Step-by-step

Preparation is key to making sure I get my smoothie made in the morning. I prepare my smoothie ingredients roughly every three weeks at times; other times I don’t get round to it. It’s so quick to make them in the morning if I’ve got prepped bags ready in the freezer – so quick that I have no excuses not to.

About every three weeks, I prepare smoothies for the next couple of weeks. In the evening, once the children are fast asleep, I put on some music or a good TV series on the computer, and then I spend an hour making pre-mixed bags of fruit and veg for the freezer, which are ready to pour straight into the blender in the morning.

First, I take all the fruit and veg out of the fridge to see what we need to use up. If, for example, I have some leftover white cabbage, I cut it into smaller pieces. If I have sweet potato and turmeric, I roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 200° (turmeric is roasted to release the anti-inflammatory curcumin – alternatively, you can add a little freshly ground black pepper to raw turmeric, which also helps to release curcumin). Chilli and ginger are chopped into small pieces, and so on.

Next, I lay out some dry tea towels on the kitchen worktop and take out all the ingredients I have in the freezer. Vegetables on one side and fruit on the other. That way, it’s easy to strike a good balance between fruit and veg in the bags.

I use my blender as a measuring jug so I know how much to put into the bags. I fill the blender with a generous portion of all the ingredients I want in my smoothie (without blending them) and pour the whole lot into a freezer bag. I repeat this until everything is mixed and divided into 10–15 freezer bags, ready for the coming mornings.

In the morning, I take a bag from the freezer and pour the contents into the blender. I pour a little boiling water over it, about a quarter of the blender’s volume. I then add seeds, nuts, superfood powder, collagen powder, etc. I also always squeeze a lemon to add some fresh vitamin C, or simply peel the lemon and add the whole lemon and a bit of the peel. Finally, I top it up with liquid – cold tea from the day before, coconut water, aronia juice, or just water. Blend for about 1 minute (depending on the blender), then add some good-quality plant oils and, if desired, a little fish oil at the end, and blend for another 10 seconds.

I’m often asked which blender I use. It’s this really good blender, the best I’ve ever had: Vitamix A23001 www.kitchenone.dk/vitamix/

The pre-mix sachets can also be made using a recipe; try, for example, this recipe for an immune-boosting ANTIOXIDANT VITAMIN C SMOOTHIE

Preparing the ingredients

Make it easy for yourself
Chop fruit and veg on days when you have plenty of time, and freeze them. Spread everything out in a single layer in the freezer bag, as otherwise it can be difficult to separate them. Before you go on holiday, freeze any produce that would otherwise go off whilst you’re away.

Buy organic frozen fruit and veg
The nutritional content of frozen produce is very well preserved, and it makes it quick and easy to make smoothies. At the same time, frozen ingredients make the smoothie lovely and cold.

The superfoods box
If you enjoy drinking smoothies, put together a box of superfoods, such as: linseeds, chia seeds, bee pollen, spirulina, oils, nuts, etc. You’ll save precious time on busy mornings by having everything in one place.

Get more tips & tricks for your smoothie here.

All the best,

Mette Skjærbæk