While most people know the benefits of consuming green smoothies and juices, they may not know how to prepare these nutritional powerhouses in the midst of busy lives. Getting into the green drink habit is so much easier with these time saving strategies:

Have the basics on hand-

Ensure that the basic ingredients of green drinks are around by including them on your weekly grocery list.  Participating in a farm share or CSA will also keep your refrigerator loaded with greens.

Keep some bananas in the freezer-

Peel ripe bananas, place them in a bag or container, and freeze them. Frozen bananas ensure that you always have fruit on hand to sweeten your green smoothie.

Invest in good tools-

A large chopping board, a sharp knife, a salad spinner and a top-notch blender and/or juicer make green drink preparation a pleasure.

Prepare the night before-

Load the blender with the desired ingredients the night before making a smoothie. Store it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, add water and blend.

Create smoothie packs-

To prepare for several days of green drinks, assemble a bunch of smoothie packs or containers. Fill each one with all the ingredients needed for your green drink, except the liquid. All that’s left to do is add liquid and blend or juice.

Make two while you’re at it-

Of course fresh is best and tastiest, but having a green drink in the fridge that’s ready for the following day is much better than no green drink at all.

Use pre-prepped fruits and veggies

Fresh, local produce offers the highest nutritional value, but, for those “in a pinch” moments, a container of pre-washed spinach or a bag of frozen organic berries will do.

Clean up as you go-

Make cleanup part of the flow when preparing green drinks. It’s much easier to wash vegetable and fruit particles off appliances when they are still moist and fresh.

Embrace imperfection-

Let go of getting the recipe just right, or having the perfect ingredients. Just go for it, and the second one will be even better.

Get one recipe down, and repeat-

Become familiar with one recipe. Repetition builds speed and confidence and, before you know it, you’ll be creating new and unique green drink recipes.

Nina Manolson M.A. CHC is a Certified Health Coach and author of Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t.  For a free CD and 7-day program visit SmokinHotMom.com or HealthyYummyKids.com.