A question for smoothie makers (eg, Vitamix, Ninja, Blendtec owners)

[TwoBees]

Do you ever make your smoothies in advance and refrigerate, such as the night before? Do they keep well? Do some fruits and veggies work better for this than others?

[lhafer]

Do you ever make your smoothies in advance and refrigerate, such as the night before? Do they keep well? Do some fruits and veggies work better for this than others?

I find that s.oothies tend to separate, so I don't do those the night before. Versus juicing (with a juicer), which you can do beforehand.

[twowhat?]

In our experience they do not keep well at all unless frozen (well-wrapped - squeeze out all the air!) shortly after making it. Once frozen, if you want them smoothie-like again you will have to blend again. But to me they are better just eaten as popsicles at that point.

I think a lot of it is that the fresh fruit/veggies start to oxidize which really changes the taste. If not frozen, they will also separate and the texture gets all funky.

I try hard to make just enough that we will finish it all in one sitting. I need to get some popsicle molds though for when we have leftovers.

[TwoBees]

I try hard to make just enough that we will finish it all in one sitting. I need to get some popsicle molds though for when we have leftovers.

My issue is the noise the blender makes at 6 in the morning, when DH and DD are still sleeping. :(

[twowhat?]

My issue is the noise the blender makes at 6 in the morning, when DH and DD are still sleeping. :(

Can you take it out to the garage or something to run it? :) Or just have everything ready to go and run it right as they wake up?

[georgiegirl]

Actually, ours have stayed good in the fridge for a day and it still tastes good. Sometimes, DS won't finish his smoothie and I just stick it in the fridge and he will drink it throughout the day. Once we even left it overnight, and the kids still drank it.

[eagle]

sometimes i make it in the morning and have leftovers. i dont freeze the leftovers. i just stick them in the fridge. when i drink it that night or even the next morning, i just give it a good stir with a spoon. thats it! still tastes good.

[OKKiddo]

My issue is the noise the blender makes at 6 in the morning, when DH and DD are still sleeping. :(

The first couple of days that my DH did it at 5:30am I thought he was vacuuming a mess in the basement. And we have a Kirby so that's what I chalked the noise up to, lol!

[OKKiddo]

Actually, ours have stayed good in the fridge for a day and it still tastes good. Sometimes, DS won't finish his smoothie and I just stick it in the fridge and he will drink it throughout the day. Once we even left it overnight, and the kids still drank it.

Yep, we do this too. It might be because we bought those smoothie cups from Jamba Juice all those years back though. It keeps them nice and they taste the same as when we first did them. I do tend to over-ice though because I like 'em thick, so that could have something to do with it too.

[geochick]

We haven't had any luck with blending ahead - everything separates. Alton Brown puts his ingredients in the blender (even the frozen stuff) the night before, and stores the blender jar in the refrigerator overnight. He pulls it out and blends for 1 minute in the morning. That's still one minute of noise for you, though.

[twowhat?]

sometimes i make it in the morning and have leftovers. i dont freeze the leftovers. i just stick them in the fridge. when i drink it that night or even the next morning, i just give it a good stir with a spoon. thats it! still tastes good.

I'm curious what kind of blenders folks are using who say it still tastes good the next morning.

I have a theory that a Vitamix breaks down the ingredients to such an extent that the separation/taste changes are a bigger problem. For us, even 2 hours makes a difference in the way our smoothies taste if I try to store them in the fridge. We have a Vitamix.

[georgiegirl]

I have a vitamix. Granted I've only had it for a few weeks and refrigerated smoothies twice, but nothing every separated.

[AnnieW625]

We have a Waring Bar Blender and have put the extra in the fridge and it has been fine the next day. Sometimes I might have to stir it up, but for the most part it has been fine.

[mypa]

I do all the time because we usually do not drink right away. There is separation, but I either stir it with the straw I'm drinking with or DH shakes the bottle I give him to take to work, which he usually drinks for lunch.

I have had the smoothie sit in the fridge overnight and it was fine, the color and flavor remained the next day, just shake or stir. I put DH's in these 20oz rubbermaid bottles I got at Target. He just shakes and drinks.

http://www.target.com/p/rubbermaid-chug-personal-bottle-value-pack-clear-4-pack/-/A-12822852#prodSlot=medium_1_17&term=rubbermaid

The key for me is to add lemon, about a quarter piece. In fact, I do a lot of prep ahead. Now, this is for the typical green smoothie I make and the green color remains, not sure how it will be with other types of smoothies.

This is how I prep for the week. In a quart size zip loc bag (4-5 for the week) I cut and add the following:

1-2 apples (depending on size of apple), quartered, core taken out, cut each piece in half.
1-2 carrots, cut in 1-2 in pieces.
1 orange, rind removed, quartered, white pith can remain.
1/4 piece of lemon, seeds taken out, rind removed, white pith can remain.
1-2 leaves of well washed kale, ribs taken out.

When I'm ready to make the smoothie, I add about a cup of water to the blender, add 1-2 hand-full of spinach, dump the ingredients from the zip loc bag, 1 frozen banana (quartered), add chia seeds, flax, or whatever else, then blend away. This usually makes enough for two 16-20 oz servings.

I do my prep on Sunday for the rest of the week. I found that if I had to take out all the fruits and veggies out of the fridge, wash and cut them every time I made a smoothie, it took too much time and I was less likely to make it. Also, since DH started taking the smoothie to work (I drink mine as an afternoon snack), I had to find a quick way to make it in the morning.

I have a BlendTec.

[minnie-zb]

I have a vitamix. Granted I've only had it for a few weeks and refrigerated smoothies twice, but nothing every separated.

:yeahthat:

I always pour my leftovers into a glass and use the leftovers later in the day.

[TwoBees]

Thanks everyone. I'd like to start drinking green smoothies, but noise in the morning is a big issue. I leave the house more than an hour and a half before DD and DH get up in the morning. It looks like I might just have to experiment. If I can make drinking green smoothies a regular thing, then maybe I can justify the purchase of a better blender (we have an old Oster). I do like the idea of using the blender in the garage though...



The key for me is to add lemon, about a quarter piece. In fact, I do a lot of prep ahead. Now, this is for the typical green smoothie I make and the green color remains, not sure how it will be with other types of smoothies.



Is the lemon used to prevent oxidation of the fruits?

[mypa]

Yes, the lemon is to prevent oxidation of fruits when it's cut and in the storage bags and also after it's been blended. There is no lemon flavor to the smoothie.

I do want to add that while there is no lemon flavor, I find the addition of lemon to "brighten" up whatever smoothies I make.

[mackmama]

I don't because they separate pretty quickly.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

In our experience they do not keep well at all unless frozen .

:yeahthat: though my DC have drank refrigerated smoothie before (disclaimer: my kids are not picky eaters, in general..*I* wouldn't drink refrigerated smoothie). it will only keep for a few hours though..it tends to separate. also, things like banana tend to get funky texture.

what i usually do is put them in a Sili Squeeze or popsicle mold and freeze them. t hen either eat frozen as popsicle (ds loves this) or with sili squeeze, thaw them for a day and so they can be eaten as a slushy/puree thing.

maybe you can make smoothies for dinner? my dc stopped drinking in them in the morning, as it was getting to hectic to make them with me rushing off to work. i started making them when i got home, as a pre-dinner thing.

i hear ya on the noise issue. my old blender was pretty quiet, but the Vitamix makes it sound like a plane is taking off in the kitchen. my ds wears ear muffs when i run it.

[bisous]

We are experiencing the exact same issue. Noise is a concern for DH too who leaves at 5:30 and the rest of us get up at 7. I think we're going to have everything prepped and ready to just throw in and blend. We're considering blending in the backyard!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I'm curious what kind of blenders folks are using who say it still tastes good the next morning.

I have a theory that a Vitamix breaks down the ingredients to such an extent that the separation/taste changes are a bigger problem. For us, even 2 hours makes a difference in the way our smoothies taste if I try to store them in the fridge. We have a Vitamix.

yes, this is my experience too with a Vitamix. i would not drink a smoothie if it had been in the fridge for more than, say an hour. maybe i'm just picky but the taste/texture is totally different. almost all our smoothies have banana in it and the taste/texture gets funky, and it separates. also, i prefer my smoothies somewhat slushy & pretty cold (brain-freeze level). :)

however, my kids have drunk smoothie that had been in fridge for 8+ hours (e.g. they didn't want int the morning but then drank it when coming home in the evening), but then again, DD would eat a day-old scrap of sausage that she found on the floor, so that's not saying much :)

[urquie]

I'm curious what kind of blenders folks are using who say it still tastes good the next morning.

I have a theory that a Vitamix breaks down the ingredients to such an extent that the separation/taste changes are a bigger problem. For us, even 2 hours makes a difference in the way our smoothies taste if I try to store them in the fridge. We have a Vitamix.


We have a vitamix and I prep a green smoothie (minus the frozen pineapple and a handful of ice) the night before and hide it in the fridge... Under a dish towel, behind everything, lest my kids see what they are drinking. I think it tastes okay, a few hours later, kids do not agree. 8+ hours later and I will force it down. If there is kale in it, it is considerably worse, more quickly and tastes horrid the next day! We have a bit of separation, but it's easily stirred together.

[urbanmommy]

I do all the time because we usually do not drink right away. There is separation, but I either stir it with the straw I'm drinking with or DH shakes the bottle I give him to take to work, which he usually drinks for lunch.

I have had the smoothie sit in the fridge overnight and it was fine, the color and flavor remained the next day, just shake or stir. I put DH's in these 20oz rubbermaid bottles I got at Target. He just shakes and drinks.

http://www.target.com/p/rubbermaid-chug-personal-bottle-value-pack-clear-4-pack/-/A-12822852#prodSlot=medium_1_17&term=rubbermaid

The key for me is to add lemon, about a quarter piece. In fact, I do a lot of prep ahead. Now, this is for the typical green smoothie I make and the green color remains, not sure how it will be with other types of smoothies.

This is how I prep for the week. In a quart size zip loc bag (4-5 for the week) I cut and add the following:

1-2 apples (depending on size of apple), quartered, core taken out, cut each piece in half.
1-2 carrots, cut in 1-2 in pieces.
1 orange, rind removed, quartered, white pith can remain.
1/4 piece of lemon, seeds taken out, rind removed, white pith can remain.
1-2 leaves of well washed kale, ribs taken out.

When I'm ready to make the smoothie, I add about a cup of water to the blender, add 1-2 hand-full of spinach, dump the ingredients from the zip loc bag, 1 frozen banana (quartered), add chia seeds, flax, or whatever else, then blend away. This usually makes enough for two 16-20 oz servings.

I do my prep on Sunday for the rest of the week. I found that if I had to take out all the fruits and veggies out of the fridge, wash and cut them every time I made a smoothie, it took too much time and I was less likely to make it. Also, since DH started taking the smoothie to work (I drink mine as an afternoon snack), I had to find a quick way to make it in the morning.

I have a BlendTec.

This is a great idea to add the lemon. Might be a dumb question but would lime work the same?

To the op - does making your smoothies in the morning actually wake up your family or are you just worried it will? I was worried about it but my kids sleep through the noise and our house is not huge and the baby's room is right above the kitchen.


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[twowhat?]

yes, this is my experience too with a Vitamix. i would not drink a smoothie if it had been in the fridge for more than, say an hour. maybe i'm just picky but the taste/texture is totally different.

Haha - this might be part of it. I also like my smoothies to have that slushiness and once the ice/frozen bits have all melted, it ruins part of the texture for me.

I also totally agree that throwing a wedge of lemon into the smoothie helps with the oxidation issue...but I can still taste a difference after a couple of hours. But again, maybe it's a pickiness issue:)

[teresah00]

I don't like to drink them after an hour or so. I'll leave DS2's in the fridge but he's not picky.


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[urquie]

This is a great idea to add the lemon. Might be a dumb question but would lime work the same?

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2

I use lime and always will... it's possible that my kids think their green smoothie is green, because of the lime. :loveeyes: