Tips on How to Store Smoothies for Later
Most people try as much as possible to make just enough smoothie recipes for the moment, whether it is because of the urge to consume only fresh smoothies or a fear of the leftover smoothie going bad.
Unlike juice, Smoothies can keep longer (usually 24 hours) before they are spoiled, given that you store the smoothie in the fridge.
Therefore, as a way to save yourself time and effort, one huge batch could handle your two-morning breakfast sessions. For busy people, this is a welcome idea. It’s better than making so many unnecessary rounds every morning.
7 Tips to Save Leftover Smoothies
Here are the seven simple tips on how to save smoothies for later:
- Look for a glass container or mason jar glass with an airtight lid. People prefer these jars due to the thick glass used to make them.
- Try as best as you can to fill the container to the full. No air spaces are to be left to prevent air into the container. Air is bad for the smoothie as it makes your meal less nutritious because nutrients are all but oxidized.
- Please keep them in the refrigerator; it will extend your smoothie’s freshness until 24 hours, which isn’t that bad.
- You could as well add some lemon juice to the contents. It contains vitamin C that’s normally anti-oxidative, keeping the nutrients fresh for a long time.
- When storing your drink in a refrigerator, try adding some gum thickeners to help keep the ingredients’ integrity, eliminating the challenge of separating ingredients.
- Ensure the mason jars you are using for storing the drink come with BPA free plastic lids.
- The extra smoothie can also be kept in ice cube trays to make ice cubes, which are practically easier to blend again later.
How long do smoothies last in the fridge?
The fridge will help you store your smoothies for just under 24 hours – not a long time. But, better than throwing the smoothie leftovers – as wastes!
Time has a very insignificant effect on the quality of the drink you’ve blended. Its taste, nutrition, and freshness are still intact. However, the blending process has exposed your fruits, veggies, or nuts to initial oxidation.
More than 24 hours and your smoothie quality is seriously affected. From the flavor to the taste and the nutritional value, you can be sure that the drink will be unpalatable. At this stage, the saved smoothie eating value has gone to the ground: it smells bad, looks bad (dark brown), and basically, you won’t even think twice about emptying the bad drink into the kitchen sink.
If you want to store smoothies successfully, seal the container tightly. Make sure that no air spaces are in the container. Or else, even the 24 hours the drinks are meant to stay safe for consumption might not elapse before they degrade.
The trapped air within the container can initiate and accelerate the oxidation of nutrients, enhancing fermentation and making (mostly the green smoothies) go bad quite easily, even after keeping the contents in the fridge.
The containers where the smoothies are stored should have their lids well fixed on them to avoid these processes that lead to degradation of the nutrients and the drinks at large. This would help to keep your drinks safe for consumption within 24 hours.
