Like we’ve talked about before, green smoothies are an excellent way to pack nutrients, vitamins, and minerals into your pregnancy diet without overdoing it on the energy end. Since you only need about 300 extra calories in the second and third trimesters, meals like this are a great way to avoid gaining excess pregnancy weight.

Other benefits of green smoothies are:

• Increased energy
• Improved mood
• Better skin
• Good source of nutrients for baby, like Vitamin C, Vitamin A, magnesium, B vitamins, folic acid, and many more

But let’s face it…sometimes we just don’t have enough time in the morning to grab each ingredient out of the freezer. You know the mornings we’re talking about: your alarm didn’t go off, the power went out, the kids are having a meltdown, and you can’t find that one top you wanted to wear. And then you’re supposed to have time to make breakfast?! Enter green smoothie bags.

These guys take all of the prep work out of breakfast! Plus, they are easy to assemble- making for a super smooth start to your busy day.

To prepare 5 green smoothie bags you will need:

• 5 Quart-sized ziploc bags

• 5-10 cups of frozen berries/mixed fruit

• 1 and ¼ cup orange juice concentrate

• 1 large bag of baby spinach. then threw em in the freezer.

In each bag you will put 1-2 cups fruit, 1 large handful of spinach, and ¼ cup orange juice concentrate. Then you just throw all the bags in the freezer until you’re ready for a smoothie!

When you’re ready to make one, you’ll break up the clumps a bit, empty the contents of the bag into your blender with 1.5 cups of liquid (half milk, half water is a good amount) and voila! Throw that baby in a cup and hit the door!

What are some of your favorite smoothie recipes? We would love to hear them!