Almond Cherry Smoothie Packs
This recipe is excerpted from Diabetes Create Your Plate Meal Prep Cookbook by Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND. Photographs by Alison Lima. Used with permission of Robert Rose Books. All rights reserved.
The trick to meal prepping smoothies is to make freezer packs. Just transfer the contents of your freezer pack right in your blender, add a little liquid and purée. Your morning smoothie is ready to go in less than 5 minutes.
You'll Need
- 5 cups (1.25 L) frozen pitted sweet cherries
- 15 ice cubes
- 10 tbsp (155 mL) raw almonds, coarsely chopped
- 11 ⁄4 tsp (6 mL) zero-calorie stevia sweetener (such as Truvia or Splenda)
- 1 ⁄2 tsp (2 mL) plus 1 ⁄8 tsp (0.5 mL) ground cinnamon
- 5 cups (1.25 L) unsweetened almond milk, divided
- Blender
How to Make It
- In each of five zip-top plastic bags, add 1 cup (250 mL) of the cherries, 3 of the ice cubes, 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the almonds, 1 ⁄4 tsp (1 mL) of the sweetener and 1 ⁄8 tsp (0.5 mL) of the cinnamon.
TO STORE: Seal, label and date the bags. Freeze for up to 2 months.
TO SERVE: Remove a bag from the freezer and pour the contents into the blender. Add 1 cup (250 mL) of the almond milk and blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.
TOBY'S TIP | Don't forget to chop the nuts before freezing. Once you take them out of the freezer they will be tough to chop and some blenders may not be able to handle them whole.
