I originally shared this recipe for what I cheesily dubbed a “power smoothie” back in 2012 when I was pregnant with my youngest. I still love it, but the pictures needed a makeover and the recipe needed some slight tweaking (I cut down on the sugar and upped the fat a little to balance out the macros). If it’s too tart for you, feel free to add a little drizzle of honey or agave! This smoothie is packed with nutrition and has real staying power that won’t leave you with a sugar crash and starving two hours later. It’s a great way to start the day!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Orange juice – Use a good-quality not-from-concentrate variety for best results. I’d avoid shelf-stable bottles or frozen concentrate for this one.
- Steel cut oats – Or oatmeal. Steel cut oats are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and help stabilize your blood sugar. They help keep you feeling full and satisfied. Plus, you don’t have to cook them, which is always a bonus in the morning. You don’t have to use them, and they will add a grainy texture to your smoothie, but I don’t mind it–the oats are sweet and they make me feel like I’m tangibly doing something good for myself. If you like, you can combine the orange juice and oats the night before and store them in the fridge to soften.
- Greek yogurt – Full fat or 2%, plain and unsweetened. Make sure it’s true Greek yogurt that’s twice the protein of traditional yogurt, not just Greek-style which just has added thickeners.
- Frozen blueberries
- Baby spinach leaves – You won’t even taste the spinach at the end but it adds important nutrients!
- Crushed ice
How to Make Kate’s Power Smoothie
- Simply combine everything in a high powered blender and blend. I use the smoothie setting on my Blendtec, which handles it well, but you may need to run it through twice.
Storing and Other Tips
- This smoothie is best enjoyed right away!
Frequently Asked Questions
Not really. You could measure out your orange juice and oats the night before and leave them in your blender pitcher in the fridge overnight, but everything else should be added and blended when you’re ready to enjoy your smoothie!
Definitely! As written this recipe makes two servings. Feel free to cut it in half for one or scale up, as long as the ingredients fit in your blender!
Kate’s Power Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup orange juice preferably the good stuff, like the not-from-concentrate orange juice
- 2 tablespoons steel cut oats or oatmeal
- ¾ cup 2% or full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 ½ cups crushed ice
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in the jar of your blender and blend. You will probably need to run it through twice. Serve immediately.
- Makes 1 giant smoothie, 2 smaller smoothies, or 3 snack-sized smoothies.
Questions & Reviews
My sister is pregnant, but also has Ciliacs (sp?). Is this recipe gluten-free? (Trying not to sound toooo naive lol)
I’m not sure if oats have gluten in them or not–I’d check with her because she probably know! 🙂 Otherwise, everything else is gluten-free.
This is a great smoothie. Everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
I just made this smoothy this morning and it was a HIT! My husband saw the pic of everything in the blender and said “Please don’t put spinach in there.” I said fine, but it was already too late, spinach was already in…and he couldn’t tell! Ha! HA! Thanks for sharing a great recipe. Congrats on the pregnancy, even though we don’t know eachother, I’m really excited for you!
Would it be benefical to soak the groats over night?
I tried this after work and it was delicious. Mine did not turn as purple as the picture and I needed to grind or soak the oat groat. I used plain greek yogurt instead of vanilla and it was sweet enought without the added sugar. I am going to make this for my daughter, Kate and tell her it is called, “Kate’s power smoothie”.
Hi!
A few other great things to add to your smoothie…Chia seeds (costco), Aloe Vera Juice (Trader Joe’s), and a half of a lemon (peel and all).
My morning smoothie in my Blentec:
Almond milk (1/2 cup)
Aloe Vera Juice (2-6oz)
Banana (peeled)
1/2 avocado (peeled)
pineapple (a few chunks…husk the pineapple but make sure to include the rind as it has tons of fiber and bromene)
1/2 lemon
whole carrot
grapes (small handful)
blueberries (small handful)
chia seeds (2 Tbsp)
spinach & Kale (as much as will fit)
ice
scoop of vanilla protein powder
This seems like a lot, but I do some prep work before. I will cut up and freeze leftover pineapple, avocado, strawberries, grapes, blueberries etc and put them into quart sized freezer bags by serving sizes.
I’m trying to cut back some of the fruit and start adding more vegetables like the carrot and kale and avocado…
I couldn’t find oat groats but I did find buckwheat groats….what do you think? I’m going to try them…they can’t make the taste THAT different, right? Thanks for a fab recipe! Plus, it’s been fun to read your readers comments and find out how many pregnant mommies are using your site. 🙂 As a side note, I am a proselytizing fan: I’ve given your cookbook as gifts and post your recipes regularly to my FB page. I’ve won over many OBB converts.
^^^I should correct myself…as a SIDE with dinner! ha!
Made these tonight for dinner & the entire family (EVEN all 5 kids) LOVED it! Wish I would have had this recipe when I was pregnant with our quadruplets! Will pass it along for sure!
I make a spinach smoothie every morning too! So delicious. I found that you can experiment with frozen fruits and juices. Right now I’m on a huge pomegranate juice kick – it really sweetens the whole thing up, but it’s pricey! I’m using mango and strawberries as my added fruit. To bring in protein I use a vanilla flavored protein powder. All and all a delicious way to start the day. 🙂