Smoothie Packets for the Freezer: Berry and Banana

I don't know if you've ever seen those fruit smoothie packets in the freezer section of your grocery store; they are usually fairly expensive and may contain fruit your family won't eat. The following smoothie packets are easily made at home and also make great gifts for friends' freezers (think: new moms, etc.). I use 2 kits' worth to make 5 smoothies (each is about 8 ounces or so)--see below original recipe for my family's preferred version.

~From The Good Neighbor Cookbook

• 4 c. frozen blueberries (can use fresh when in season)
• 4 c. frozen strawberries (can use fresh when in season)
• 4 bananas, sliced
• 1 quart orange juice*
• 2 c. plain yogurt*

Divide blueberries, strawberries, and bananas among four 1-quart Ziploc bags and freeze. For each kit, puree in the blender with 1 cup of juice and 1/2 cup of yogurt. Each kit makes 2 generous servings.

*My version makes enough for 2 kits at a time, feeding my family of 5 nicely. We've swapped the orange juice and yogurt amounts so we get more protein. They are thick smoothies, but still drinkable by straw.

2 bananas, sliced
3-4 cups mixed frozen berries (or all one kind--totally depends on what we have)
OR 3-4 cups mixed frozen fruit (Dole makes a nice blend that has pineapple, strawberry, mango...)
2 c. plain yogurt
1 c. orange juice

Blend all together!

Other notes: I now peel bananas and freeze them whole in a large Ziploc bag (they don't turn brown in the freezer even though they've been peeled). I keep frozen fruit on hand. And we nearly always have plain yogurt on hand. If I don't have orange juice, I'll use milk. Or, depending on the fruit I'm using, I'll use lemon juice to taste and add a little sugar. So we whip these up once a week or so. They make GREAT portable breakfast options.