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
I made this smoothie this morning. It was enough for my husband and I. I loved it. It was very nutritious-tasting. And even though I only had half the recipe it still kept me full for 3 hours. I put some oats (like normal oats that you use for oatmeal) in it and that was good. I only ran it on the whole juice button once because of this. I was so excited that I was eating so many healthy things all at once, so easily, in a smoothie. Thank you for sharing this!
I love smoothies with spinach. FYI, pineapple is a wonderful addition.
This sounds great. My family just purchased a Bendtec and my youngest kids, (13 and 14) are hooked on smoothies. I often throw in some wheat germ, and they never know. I can’t wait to try this. Such an easy way to start my kids day, and giving them what they need for a busy high school day.
I am pregnant with my second set of twins which will be babies # 5 & 6!! I too dislike eggs and the trouble of actually cooking breakfast every morning, especially since I’m not a breakfast person not preggo. I do believe this smoothie is the answer to my search for the perfect breakfast food and mid afternoon snack!! Thanks sooo much!
I’m pregnant too and still have trouble with typical breakfast foods. This looks wonderful!
Just stuck a couple peeled whole oranges in instead of juice so that I can make the smoothie without any shame 🙂
I love that you watch Teen Mom…it’s my guilty pleasure show 🙂
i just stick the bag of pre-washed spinach from costco or sam’s in the freezer as soon as i get it home. it’s frozen but it is nothing like frozen spinach, if that makes any sense. even with 6 kids and smoothies everyday we don’t use up the whole costco bag before it rots if i don’t freeze it. mahalo for such a great site, we love every recipe i have tried, no joke!!
Do you know that a lot of “bagged” salads are washed in a chemical solution. You should still wash your bagged salad with something like fit or give it a REALLY good rinsing with several doses of water
GREAT post. Really fun to read and we loved the smoothie! Thank you. I am now a spinach in smoothie convert. I didn’t believe you when you said you couldn’t taste it, but now I am a believer. 🙂
My 2-year-old and I made a half recipe yesterday and shared it for our afternoon snack. We both loved it! When I pulled out the spinach, she asked me if we were having salad for our snack. She didn’t mind at all that it ended up in her smoothie. We made it again today, and I found that my blender handled it better if I blended the spinach with the OJ first before adding the remaining ingredients. I also ground my steel cut oats in my spice grinder before adding those.