Warmer weather is on the horizon as Spring arrives and begins to bring life back to the planet. With warm weather comes outdoor activities, over-heating and generally feeling too uncomfortable to eat at times. Luckily, we can always whip up a smoothie whenever we’re not in the mood to eat in the heat. Most smoothies are healthy too, and can help you get all of the fruits and vegetables that you need in a day. However, smoothies can cost an arm and a leg if you’re not careful. These ten tips will help you reduce the price of your everyday smoothie, so you can eat right without having to pay an arm and a leg for it.
1. Blend at Home
There are some great smoothie and juice chains and restaurants available to the everyday consumer. However, most of these locations can get away with charging a whole lot of money for their product. There’s not a whole lot of competition out there for these restaurants, so the prices they offer don’t have to be competitive. They also blend in some ingredients that could cost quite a bit of money, depending on season, but aren’t necessary in a healthy smoothie. Your best bet to a healthy and money savvy smoothie is to steer clear of these places. You can easily buy the items needed to blend your own smoothie for a whole lot less. In fact, for the price of one smoothie at a restaurant, you could blend six or more in your own home. This will make your blending more health conscious too. You can even invest in smoothie cups that will allow you to have your drink on the go.
2. Skip Pre-packaged
Many companies have jumped on the smoothie bandwagon and produce smoothie mixes that seem to make your life easier. Companies like Yoplait and restaurants like Jamba Juice, have plenty of flavors on the market for you to choose from in the freezer section. However, these packages cost a small fortune when you buy them for everyday use. Since most only contain small servings, you can easily get the ingredients you need for the same smoothie at a smaller price. Skipping these packages will also help you avoid getting too much sugar into your diet, as many of the yoghurts added into these mixes are sweetened and unhealthy for you.
3. Go Light on Fruit
When most people think of smoothies, they tend to want to go with fruit as much as they can. From the classic strawberry banana smoothie to all fruit smoothies from stores and restaurants, this can be a quick way to add too much sugar to your diet. Not to mention, blending fruit alone can cost you an arm and a leg. Some fruits, like berries, require a lot of produce to make a smoothie, so you may find yourself shopping all of the time for items to toss into a smoothie. The best thing to do to save money is to supplement all those fruits with a few grains and vegetables. For instance, leafy greens are a must when it comes to smoothies as they provide so many nutrients and can be stretched incredibly far. You may also want to consider adding in oatmeal. This adds to the nutrition level and will help keep you full for so much longer.
4. Ditch Dairy
A lot of people believe that smoothies need yogurt or milk in order to make them complete. However, dairy doesn’t have to be a part of your smoothie regime. Instead, you can easily replace it with water if you’re looking to reduce the calories that you intake in a day. Other than that, you can use almond milk or other milk substitutes to help create the creamy flavor that you’ve come to love in your smoothie. After some time of this, you may feel a little healthier and your budget won’t be as weighed down by your smoothie choices.
5. Shop In Season
If you’re on a budget with your smoothies, then the best thing you can do is shop seasonal whenever you can. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a smoothie with ingredients that are out of season. One of the best ways to tackle your cravings for out of season produce is to shop for it when it’s in season. From there, you can easily chop up the items and move them into the freezer so you can have them when the craving arises. This will allow you to shop produce sales too, so you can find what you need in bulk in a hurry. Of course, if you don’t like frozen then simply shop seasonal and work with what Mother Earth provides you with. This can be one of the easiest ways to fight off colds, the flu and even allergies.
6. Splurge on the Blender
When it comes to making smoothies, the ingredients are only a small portion of the drink. The blender pays more of a role than you think it does. In fact, if your blender is subpar then you may wind up hating all of the drinks that you make. That’s why, you should splurge on a blender if you know you’re going to be making smoothies frequently. Luckily, there’s a lot of great reviews out there when it comes to purchasing a blender. You may want to do your research this way before you actually make the investment. There are many brands available that can help you make a professional quality smoothie with little effort at all. Plus, if you invest in a great blender it can help you with all of your other meal preparation needs.
7. Go Nutty
Nuts aren’t exactly the cheapest option at the grocery store, but when it comes to your smoothies it can save you some money and improve your overall health. If you have a pecan tree or other form of nut tree in your yard then you’re already doing good. You can get the nut component for nothing at all. However, if you don’t then it is always wise to wait for a sale on bulk nuts. This will cut costs and give you more product to work with. You don’t have to use a lot of nuts in your smoothie either as a little goes a long way. You won’t want to overdo it here either as it will boost calories substantially. The nuts will help you stay full longer though and even offer more nutrition than you’d get at a smoothie restaurant.
8. Seek Recipes
One of the biggest battles when it comes to smoothies is finding good recipes. There’s thousands of
recipes online from people who love smoothies and eat them every day. This doesn’t mean that every smoothie you come across is going to taste fantastic. When it comes to recipes, don’t make bulk batches until you know how the smoothie tastes. This will cut down on waste and allow you to enjoy the process of trying new things. You may want to follow some of the blogs on smoothies too, because if you can find someone with similar tastes to you then you may run into a recipe goldmine. When you seek out recipes you may also want to base your search on ingredients you already have. This will help you to use up what’s in the home, so you don’t have to buy a lot more food.
9. Freeze Leftovers
It’s not always the easiest to make the right portions of smoothies, especially when you’re winging it. So, more often than not, money gets sent down the tube because there are too many leftovers for someone to drink straight away. This can make people not want to enjoy making smoothies anymore. However, there is a solution to the problem. If you like to take a smoothie to work with you each day, then simply freeze the excess in a mug or jar. You can put it in the fridge to thaw over night or you can take it with you frozen for a treat later in the day. You can also turn your leftovers into fun popsicles for the kids. This will teach them to eat healthier while ensuring they also enjoy the food.
10. Shop Clearance
Some people avoid clearance produce at all costs, but when it comes to making smoothies it could be one of the best things you can do. Usually, clearance produce still has some shelf life left so you won’t have to eat it straight away. The best thing you can do is cut it and freeze it right away though. Then, you won’t have to worry about it going bad. However, you could easily take it home and blend it right away too. This will give you a fresh smoothie that you can enjoy for a price that is less than what you’d normally spend on a smoothie. If you find a lot of clearance produce then you will be well on your way to great smoothies without spending as much of your food budget, which will allow you to splurge elsewhere. It will also teach your children not to waste food, which is a great lesson.
Smoothies aren’t just a passing food trend. They’re a great way to get in nutrition, while cooling down the body. With these ten tips, you should be able to find the savings you need to ensure you get to enjoy your smoothies for a lot less money than you’d expect.
