Smoothies- freezing fruits/veggies question

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WorkInProgress909
WorkInProgress909 Posts: 271 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For those that make smoothies and freeze your fruits/veggies in portions for the week.
Which fruits and veggies do you freeze?

Can I do this with all fruits? I usually add cucumber to my smoothie I am assuming that wont freeze well ?

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  • CurlyCockney
    CurlyCockney Posts: 1,394 Member
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    I haven't tried cucumber, but I used to freeze whatever fruit was in season. Bananas didn't turn out too well if I recall correctly. I buy the bags of frozen fruit now (current fave is strawberry/banana mix), but I still freeze my spinach and kale.
  • yeahfatty
    yeahfatty Posts: 228 Member
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    from my experience bananas freeze super well. i haven't tried to freeze cucumbers either, however i can't imagine they freeze well either. i freeze all sorts of things though. berries, pineapple, melons & different types of greens.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I've frozen bananas before, the skin goes a yucky brown, but the inside stays good. I store them in the fridge now, same thing.
    You could try freezing the cucumber, but I think it might come out a mushy mess?? I might give it a try as my cucumbers always go bad before I can use it all. I don't have high hopes though.. :tongue:
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
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    I freeze over ripe bananas - just peel them, chop them and keep in a container. Perfect for smoothies, baking and making 'ice cream'.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    LLNN122 wrote: »
    Thanks guys. So you just throw them frozen into the blender? I use blendtec, you think it will be able to handle so much frozen fruits?

    Are oranges freezable? And once everything is frozen for how long do you consider it still good to use?
    (sorry I am new to freezing food)
    Peel the orange first and then cut it into fourths before you freeze it. The peeled frozen orange will work great in a smoothie.

  • gabbzygabbz
    gabbzygabbz Posts: 1 Member
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    So I saw where people said they freeze greens.. is their a process? I feel that they get weird when frozen ..(sometimes the froze in the fridge) and I would toss them :-( would love some suggestions. Thanks! And frozen bananas are delish!
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Most fruits will freeze fine for smoothies, because the texture doesn't matter as much. Thawed frozen strawberries, for example, are mushy as hell, but blending them up frozen works great.

    I peel and roughly chop my bananas before I freeze them to make it easier on my blender, but if you have a blendtec you may not need to worry about it. I have successfully frozen mango and peaches (also peeled and coarsely chopped or sliced), berries, cherries, watermelon, and grapes.
  • initialsdeebee
    initialsdeebee Posts: 83 Member
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    MakePeasNotWar wrote: »
    Most fruits will freeze fine for smoothies, because the texture doesn't matter as much. Thawed frozen strawberries, for example, are mushy as hell, but blending them up frozen works great.

    I peel and roughly chop my bananas before I freeze them to make it easier on my blender, but if you have a blendtec you may not need to worry about it. I have successfully frozen mango and peaches (also peeled and coarsely chopped or sliced), berries, cherries, watermelon, and grapes.

    This is key. It's important to know that many things, such as bananas and greens and strawberries, freeze just fine, but you've got to use them in a frozen state or bake with them or do something that makes them not even try to resemble their fresh form/texture.i.e. You cannot thaw hardly anything and then expect to serve it the way you would fresh and whole, except for maybe some berries. But as above, for smithies yeah, freeze whatever, cause you're blending it all to a mush anyway, and using then frozen makes the smoothie nice and thick too.
  • 5krissy
    5krissy Posts: 9 Member
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    in my experience berries (bluberries, rasberries) currants freeze well. other things like apricots, peaches, apples i chop up and weigh to 150g-200g and freeze in small bags. so when i make smoothies i have everything weighed , just take out to partially thaw, then blend part-frozen. comes out like ice cream:))
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
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    Bananas freeze very well and can stay "pretty", so long as you remove the skin and keep them from being exposed to too much air. I peel and wrap bananas (an aside, I usually cut them in half) in saran wrap and throw the lot in a large freezer bag.
    Also, frozen bananas are quite good by themselves right out of the freezer if you want a frozen creamy treat. Stick a popsicle stick in one end before wrapping in saran wrap and freezing, if you want to go all out.

    I don't drink smoothies that often but my husband has one every day for breakfast. I use frozen fruit from the freezer section of the grocery store (which are way more economical ime, and flash frozen when very fresh anyway, same with veggies), and freeze bananas myself.

    Can't help you with veg for smoothies. The closest I'll ever come again to drinking a tall cool glass of pureed vegetables is if I order a Bloody Mary.

  • ORgal
    ORgal Posts: 9 Member
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    I blend my greens & then freeze them in as small a cube as possible. This eliminates some of them going bad before I can use them & helps me eat more veggies.

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