I originally shared this recipe for what I cheesily dubbed a “power smoothie” back in 2012 when I was pregnant with my youngest (who turns 8 and the end of June, and I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m FINE, thanks for asking.) 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! Read more after the recipe!
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
- 3/4 cup 2% or full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 1/2 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.
Notes
nutrition information (for 2 servings using 2% greek yogurt):
Calories: 211Fat: 3
Carbs: 36
Sugar: 22
Fiber: 7
Protein: 12 This also has 211% of your Vitamin A, 116% of your Vitamin C, 37% Calcium, and 19% of your iron--not too bad for a snack! Tip: To help your blender out, you can soak the oak groats in the orange juice overnight (either in the jar of your blender or in in a glass). This will make it easier to blend and will also eliminate a lot of the grittiness from the oats.
step in the way-back machine to 2012
Yeah, I know, that’s probably the cheesiest recipe title ever written. I’m sorry. I generally have a zero-tolerance policy for cheesiness. And yet…here we are. This smoothie and I have a special relationship and like all special relationships, there’s room for a little PDA, right, schnookie wookums?
I’m also trying really, really hard not to make every single one of my posts about being pregnant because I realize that the world is not pregnant with me and I also realize the world does not revolve around my pregnancy and me (unlike my first pregnancy when it did–just ask my sister Annie.)
That said, food and pregnancy are inextricably related, at first for the aversions and then for the cravings. Throw in the fact that, at least for me, a little too much salt, sugar, or fat can send a perfectly good day to a very bad place and I spend a lot of time thinking about food (and, let’s face it, I think about food a lot to begin with).
When I’m growing babies (let’s see how many euphemisms for “pregnancy” I can come up with in a single blog post), breakfast is a tricky meal for me. I need a lot of calories, I need them fast, I need complex carbs and protein, and I hate eggs. Also, I’m dead tired and trying to get two kids up, dressed, fed, not looking like orphans, and sent to school with a decent lunch as well as trying to get a dog to do her business rather than be distracted by the mean neighborhood cats that like to taunt her.
breakfast while gestating a human
I’ve dabbled in different breakfast options here and there, but most things either leave me feeling weighed down, starving, crashing, or filled with inexplicable road rage an hour later when I’m on my way home after taking my kids to school. (Sidenote: my husband just loves gestating Kate. I do believe I’m painting a lovely picture of myself right now).
So anyway, I started making this power smoothie a few weeks ago and it has changed my life. Totally not being overly dramatic here. I’ve tinkered with proportions and I still do from time to time, depending on how I’m feeling and what I’m in the mood for. No, it’s not super low in calories or sugar (although it’s not an over-the-top dessert smoothie made with ice cream or sherbet or frozen yogurt). Yes, it has a juice base, which I realize is not super cool or hip in the smoothie-making universe, and yet…I don’t really care. It does, however, keep me satisfied, energized, and feeling really great for a good three hours (at least). Like…it makes me feel like my batteries have been charged. (Yes, I know, we’re moving back into cheesy territory).
If I make and drink a full-sized smoothie (I usually cut it down by at least 1/3), it has 6 grams of fat, 14 grams of fiber, 24 grams of protein, and is loaded with potassium, Vitamin C, folate, calcium, and iron. It has a serving of dairy, 3 vegetable servings, and 4 servings of fruit (plus some change). Not too shabby, plus it’s freaking delicious. (On the downside, a whole smoothie has quite a bit of sugar…this smoothie is designed to serve 2).
how to make it
So what’s in this magical concoction of a power smoothie? Orange juice (try and get the good stuff, like the not-from-concentrate good stuff, not necessarily the fresh-squeezed good stuff, which you are often required to pay for with your firstborn child), 2% or whole plain Greek yogurt (I love Fage; make sure it’s actual Greek yogurt with twice the protein, not Greek-style yogurt that uses thickening agents), frozen blueberries, baby spinach, crushed ice, and steel cut oats.
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, like running on the treadmill or giving up Teen Mom (neither one of which I’ve done lately).
In the jar of your blender, add your juice, 
oats (you can actually do this the night before; soaking them will make them less grainy).
yogurt, blueberries,
spinach (you can’t even taste it, I promise), and ice.
Should we talk about this ice for a second? I hated our freezer ice machine (Louisiana water is terrible, but my freezer icemaker is unfiltered. Throw in the fact that my ice always tasted like freezer because it was exposed in the freezer and I never used my ice because it was gross). I finally got this Igloo countertop ice machine from Sam’s Club. I still have to transfer the ice to the freezer, but I can store it in a freezer bag and only make it when I need it, so old ice doesn’t sit in my freezer for weeks. I thought it was silly at the time, but it’s seriously probably my favorite kitchen appliance right now!
Anyway. Blend thoroughly–my Blendtec handles it well on the smoothie setting, but you may have to run it through twice.
This is a serious smoothie. Take it with you when you drive your kids to school. Road rage crises will be averted.
(These bamboo straws come from Grove, which is hands-down my favorite place to get natural cleaning, home, and beauty products!
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
- 3/4 cup 2% or full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 1/2 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.
Notes
nutrition information (for 2 servings using 2% greek yogurt):
Calories: 211Fat: 3
Carbs: 36
Sugar: 22
Fiber: 7
Protein: 12 This also has 211% of your Vitamin A, 116% of your Vitamin C, 37% Calcium, and 19% of your iron--not too bad for a snack! Tip: To help your blender out, you can soak the oak groats in the orange juice overnight (either in the jar of your blender or in in a glass). This will make it easier to blend and will also eliminate a lot of the grittiness from the oats.
Questions & Reviews
I found out I can store spinach in the freezer and that has been a serious game-changer. Now it’s always available for smoothies! This looks delicious. I do a similar one with blackberries. I need to try oats in it!
will the oat groats give you diarrhea
Will the oat groats give you diarrhea???
I’ve made my own smoothies before, mainly as a tastier way to get 5 servings of fruit and veggies all in one go. Mine consist of 1 ripe banana, some chunks of watermelon and/or pineapple, some plain fat-free Greek yogurt, a good-sized handful of baby spinach, and a handful or 2 of whatever frozen fruit tickles my fancy that day. That’s it. No added sugar. The fruits usually provide plenty of sweetness. I may use a little bit of splenda if the fruits I’m using happened to be on the tart side. But still no added sugar.
This looks delicious! Unfortunately, I have gestational diabetes, and my dietician says I shouldn’t have juice. Is there any way I can cut back on the sugar? Do you think it might be okay with milk instead of orange juice?
You could definitely try it! 🙂
Made this for a few days and absolutely loooved it but then I would get sick soon after. A week later I found out the oj (after having it alone) apparently strikes me with morning(?) sickness this go round. Any suggestions on an alternative? Could I omit it? I wonder how it would effect the taste.
I’m willing to bet that what feels like morning sickness is acid reflux (mostly because I have severe acid reflux in my pregnancies and they feel identical; I didn’t realize that I DIDN’T still have morning sickness at 24 weeks when my new OB gave me a prescription for reflux medication).
ANYWAY. 🙂 Most juices are at least a little acidic, but OJ is pretty bad. You could play around with different non-citrus juices and see what you like. Apple, cherry, or white grape might work.
Just discovered your blog and am IN LOVE! Quick question about the smoothie — could I use a good food processor instead of a blender? Thank ya! 🙂
You could try it!
Try the smoothie very delicious….can I use it the next day…..or has be all used immediately…
My sister is pregnant, but also has Ciliacs (sp?). Is this recipe gluten-free? (Trying not to sound toooo naive lol)
I’m not sure if oats have gluten in them or not–I’d check with her because she probably know! 🙂 Otherwise, everything else is gluten-free.
This is a great smoothie. Everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
I just made this smoothy this morning and it was a HIT! My husband saw the pic of everything in the blender and said “Please don’t put spinach in there.” I said fine, but it was already too late, spinach was already in…and he couldn’t tell! Ha! HA! Thanks for sharing a great recipe. Congrats on the pregnancy, even though we don’t know eachother, I’m really excited for you!
Would it be benefical to soak the groats over night?
I tried this after work and it was delicious. Mine did not turn as purple as the picture and I needed to grind or soak the oat groat. I used plain greek yogurt instead of vanilla and it was sweet enought without the added sugar. I am going to make this for my daughter, Kate and tell her it is called, “Kate’s power smoothie”.
Hi!
A few other great things to add to your smoothie…Chia seeds (costco), Aloe Vera Juice (Trader Joe’s), and a half of a lemon (peel and all).
My morning smoothie in my Blentec:
Almond milk (1/2 cup)
Aloe Vera Juice (2-6oz)
Banana (peeled)
1/2 avocado (peeled)
pineapple (a few chunks…husk the pineapple but make sure to include the rind as it has tons of fiber and bromene)
1/2 lemon
whole carrot
grapes (small handful)
blueberries (small handful)
chia seeds (2 Tbsp)
spinach & Kale (as much as will fit)
ice
scoop of vanilla protein powder
This seems like a lot, but I do some prep work before. I will cut up and freeze leftover pineapple, avocado, strawberries, grapes, blueberries etc and put them into quart sized freezer bags by serving sizes.
I’m trying to cut back some of the fruit and start adding more vegetables like the carrot and kale and avocado…
I couldn’t find oat groats but I did find buckwheat groats….what do you think? I’m going to try them…they can’t make the taste THAT different, right? Thanks for a fab recipe! Plus, it’s been fun to read your readers comments and find out how many pregnant mommies are using your site. 🙂 As a side note, I am a proselytizing fan: I’ve given your cookbook as gifts and post your recipes regularly to my FB page. I’ve won over many OBB converts.
^^^I should correct myself…as a SIDE with dinner! ha!
Made these tonight for dinner & the entire family (EVEN all 5 kids) LOVED it! Wish I would have had this recipe when I was pregnant with our quadruplets! Will pass it along for sure!
I make a spinach smoothie every morning too! So delicious. I found that you can experiment with frozen fruits and juices. Right now I’m on a huge pomegranate juice kick – it really sweetens the whole thing up, but it’s pricey! I’m using mango and strawberries as my added fruit. To bring in protein I use a vanilla flavored protein powder. All and all a delicious way to start the day. 🙂
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!
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.