Freezer Smoothie Bags

There is no better time to enjoy a daily smoothie than during the hottest season of the year. Fill your freezer with pre-made individual sized drop-in-the-blender smoothie bags. 

This post is brought to you in partnership with Naked Nutrition. It also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

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The days are getting warmer and longer (hello sunset at 9pm) and more humid. The last thing I want to do is heat up a warm meal or sit and chew on a salad. Smoothies are the perfect replacement for breakfast, lunch or dare I say, dinner! They are so versatile by using your favorite fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. Then throw in some fancy powders and you have yourself one of the healthiest drinks EVER. 

My least favorite part of making smoothies used to be the cleanup. However, I learned a little trick to clean the blender super quick. Just rinse out the blender after use, fill halfway with hot water and drop in some dish soap. Turn the blender back on and bam - your blender just got a nice little cleaning.

Click to tweet: Genius - pre-made individual sized drop-in-the-blender smoothie bags!

Another thing I dislike about making smoothies is gathering all of the ingredients. Trying to manage and entertain a 3 month old can make simple things impossible and then my healthy smoothie turns into me grabbing a bag of chips or a dozen cookies. That's where pre-made individual sized drop-in-the-blender smoothie bags come into play. 

My favorite type of smoothies are simple. I can't really be bothered with loads of ingredients to make a new flavor each day. I typically just buy whatever frozen fruit is on sale or freeze my overly ripe fruit, some type of green, and freeze almond or coconut milk in ice cube trays. This is the basis of a delicious smoothie.

Pre-made Individual Sized Drop-In-The-Blender Smoothie Bags

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls frozen fruit
• handful frozen kale
• 2 ice cubes frozen almond or coconut milk
• fold top sandwich storage bags

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in fold top sandwich storage bag.
2. Store multiple sandwich bags in a gallon sized freezer bag and keep in freezer until ready to use.

How To Make Smoothie

1. Blend fruit, kale, frozen almond or coconut milk, and 8 ounces water in Ninja blender until smooth. 
2. *Optional: pulse in 1-2 scoops Naked Whey, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and a few dashes ground cinnamon. 
3. Enjoy!

Naked Whey protein powder is the only protein powder I feel comfortable using while nursing. It contains only one ingredient (grass fed whey protein) with 25 grams of protein per serving. And you will love that it's gluten free and soy free too!

*Get 10% off Naked Nutrition products by using the code 'JENNATL' upon checkout. 

What are some of your favorite ingredients for smoothies?

Have you ever made smoothie bags before?

PIN for later. 

Candied Almonds

Almonds are chock-full of healthy fats, fiber, protein, magnesium, and vitamin E. They make for a great snack to help reduce hunger and promote weight loss. Take those tasty almonds and coat them in sweet cinnamon sugar and you have a delicious snack. Best yet, make a large batch and throw extras in the freezer to snack on later or to put on top of salads. 
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Happy 2017! I hope you all had a fun and safe welcome into the New Year and that this year is one of your best years yet.

The turn of each new year is a great time to reflect on your past and focus on future goals. I know there are loads of you out there making fitness/health goals, educational goals, family planning goals, and life journey goals. I too set aside some time to really get a good grasp on what I want to get out of 2017.

This year will be a year to remember - but so has the past several years.

In 2011, I married the love of my life and moved from Michigan to California so that we could live a happily married life. And in 2012, we moved from Northern California to Indiana for A's job. Then in 2013 we purchased our first home in Indiana.

2015 took us from Indiana to Maryland, where we purchased our second home. And last year, we moved once more. This time from Maryland to Missouri and purchased our third home.

2016 was also the year that we found out we were expecting our first baby - a baby girl! Baby Girl is expected to make her grand appearance in February, and this will be one of the many great events that will take place this year.

So to start the year out, I am planning and prepping for Baby Girl's arrival. The house is being cleaned and organized, and the freezer is being packed with ready-made items. One of these freezer items include delicious candied almonds.

Click to tweet: Almonds are full of healthy fats & fiber. They also promote weight loss.

Several months ago I shared the recipe for gebrannte mandeln, translating to candied almonds from German. They are so tasty as a snack that I eat them by the handful, but they are also really great on salads. Plus they fare extremely well in the freezer so you can make a big batch and just throw them in the freezer for future use. And let's not forget that almonds contain healthy fats, fiber, protein, magnesium, and vitamin E. They can reduce hunger and promote weight loss - we can just forget they are coated in sugary goodness!

Candied Almonds

Recipe by a traveling Wife

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons Water
• 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar, separated
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 12 ounces Raw Almonds
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Cooking Directions

1. Using a dutch oven, bring water and 1 cup sugar to a boil over medium heat
2. Add almonds and stir, stir, stir
3. Once the water has dissolved and the sugar starts to stick to the almond (roughly 5-8 minutes, or longer), add vanilla extract and remaining sugar
4. Stir for another 1-3 minutes until sugar is to your desired clumpiness or smoothness
5. Pour onto silpat and allow to cool completely
6. Enjoy!

Did you make any New Year's resolutions?

What are some of your favorite ready-made freezer items?

PIN this recipe for later.