You know that 7 a.m. rush where you want a smoothie but cannot be bothered to wash and chop anything? I hit that wall every single weekday until I started freezing smoothie packs.

The muffin tin is the part nobody tells you about.

Build a week of smoothies in one go

Set a muffin tin on the counter and fill each cup with your smoothie add-ins: a handful of spinach, some berries, half a banana, a spoon of yogurt, a sprinkle of chia seeds. Freeze the whole tray solid.

Once frozen, pop the rounds out and drop them into a freezer bag. Each round is one smoothie.

Why this beats filling bags one by one

Filling twelve little muffin cups is faster than portioning twelve bags, and the rounds do not clump the way loose frozen fruit does. When it is time to blend, toss one round in with your milk or juice and hit go.

What I put in mine, for reference:

• Green round: spinach, banana, mango.
• Berry round: mixed berries, yogurt, oats.
• Peanut butter round: banana, PB, cocoa, milk.

One thing to know: a standard muffin round is about one serving of fruit, so start there and add more if you like a thicker drink. I learned that after my first batch turned out watery.