Strawberry Orange Oatmeal Smoothie

This is one of my favorite and non-favorite times of year.

Favorite because:

1. It’s getting warmer. Hello, high 60s. You are perfect.

2. I can still see things outside past 5:30 pm.

3. It’s warm enough to have smoothies again without having to bundle up in a fleece + blanket + slippers.

Non-favorite because:

1. I hate the dang time change. Yeah, I like having it stay lighter but I do NOT like that daylight savings takes away my morning light that I just got back after winter. Darkness when I’m waking up? Not good. Ever.

2. This – and fall –> winter – is when I get sick. When it goes from cold to warm to rainy to snowing and back to sunny is when things get bad around here. I’ve had a bad cold twice in the past month. Let’s hope I’ve seen the last of it this year.

But back to smoothies.

I just can’t have them in the winter. And that makes me sad.

I’m usually already cold, even in the house, so smoothies don’t get made around here until the weather warms up.

To celebrate our awesome weather lately, I made a kid-friendly lunch for myself last week: a grilled pb&j and an awesome strawberry smoothie.

One of my favorite smoothies (blueberry muffin) uses oatmeal as part of the base, and I knew I wanted to try that with strawberries. The oats give the smoothie a heartiness that you miss without it, plus they add a nutty sweetness and texture, making this smoothie a filling option for breakfast, too.

I’ll be baking some bread again this week just so I can have this lunch again.

Welcome back, spring.

Strawberry Orange Oatmeal Smoothie

Makes: 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  1. Add the oats and 1/2 cup milk to your blender and let it sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight, if you can, to soften the oats a little.
  2. In the morning, add the strawberries, orange juice, milk, ice, and vanilla and blend until the mixture is smooth.

17 comments

  1. I do smoothies all year…but winter smoothies definitely require a large blanket while consuming haha. Yayyyy fo spring!

  2. I love adding OJ to my smoothies. The balance of sweet and tart is perfect. Happy Spring!

  3. Smoothies are the best – definitely something I look forward to every Spring/Summer!

  4. Looks so good! I haven’t made a smoothie in forever!

  5. This looks like a fun lunch I could share with my daughter! :-)

  6. Oh yum. This looks awesome. Love the oat and chia seed addition. Love it!

  7. Great idea to add in some oats! Wonder if it would be good to add in some cottage cheese/ Greek yogurt to make it creamier… The idea reminds me of sherbert!!!

  8. i’m so excited to be craving smoothies again too! need to stock up on bananas :)

  9. Mmm this looks delicious and I love the addition of oats for a little staying power! I can’t wait to give this a try– perhaps for dinner tonight?!

  10. smoothies are seriously the best! love the addition of oats. I’ve never tried chia seeds in my smoothies. I should though!

  11. i love me my smoothies! i will be trying this one soon!!

  12. I know what you mean. Right now the sun is shining and it’s beautiful weather (for here) but I’m sneezing, my nose is running and I can hardly open my eyes for the tearing—it’s hay fever season! But I’m not going to let it keep me from enjoying the spring & I hope your cold gets better soon so you can enjoy it too!

  13. I love the idea of eating a 1/2 cup of oats in a smoothie! So healthy! Plus chia?! Win-win! :)

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  15. This is delicious! I didn’t have chia seeds, so I left them out. I also couldn’t wait 30 minutes to soak the oats, so I ground them in my blender first. The kids and I all love this smoothie. Thanks for sharing!

    • i’m so glad you liked it! that’s the nice thing about it – you don’t have to let them soak, but it’s a good way to get a head start on breakfast if you remember :)

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