Banana Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Banana Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

My friend, Tree, pinned this recipe to one of her Pinterest boards.  It sure looked good, so I decided to give it a try.  I should have made it for breakfast, but I made a single serving as my afternoon snack.  Very filling, I must say, but quite good.

This is the original recipe, then I’ll tell you what I changed:

Quick Chiquita Banana Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe – Recipe is for 2 servings

Almonds, cooked oatmeal, bananas and yogurt meet up in your blender for a power breakfast. Drink this Banana Oatmeal Smoothie before your morning exercise routine and you’ll have the energy you need to get through your workout.

Ingredients:

• 2   whole Chiquita Bananas (best with brown flecks on peel)
• 2   cups Ice
• 1/3   cup Yogurt – preferably Greek yogurt flavored with honey
• 1/2   cup Cooked oatmeal
• 1/3   cup Almonds

Instructions For:

Pour all ingredients in blender pouring ice in last. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smoothie thickens.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Calories 380; Total Fat 15 g (Sat 2 g, Trans 0 g, Poly 4 g, Mono 8 g); Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 35 mg; Potassium 690 mg; Total Carbohydrates 53 g; Dietary Fiber 9 g; Total Sugars 19 g; Protein 12 g. Percent Daily Value: Vitamin A 2%; Vitamin B6 25%; Vitamin C 20%; Vitamin D 0%; Calcium 15%, Iron 15%.

As you can see from the photo at the top of the post, my smoothie is pink.  I added 3 strawberries for a twist.

Idea:  If you have a banana that is getting a little too ripe, you can peel it, then wrap it in some plastic wrap and freeze it.  It can be used instead of ice when making a smoothie.

I started out using a fresh banana, but then remembered I had a banana in the freezer.  So, I left the ice and the fresh banana out, and used the frozen banana (I don’t know if it was a Chiquita banana).

At the website, I noticed  some people commented that they didn’t bother to cook the oatmeal.  It took a matter of 5 to 6 minutes to cook the oatmeal in the microwave, so I recommend taking the time to cook it.  If you have instant oatmeal, it will cook even faster.  You could probably cook the oatmeal the night before and keep it in the refrigerator for the morning.

Adjust the honey to your taste and, if you are so inclined, a dash of vanilla might be nice.  I used plain Greek yogurt.  I would imagine that if you don’t like almonds, you could substitute walnuts (or whatever you like).

This concoction is a bit thick, so it took a little while to get the blender going.  I had to stop the blender and stir it around a little before it took off and did it’s thing.

The recipe is definitely a filling drink and a nice breakfast treat.  I can see why they say it will get you through your exercise routine.  Next time, I’ll drink it before mine instead of in the middle of the afternoon.  One serving and I was full.

Let me know if you try it and if you gave it a twist of your own.