wild you smoothie Archives - Wild Blueberries

5 Smoothies to Keep You Hydrated All Summer Long

Drinking fluids or staying hydrated is an important part of staying healthy and maintaining the function of every system in the body. The recommendation is to consume 30 to 50 ounces of fluid per day. Good old water will always do the trick, but these five summer smoothie recipes can also quench your thirst.

Wild Blueberry Watermelon Smoothie

There are few things that are as satisfying as a ripe, cool watermelon on a hot summer day. With just four-ingredients, this #WildYourSmoothie recipe by Frances Largeman-Roth, RD is sure to quench your thirst. Frozen Wild Blueberries add a pop of intense blueberry flavor that’s sweet, tart, and tangy. We suggest using chilled coconut water, plain or lime, to up your electrolytes for a complete refresh.

Wild Blueberry and Tart Cherry Recovery Smoothie

Fitness enthusiasts will love this Wild Blueberry ultimate recovery smoothie by Danielle Omar, MS, RDN of Food Confidence. She calls it her natural Gatorade – incredibly refreshing with no added sugars. This #WildYourSmoothie recipe is the perfect healthy reward after a long, sweaty workout!

Wild Blueberry Lemonade Smoothie

On hot summer days, we may not feel like eating much but know our bodies need nutrients. This#WildYourSmoothie takes the mouth-watering combo of frozen Wild Blueberries and lemon and makes it protein-rich by adding Greek yogurt and your favorite vanilla protein powder. Cool off and replenish with this smoothie ASAP.

Wild Blueberry Agua Fresca Smoothie

Two summers ago, Carlene Thomas, RDN, LD of Healthfully Ever After created this smoothie recipe for our Wild Blueberry Harvest Tour #WildYourSmoothie competition. While the competition was tough, we all agreed that this was the perfect choice for a day of intense heat and activity. We’ve even thrown this smoothie once it’s whipped up into the popsicle mold for a frozen, guilt-free treat perfect for a hot summer evening.

Wild Blueberry Creamsicle Smoothie

Who doesn’t long for the carefree days of childhood and sharing a treat with a friend? We may have the answer with this #WildYourSmoothie recipe by Alisa Fleming of GoDairyFree.org. This smoothie is everything, except the added sugar, that we remember from one of our childhood summer treats – the orange creamsicle. Frozen Wild Blueberries give this smoothie its sweetness and will make you forget all about that treat on a wooden stick.

Top 5 Smoothie Making Hacks

Let’s face it – we love smoothies for their convenience, ease and portability. However, in the busy mornings we know that every minute (and every second!) counts. So while it may not take that long to make a smoothie for breakfast before you head out the door, there are some time-saving tips for smoothie making that can help you hit the snooze button one more time, get to the office before everyone else or even better, carve out some time for morning self-care.

I love taking time on Sundays to prep meals for the week ahead. This makes the workweek less chaotic and allows me to carve out some “me time” during the weekly grind. My morning routine is sacred to me. I gave up checking my phone and emails upon waking a long time ago. Now my mornings are my quiet time to meditate or practice yoga to start the day feeling grounded and present. The only way I can find the time to practice self-care in the morning is if I plan ahead and make breakfasts for the week on Sunday.

Now, you may be thinking how can I prepare ahead of time for smoothies? Well, I’ve got 5 simple smoothie-making hacks to share with you today to help make your weekday mornings stress-free.

Make smoothie freezer packs. Ever feel like smoothie making is quite the production? Do you have a counter filled with bags of frozen fruit, liquids, greens, powders, nuts and seeds? Does it take you forever to find that bag of walnuts at the back of the cupboard? Ever wish you could just have all your smoothie-making ingredients ready to go in one place to throw in the blender? You can! Portion out your smoothie ingredients like frozen Wild Blueberries, sliced bananas and kale into freezer Ziploc bags at the beginning of the week and label them with the date and type of smoothie. Come morning all you have to do is open up the bag, toss the contents into your blender, add liquid and blend away!
Take advantage of the ice cube tray. With the ice cube tray, you can add a frosty consistency to your smoothies while adding flavor! No more diluting your smoothie’s flavor with regular ice cubes; think about freezing liquids like coconut milk, juice, coffee or tea. Simply add a few liquid ice cubes to your smoothie and cut the amount of liquid added in half. However, with frozen Wild Blueberries, you don’t have to worry about using ice cubes or diluting your smoothie – they help keep your smoothie cold while packing in deliciously sweet flavor, which is just one of the many reasons I love using them in smoothies. For another time-saver, pre-portion yogurt into ice cube trays and add the yogurt cubes to your smoothie freezer packs!
Don’t waste about-to-turn produce. We’ve all been there – you buy a bunch of bananas only to watch them turn brown in your fruit bowl. Rather than tossing them, avoid food waste and take advantage of their ripeness and flavor and use in smoothies! Puree extra ripe bananas and store in ice cube trays or simply slice them and store in Ziploc freezer bags. Take ‘em out when you’re ready for your banana-powered smoothie.
Batch-make smoothies. Heard of batch cooking to help you save time and energy during the week? It involves making a large portion of a meal to refrigerate or freeze to enjoy later in the week. Well, you can batch-make smoothies too! Make 3-4+ servings of your favorite smoothie recipe on Sunday evening and pre-portion them into mason jars. All you’ll have to do in the morning is grab a mason jar, give it a good shake (as the contents will begin to separate) and be on your way!
Turn leftovers into popsicles. Food waste is one of my biggest pet peeves so I try to repurpose leftovers whenever I get the chance and smoothies are no exception to this rule! Whenever you make too much of a smoothie and have leftovers, pour the remaining smoothie into a popsicle mold and freeze for a refreshing treat another day.

Ready to start hacking away at your smoothie hacks? Try my Wild Blue Velvet smoothie recipe below. You can freeze the yogurt in an ice cube tray and make smoothie freezer packs with frozen Wild Blueberries, beets and yogurt. Toss the contents into the blender in the morning, add your powder and liquid and you’re ready to conquer the day!

Dessert for Breakfast: Wild Blueberry Banana Split Smoothie Bowl

Ice cream is by far my favorite dessert. It’s the perfect blend of cold, creamy and delicious. I have often said if I could have one food wish it would be to eat as much ice cream as I wanted (French fries, too, but that’s a whole different story)!

Since I don’t recommend ice cream consumption on a daily basis, I love looking for ice-cream-like substitutes. Blended banana ice cream is one. Have you tried that yet? It’s super easy. You just blend frozen bananas with your high powered blender and voila, you have ice cream. I don’t always have frozen bananas on hand so it helps to plan ahead.

Smoothie bowls are another way to “ice cream” deliciousness. A smoothie bowl is super simple too. You just whip up your favorite smoothie combination (making sure to keep it thick) and eat it with a spoon out of a bowl, rather than slurping it up through a straw. An added benefit of a smoothie bowl is that you can add lots of fun toppings.

This Wild Blueberry Banana Split Smoothie Bowl is my take on the beloved favorite. Believe it or not, the banana split was invented over 100 years ago! Walgreens pharmacy in Chicago is credited with spreading the popularity of the now legendary banana split (as well as the malted milkshake and a few other ice cream treasures). Back in the 1920’s, your local drug stores also had soda fountains, serving ice cream and milkshakes while you waited to pick up your prescriptions. Once they started serving the banana split sundae, it quickly became a hit across all of their Illinois stores, and eventually nationwide, making the banana split a household name.

What I love about my Wild Blueberry Banana Split Smoothie Bowl is that it’s creamy and decadent, just like the real thing. It’s also super cold, thanks to the frozen Wild Blueberries and my keep-the-bananas-in-the-fridge trick. Wild Blueberries are frozen within 24 hours of harvest, when their flavor and antioxidant goodness are at their peak. Wild Blueberries contain less water than regular blueberries so when frozen, they maintain their shape, color, flavor and nutritional value. This makes for a potent dose of antioxidant power with every bite!

To keep this dessert nice and thick, I blend the frozen fresh Wild Blueberries with chocolate hazelnut butter and just a little bit of almond milk. The creamy, chocolatey, nutty flavored base pairs perfectly with the cold bananas and fresh berries. Instead of a chocolate syrup topping I opt for cacao nibs. The nibs provide a healthy hit of chocolate taste (and some crunch) in each bite.

Compared to a real banana split, this smoothie bowl is downright healthy. It’s low in added sugar and big on intense Wild Blueberry flavor!