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
You can buy bags of crushed ice from the meat counter at any grocery store or sonic drive-in! I live on it when I’m pregnant! Also, have you ever tried adding flax to your smoothies? It’s pretty good.
Fantastic! I am so excited to try this! I, too, struggle with breakfast. Even when I’m not pregnant, I hate eggs, and cereal just makes me stuffy and grumpy. I have seen so many blogs that say ‘just experiment with different ingredients’ for a smoothie. I don’t do well with that! I appreciate an actual recipe! And for the addition of the oat groats. Never knew what they were and I bet it will help me a ton in the morning! BTW, congrats on the baby! =)
Thank you for the quick response you guys are awesome! Yes Coach’s is a brand their oats are very good cooked..not pasty and gummy 🙂 Check out their site for more info http://www.coachsoats.com And if you have time could you let me know what some of the nutritional similiarities are like fiber, protein, etc. I live in the mountains and am 1 1/2 hours from nearest grocery store. So just really anxious and curious to know 🙂 thanks much! BTW Coachs oats has 1/3 c serving: 3g fat, 160 cal, 10mg sodium, 27g carb, 4g fiber 2 soluble 2 insoluble, 0 sugars, and 6g protein
It looks like they’re steel-cut oats, so pretty much just chopped up oat groats! You should be totally fine adding those to your smoothies. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to made a serious smoothly lately and this is just the one I’m going to try. Hope my little grocery store out here – 5 hours from the nearest whole foods store — has oat groats and that my blender is up to the challenge.
Oh, and if you don’t mind, you said about 450-500 calories for the full recipe? Is that about 2 16oz servings? Just wondering…I’m done having babies and trying to lose some weight 🙂
Yeah, so it would be in the 200-250 range for 1 16-oz smoothie 🙂
I have Coach’s Oats. How similar to groats in nutrition do you think they are? And thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
I really don’t know–is Coach’s a brand name?
Congrats on baby! I’m also pregnant (yes, the world does revolve around food and the “results” of eating said food, so to speak…) and constantly looking for ways to get my protein, nutrients and fiber in new and exciting ways. This smoothie looks AWESOME. Two questions – would I lose anything by cooking the oat groats (yup, very fun to say!) if I don’t want grainy-smoothie-syndrome?? And does the smoothie last in the fridge/freezer for any length of time if I can’t drink it all at once?
Looks like I should read the other comments before asking questions – I see both of mine answered. Happy Gestating, my fellow pregos! = )
I would try either soaking the oat groats in the orange juice overnight (either in the blender, or just pouring it all into the blender in the morning) or grinding them in a coffee or wheat grinder to get a super-fine consistency.
If I have leftovers and no one to drink them, I can keep it in the freezer for 2-3 hours or in the fridge for a bit longer (depending on how liquidy it ended up coming out).
Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks for the great smoothie recipe! I have been making “green smoothies” for quite awhile now & love them. I’ve never tried the oat groats, will have to try that, but I do use ground golden flax… It has a very mild nutty flavor that blends really well into just about anything, and the health benefits are amazing! I can’t even taste it in smoothies, but it adds protein, fiber, antioxidants, omegas… Just to name a few.
can you use frozen spinach? what would be the amount adjustment?
and I too would grind my oats in a coffee grinder before putting them in the smoothie
I wouldn’t use frozen spinach; it’s kind of globby and wet. You can keep fresh spinach good a lot longer by placing it in Ziploc bags when you get home and then opening the bags as little as possible, if that helps at all! 🙂
I have used frozen spinach in smoothies and it works ok, but the flavor is stronger so you need more of the other stuff if you don’t want to taste the spinach. Really ripe bananas are good for this. Also, a paper towel in the bag with your spinach helps it stay fresh longer.
Just bought some of this yogurt. Excited to try this smoothie!