A delicious, nutritious, satisfying breakfast – in smoothie form.
When I was little I always begged my mom to buy Carnation Instant Breakfast, partly because I loved the TV jingle we probably all remember, and partly because it looked like one of my favorite treats: chocolate milk. But she never did, and now that I’m grown up and can read package labels, I know why!
Powdered (or bottled) “instant breakfasts” are hardly as complete as they claim. They’re usually powdered milk + sugar + thickeners + vitamin and mineral powders. Even the supposedly healthy superfood or protein shake powders are made with so many heavily processed ingredients that they’re far from what you’d get if you sat down to a breakfast of real, whole foods.
But sometimes you just don’t have time to sit down. I get that. In fact I totally get it, because this is me on most mornings.
Enter The Complete Breakfast Smoothie.
Unlike its powdered store-bought counterparts, this smoothie really is a complete breakfast. And it tastes good. And for those of you on special diets – is both vegan and gluten-free.
You can even make this the night before, since the smoothie stays thick and creamy thanks to the oatmeal. Just refrigerate overnight, give it a good shake in the morning and voila! Ready.
As usual, feel free to experiment with different frozen berries, nut butters, or nut milks. My favorites are below but the options are endless!
- 1 heaping cup frozen berries (I used blueberries & raspberries)
- ¾ cup vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tbsp almond butter (I used Justin's classic)
- ½ cup cooked oatmeal (certified gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass or jar and sip on-the-go when you don't have time for a sit-down breakfast
7 Comments
Allison
January 21, 2016 at 4:28 pmNever seen a smoothie recipe with cooked oatmeal in it-I am excited to try it!
rachel @ athletic avocado
January 26, 2016 at 2:33 pmI love that you added cooked oatmeal into this smoothie, it really is a complete smoothie!
Susan
January 27, 2016 at 9:03 pmWonderful post, Amelia!
Molly
January 30, 2016 at 10:57 amHI! I was just curious as to why you used almond milk instead of cows milk? I didn’t know if there was a particular reason to use one over the other? I’m trying to switch to all cows milk these days for simplicity sake. I hate having to buy 3 different types of milk for my family (whole,2%,almond). Should I consider staying with almond? Thanks so much!!
Amelia Winslow
January 31, 2016 at 8:32 pmHi Molly, you can definitely use cow’s milk in this smoothie. I like the nutty taste of the almond milk here – but I feel you on the simplicity factor! Any milk will do 🙂
Amelia Winslow
January 31, 2016 at 8:36 pmIt adds a great richness and creaminess. Let me know if you try it!
michelle
May 3, 2016 at 8:00 amGREAT use of cooked oatmeal……I am thinking I could freeze leftover oatmeal and drop it in with the frozen berries!!!! thanks for the idea!!!!