Today, I'm sharing my method for meal prepping smoothies just like the Daily Harvest Smoothie Subscription. We'll be specifically making a copycat version of the Avocado and Cacao Smoothie (which is our favorite), and I'll show you how we make them in freezer safe, disposable cups that are pre-prepped to grab and go!
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What is Daily Harvest?
Daily Harvest is a subscription meal prep provider, similar to Blue Apron or Sun Harvest. They deliver freezer-safe smoothie cups to your home (filled with mucho exotic ingredients), which you then fill with milk, blend in your home blender, and pour back into their disposable cup. We think the concept is great but along with other meal prep companies—the price tag is just beyond what most of us are able to fit in our budget.
How To Meal Prep Smoothies
You'll find methods of pre-prepping smoothies in zip lock freezer bags, but this is not our jam. I love the concept of pre-measured cups like Daily Harvest that the completed smoothie can be poured back into when you're done. For that reason, I measure my smoothie prep recipes into disposable coffee cups with lids. You can find these in the disposable plates and silverware area of your grocery store, or here they are on Amazon Prime.
For this Daily Harvest Smoothie Recipe, we recommend chopping and prepping all of the ingredients first, and then assembling. It only takes about 15 minutes. Let's look at some of the exotic ingredients we will be using in the Avocado Cacao Smoothie.
I was able to pick up all of the ingredients needs at Sprouts or Whole Foods, but if you cant find one of the ingredients here they are on Amazon Prime.
Links to the Ingredients:
Warrior Food Vegan Vanilla Protein Powder
I told you they really like to use fancy ingredients. 🙂
First we will start off by dicing the zucchini. If you would like a step by step of this process, just check out the YouTube video at the bottom of the page before the recipe card.
Dice up the zucchini and reserve. Do the same with the avocado and dates.
(If you need help with this just check out the step by step video here.)
Lay out 5 cups and place an equal amount of zucchini, avocado, and dates in each cup. Just eyeball it.
Measure in the cacao seeds, cacao powder, coconut butter... all of the rest of the measured ingredients go in assembly-line style.
The completed smoothie prep should look like this... YUM!
Freeze the cups until you are ready to use them. (Make sure you freeze them before trying out the smoothie recipe because the frozen ingredients really make the smoothie more icy and delicious.)
When they are ready to use, you can pull them out as needed and pop off the lid...
Pour in your favorite milk. I used Ripple plant-based milk because that is what I had on hand.
Pour the contents of the cup into the blender, and blend 1 min. My blender is the Vitamix featured here. If you have a standard blender you might need to go a little longer.
Walla! Delicious!!
Pour into your cup and enjoy! If you have any questions or you would like to see more Daily Harvest Smoothie Copycat Recipes, let us know in the comments! We would love to know exactly which smoothies you want to see. ♥
Have questions? Need help? Have an addition or a suggestion to a recipe? Drop me a comment below!
If you make this recipe, I would LOVE to see it!
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Daily Harvest Avocado Cacao Smoothie Prep Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini diced
- 1 1/2 avocados peeled and diced
- 5 T pumpkin seeds aka pepitas
- 2 medjool dates pitted and diced
- 5 T. Raw Cacao Nibs
- 3 T. Coconut Manna
- 2 T. vanilla protein powder I used Warrior Food brand
- 1/2 oz. Cacao Powder or Cocoa Powder is fine
- 1 t. salt
- 5 packages of stevia
- 5 disposable coffee cups with lids
Instructions
- Dice all of the veggies (avocado, zucchini, and dates) and reserve for assembly. Lay out the 5 cups and have 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon set aside for measuring.
- In each cup separate the zucchini evenly among the cups, the avocado evenly, and the dates evenly among all the cups.
- In each cup place 1 T cacao nibs, 1 3/4 t. coconut manna, 1 package of stevia, 1 pinch of salt, 2-3 shakes of cacao powder (or you can use cocoa powder), and a heaping teaspoon of vanilla protein powder into each cup.
- Place the lids on the cups and put them in the freezer.
- To prepare a smoothie take the cup out of the freezer. Fill with the milk of your choice (milk is not included in my nutritional macro-nutrients and should be logged separately.) Pour the entire contents of the cup into a blender and blend for 1 min. (You can blend longer if you think it needs it.) Pour the smoothie back into a cup and enjoy!
Kirby says
Highly recommend using mason jars - can find at thrift store for cheap, save you money long-term, and are better for the environment! Thank you for this awesome recipe, I can't wait to try it!
Rachel says
The cost of Daily Harvest is one concern, the other is waste. Making these at home using disposable cups is supremely wasteful. These can easily be frozen in reusable containers and poured into a glass. While we take care of our bodies let's take care of our earth too!
Sarah Penrod says
That sounds great Rachel. Awesome idea!
Jayme says
Do you have the macros calculated?! Can’t wait to try it!
Sarah Penrod says
Yes! It's on the carb manager app so you can log it as well! The nutrition software I use does not calculate sugar alcohols as separate from carbs, so it lists this recipe as 26 carbs per shake but that is not true. If memory serves me correctly it was 6b of carbs and only because I use the pinch of dates. You do not have to use them in your smoothie prep if you don't want to. I enjoy the smoothie right after my workout so getting a few extra carbs is no biggie. Pushes the protein into my muscles. You can leave it out and you can substitute monk fruit sugar or whatever keto sugar you like for it.
Lillian says
What additional healthy ingredient (maybe spinach or lettuce) could you add to fill the cup? It looks like I'm missing a quarter cup or is that supposed to be the size? Thank you
Sarah Penrod says
Their cups do not come as full and overflowing as their commercials make it look like. You can use spinach, extra zucchini, kale, etc. But it does change the consistency of the smoothie a little bit. I once added extra zucchini and it was nice, just make sure you freeze the zucchini first because they have sort of a weird texture when they are added raw.
Anastasia says
I am going to try this. I would love other vegan smoothie recipes. Mango, banana, pineapple, strawberry, green... really anything that uses veggies and fruit that I can meal prep for myself and my child..
Ellen says
This is great! And I loved how I could put together all my weekday smoothies on Sunday night. I would love to see more. Especially cold brew & cacao, tart cherry raspberry, vanilla bean & cacao
Dionalyn Kelly-Handt says
Hello Sarah, I just found your blog! I am excited to check the whole site out for recipes and tips. I would also like to see more Daily Harvest cups done by you. I am wanting to do keto/healthy, I need to shape up recipes. Keep up the good work, and you son is adorable.
Sarah Penrod says
I'm glad you like it! Keto smoothies are usually made with avocado in one form or another. Raspberries are also a good choice but it's hard to do with keto because it's so low sugar!
Sarah Penrod says
Thanks you! He's a doll. I have a whole collection of low carb recipes if you just search through the navigation buttons at the top! 🙂
candice says
Is the coconut oil necessary? That's why I'm looking for a recipe because I thought all of theirs was oil free until today. UGH. Also why added sweetner and why does not look like chocolate moose like it does when I make theirs?
Sarah Penrod says
Hi Candance! It's not coconut oil but coconut manna that goes in the recipe. It's a compressed version of the unsweetened white meat of the coconut. I add sweetener (as optional) because it's not sweet at all and I prefer a little Stevia, so that is just a suggestion! As for the chocolate mousse thing, I can't ever get their smoothies to look the way they do in their commercials. They aren't as tall either--they present them as if they are overflowing, which is never the case. Also, they could have changed their version of this recipe as I made it last year. When I order it, it comes out light green with cacao flecks. Hope this helps! 🙂 - Sarah
Debra Farmer says
I would like to see recipes for most of the Daily Harvest meals (bowls, smoothies, treats...,) love them! But you’re right, it gets a bit pricey. Thanks so much for doing this!
Sarah Penrod says
Thank you for stopping by Debra! We are working on more right now. 🙂 They should be on YouTube in the near future.
Natalie says
Hi Sarah! Do you have the cost per cup for the recipe? I know it sounds silly but it helps with budgeting in our home. Thanks!
Sarah Penrod says
Hi Natalie, I don't have that information because it would certainly depend on where you bought these semi-exotic ingredients. I buy most of my ingredients at Sprouts, some bulk ingredients on Amazon, and of course, avocadoes can vary depending on the type and season, so that's a factor. The home price would definitely be cheaper than the price tag through Daily Harvest, especially if you already have some of these ingredients. Hope this helps!
Kim says
More smoothie recipes! Cherry Almond : )
Sarah Penrod says
On it!! 🙂 - Sarah
Gabrielle Vautrain says
Great idea with the prep in cups with lids to freeze ingredients.
I want to emulate the harvest bowls. If you have ideas for that let me know. TU
Sarah Penrod says
Hey Gabrielle, The best part of Daily Harvest is those little cups! I will check out those harvest bowls. Let me know if you have a particular one in mind. 🙂 - Sarah