the freezer.
• Glass jars: Small mason jars are perfect for storing the green smoothie base in the refrigerator for the week of meal prep. They take up less space and are airtight. I also recycle jam and other small condiment jars to use for this purpose as well.
• Knife and Cutting Board

🔪 How to Meal Prep Smoothies

First, you will need to meal prep the smoothie base. If you are using green tea leaves be sure to steep in hot water prior to making the green smoothie base.

Step 1: Chop up all your veggies into chunks.

Step 2: Combine cucumber, zucchini, green apple, and green tea in a blender. Pulse to start and then blend for 1-2 minutes.

Add spinach and blend until smooth.

Step 3: Once it’s ready, portion it out into containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to make your meal prep smoothies.

Step 4: Meal prep the fruit and vegetable freezer smoothie packs and store in bags or containers. Cut any fruit into small to medium-sized chunks that will blend more easily in your blender.

You can mix and match whatever fruits and vegetables you want or choose one of the 21 smoothie packs below.

Step 5: When you’re ready to make smoothies, combine the green base along with your frozen ingredients in your smoothie pack. Add liquid such as water, juice or milk, and any other extra ingredients you want and blend it up.

Storage

Refrigerator: You can store the green smoothie base in the refrigerator for up to five days. It may darken slightly as it sits in the fridge but will stay fresh within that time.

Freezer: The green smoothie base and freezer smoothie packs can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. After that time they are more apt to be affected by flavors in the freezer or freezer burn. Be sure to store in airtight containers.

To prepare: I suggest thawing out the green smoothie base in the refrigerator overnight prior to using it. The fruit and vegetable freezer smoothie packs are fine in the freezer until you are ready to make smoothies.

📖 21 Smoothie Pack Flavors

Here are just a handful of the fruit, vegetable, and ingredient combinations you can use for meal prep to create a variety of smoothie flavors so you never get bored!

Choose which ones you want to use and chop up the fruit and/or veggies and freeze! Then you just pull out which one you want and blend up your meal prep smoothie.

Want more flavor ideas? Check out this Summer Smoothie Recipes Web Story for a mini slideshow of some of my favorite smoothie recipes!

Variations

You might want to add in some additional ingredients to meal prep smoothies making them heartier and more satisfying or simply boost the nutritional value a bit.

My stand-bys are usually yogurt or silken tofu for protein and flax or chia for healthy fats and protein.

Occasionally I mix in other ingredients such as lucuma and camu camu to add nutritional components or flavors. One ingredient I don’t rely on much is protein powder. Not because it’s a bad thing but because I haven’t found one that I like.

Here are some ideas for customizing meal prep smoothies. If you prefer vegan smoothies, just eliminate any of the dairy options below.

Yogurt: Greek yogurt or plant-based yogurts are perfect for adding some healthy probiotics to smoothies. I recommend about one-quarter or one-half a cup in each.

Plant milk: My favorites are coconut milk, almond milk and oat milk because I feel their flavors work best in smoothies but any healthy plant milk will work.

Silken tofu: Choose the softest silken tofu you can buy. Sometimes the package will even say it’s good for smoothies. The tofu blends up perfectly, making a thick and creamy smoothie.

⭐️ Find buying tofu confusing? Not sure which variety, texture, or consistency you need? Learn more about which tofu to buy when cooking recipes in this free downloadable guide to buying tofu.

Nuts: Throw a few nuts for protein and healthy fats. Cashews blend up super well but almonds, pecans and walnuts also work great.

Nut butters: An alternative to the nuts which might blend a little bit better unless you have a powerful blender.

Flaxseed: I like the texture of it in my smoothie, plus flax is a good source of fiber and also has a good omega-fat profile. Flaxseed is best used and digested in its ground form, which I store flax in the freezer because it can actually go rancid fairly quickly if stored on the shelf.

Chia seeds: Chia contains protein, high amounts of dietary fiber, healthy fats (omega-3 and omega-6), high amounts of antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals. Chia seeds expand making it thicken up so all you need is 1-2 teaspoons.

Hemp seeds: These seeds have a slightly nutty flavor but also contain a high amount of protein. In particular, hemp seeds are considered a complete protein as they contain all the essential amino acids humans need to get from food. They are also a good source of omega fatty acids and soluble and insoluble fiber.

Lucuma: This fruit from South America is available as a powder in natural food stores or online in the US. It can be used as a natural sweetener. It has a low glycemic index, which means it doesn’t have a substantial impact on blood sugar when it is eaten. You can add it for some additional sweetness in your smoothie especially when you don’t use highly sweet fruit such as bananas. It is also rich in antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals.

Camu camu: Another South American fruit that contains lots and lots of vitamin C. It can be found in a powder and adds some tart flavor to smoothies along with the vitamin C boost.

What to Serve With Smoothies

You can stick with just a smoothie or pair it with other healthy breakfast or snack options.

• Tofu Scramble
• Pumpkin Berry Muffins
• Breakfast Barley Porridge
• Plain or Veggie Hummus with sweet potato toast or veggie sticks
• Savory Oatmeal

💭 Expert Tips

If possible, keep the peel intact on the vegetables in the green base for meal prep smoothies because they provide extra nutrition.

Use a high-powered blender to blend up the fresh fruit and vegetables for creamier meal prep smoothies.

Use frozen fruits when making meal prep smoothies to drink so you don’t need to add ice to the blender. It blends up more creamy this way.

For more satisfying meal prep smoothies, add in a source of protein and healthy fat so you are getting in all of the macronutrients.

❓FAQs

Other Smoothie Recipes to Explore

If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below? You can also drop a review in the comment section I always appreciate your feedback. And don’t forget to tag me @cookeatlivelove in your photos on social media so I can see your creations.

📖 Recipe