[jourdain]

I'm following the YOU diet and they have lots of yummy looking recipes for smoothies, etc. The problem is this, I get up every morning at 5:00 am for school and my wife and 11-month old are still sleeping. Our house is set up so that the blender would definitely NOT be a good idea (actually any sort of cooking at that time in the morning is a no-no)... it wouldn't be a good thing for either of them to be up at that time.

Any ideas on if making a smoothie the night before would work? I know it probably wouldn't be as creamy, but worth a try? Any other ideas would be appreciated.

[northernstar]

It only takes a few seconds to whip up a smoothie - would that make a difference in using the blender?
Are those little hand blenders quieter? I've never used one, but you can find some very inexpensive ones that might work well.
I wouldn't make it the night before - depending what you put in, it might take a turn for the worse overnight, tastewise. If you're putting protein powder in it, forget it. You need to drink it as soon as its mixed as it will not be readily digested after a night in the fridge.

[Suzanne 3FC]

I've never had any luck making smoothies in advance. They get kind of gross, particularly if you add protein powder. My suggestion would be to go ahead and blend the fruit and liquid and store it in the fridge, then add the protein powder the next morning. You could put it in a shaker with ice cubes. You can also buy plastic shaker cups at nutrition stores that have an insert to help them blend, and it's much quieter than a blender However, it still might be yucky. There will be a lot of trial and error involved.

[sportmom]

I store the protein smoothies, but no more than 4 hours from breakfast to having the last 1/2 at lunch, and would agree that it's pretty much close to being past its prime even at that time. My container (Designer Whey) also warns you not to store overnite bc protein powder has the potential to grow bacteria very quickly once mixed (or so they say). A friend in my office brought in a hand mixer for all of us to use for our protein powders or powdered slimfast concoctions. That worked well - it takes only seconds to mix.

[Tara D]

I wonder if you made a week's worth and froze them, would they turn out ok after a partial thaw....???

[alinnell]

Smoothies tend to separate--even if you freeze it. My hand blender is no quieter than a regular blender (IMO). Maybe they make an adapter that you can plug into your car!!