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
This looks incredibly tasty. Unfortunately, as a fellow-gestator (is that a word?), my gallbladder and liver don’t like me right now. Dairy, fats, sugar, and many acidic foods (OJ, tomatoes) are on my Don’t Eat list. So, I gaze longingly at OBB and hope that someday my body will be mine again. In the mean time, I’m loving the pregnancy posts.
Oh, that SUCKS! My husband had a major gallbladder crisis last spring (I’ll spare you the details so I don’t scare you), so you don’t want to mess with it! Are they going to take it out after you have your baby?
Based on family history, I know that it will probably have to come out at some point. So, the plan is to have it taken out sometime between this baby and the (possible) next one. (My husband has had his out, too. My kids’ gallbladders are DOOMED.) As long as I stick to beans, chicken breast, and other bland, boring foods, I’m fine for now. But there are some days that I have been tempted give away my first-born for the ability to eat an amazing chocolate chip cookie! 🙂
I make smoothies like this all the time (but I use chia seeds instead of oat groats). We love to have them when we have any kind of pancakes for dinner (which was at least twice a week the last time I was pregnant) because it feels like we are still having a salad with dinner but I don’t have to eat salad with my pancakes, which would just be weird.
Also, judging from the comments I think a good portion of the world actually IS pregnant with you! Good luck to all of you! My #6 is 4 months old and I am happy to be on this end of it!
I drink a smoothie every day for breakfast that is very similar to this but I have never seen the Groats in it before. I will have to try it. Mine does have a banana in addition to the blueberries (or frozen cherries) for sweetness and I change up the juice, plus mine has ground flax in it, just for the health benefits 🙂 Thanks for posting this – I can’t wait to get some groats to throw in!
Just a heads up–those cups are awesome, I get mine from Walmart all of the time, but Sam’s Club now carries them in a pack of 6 for $20 and they are for hot or cold drinks!! Amazing. The straw comes out and you have a little sliding spout for your hot peppermint cocoa days (when you can drink those again…hot cocoa and pregnancy didn’t mix well for me)
I’m not pregnant, but exclusively breastfeeding my four month old leaves me very hungry. Definitely going to try this!
Bless you. I am also pregnant and looking for healthy breakfast foods that won’t pack on the pounds. Thanks so much.
I’m excited to try this! I’m expecting as well, and I’m always looking for something quick but healthy and filling for breakfast! Thanks!
I for one am really glad you’re sharing a pregnancy-related recipe because I’m really grasping at straws here with #5! I’ve never felt so tired, sick or old in my whole life! I’m excited to try this one!
When I was pregnant I was on a smoothie kick too! Until I made a mixed berry one before a doctor’s appointed and went half the freakin day with berry seeds in my teeth and no one told me!!! This one looks safe – no seeds!!
A smoothie recipe that I just saw yesterday, (and tried out yesterday) is super simple and yummy. Thought you might want to tweak it to make the baby happy and try it out. It’s just 1/2 Cup milk, half a banana, some ice, and a glob of peanut butter. Ok, it called for 1 teaspoon of pb, but honestly, how can you call it a banana and pb smoothie with only a tiny speck of pb? I changed the portions, and it was very yummy!