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
The store I shop at doesn’t carry vanilla greek yogurt so I just added a tiny bit of agave and used plain greek yogurt and it worked out just great!
I think I need to try this. I am pregnant and hate eggs as well. I could definitely use the calories and protein in this smoothie. Thanks for the recipe!
have you ever frozen this? Made 2 normal sized smoothies, drank one and froze the other for the next day? curious if this would work…
Thanks!
I had a few modifications to this recipe. At my local grocery store I wasn’t able to find oat grains.. so I substituted the oats out for Bear Naked Peak Flax – Oats and Honey w/ Blueberries. (Which is 100% natural granola) and I used the Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt 0%. After I had blended this, I realized I didn’t used the recommended amount of yogurt ..I had read my hand writing wrong and used 1/4 not 3/4. So it probably would have been a bit more creamier had I of used the larger amount. Even though, it was still the best spinach smoothie I’ve had yet! Super Delicious! 😀
I keep forgetting to add the greek yogurt and I always have this in my frig!! But I do occasionally add some frozen strawberries to this mix. Ever since I saw this I have been making it for either breakfast or a snack at night to fight the munchies! Thanks for sharing!!
Oh and I occasionally throw in some ground flaxseed too to get some omega threes in. I typically mix my stash of ground flaxseed into pancakes or baked goods
I had mine this morning….. Minus the groats. I put fresh squeezed OJ and it was really good! I couldn’t taste the spinach. Thank you
our whole family lives off smoothies for breakfast…I give myself full credit for getting at least 2 servings of vegetables into my family before 9am. I put the ingredients in the blender the night before and just stick the pitcher in the fridge. Then it only takes about 30 seconds to make breakfast in the morning! Don’t worry, nothing wilts…I’ve been using spinach and kale in our smoothies for years and it’s all still fresh tasting in the morning.
I’ve calculated in the 400-450 range. Someone else got the 350 range, but fewer nutrients. I really think it depends on what software you use.
This sounds wonderful – I’m just venturing into the world of smoothies – for me and for my kids – how many calories does this have per serving?
Had to pop in to say this is delish with kale (no spinach on hand) and that I froze the other half then defrosted on the “juice” setting the next day and it was perfect – like new. My pregnant digestion wasn’t so happy with it later, but I’m going to tweak to see what works. Good stuff!