You should know that I am a smoothie aficionado. A few years ago I was so into them that I posted a new smoothie recipe to the blog every Friday morning. As time went by, my smoothie ingredient checklist became more about how 'healthy' they were and less about how good they tasted. They were all about leafy greens, seeds, ingredients like turmeric root and even raw garlic on occasion. Most concoctions tasted pretty vile and never came close to making the cut for the blog. Happyily realised that there are easier ways to eat raw garlic. Hence my hummus habit. And I'm back on my daily green juice habit so that's leaft greens sorted. Just by-the-by a green juice is 100% tastier than a most green smoothies in my opinion. Something to do with the consistency I think.
Anyway, fast forward to now, and my daily smoothie habit has fallen by the wayside and now when I make one, it's either as a smoothie bowl for breakfast or for an afternoon pick-me-up. And believe me, I am back to being all about the taste. This one is driven more from pure cravings and an over supply of fresh blueberries than from anything else. It's what I've been having for supper for the last few days. It's got my fave - banana - for sweetness. Plus a date per serving for good measure. All in all, a very enjoyable smoothie experience.
Some notes on this recipe:
- I use a high speed blender but if you use a personal blender, you might need to make this in two batches.
- This recipe makes two decent servings but if you are making it for kids, it'll probably serve four.
- To make this recipe vegan, just replace the greek yogurt with coconut yogurt.
- For extra sweetness, I added a date, but this is optional. The bananas add plenty of sweetness.
- Either fresh of frozen blueberries work. I've been using fresh, as I have lots to use up, but it's probably handier and cheaper on the pocket to use frozen.
- And finally, feel free to add a handful of fresh or frozen spinach if you wish to add some green goodness.
Keep reading for the recipe and blend away.
Blueberry, Banana & Oat Smoothie
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
1 cup blueberries
2 medium bananas
4 tbsp oats
2 tbsp flaxseeds
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
2 dates, pitted
2 cups almond milk*
*Or your milk of choice. Full fat dairy milk can make this smoothie very creamy so if using dairy milk, skimmed milk works better.
Method
In a blender, add all the ingredients and blend until high until smooth and thick. If you find the mixture is too thick, add a little more milk or some water to think it out.
Once blended, divide between two glasses and either drink immediately or store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
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