The Green Oatmeal Smoothie

I got the idea to make a green oatmeal smoothie after seeing some oatmeal smoothies on Pinterest. They all used berries as the fruit, which I didn't hate the thought of, but I rarely accept an idea as is. :) I decided to make a yummy oatmeal smoothie...so I devoted some time to it this morning.

Try #1: I used 2 oz. of avocado (1/2 of a regular Hass), 2 oz of banana (1 small), 1 cup ice, 1/2 cup steel-cut oats (that's all I keep in my house--smoothie recipes called for quick oats), 1 cup of fresh baby spinach, 1 cup vanilla coconut milk, 1 tbsp honey, and a generous dash of ground cinnamon. The overall taste wasn't bad, but the texture I could not handle. The steel cut oats did not blend up well. It tasted WICKED nutty and gritty. I tried to enjoy it but it wasn't happening. So I threw it down the sink and drove across the street to pick up quick oats.

Try #2: I used the same ingredients except a light 1/2 cup of quick "1 min" oats. I let it blend and blend and blend. I did not want that gritty taste. The result, I found delicious! I can't taste the avocado or spinach at all. The oats blended perfectly. Basically it tastes like banana-cinnamon oatmeal. It's very yummy! I wouldn't drink it on a day that I'm not working out because it's definitely higher calorie/carb/etc. than I allow myself for breakfast. :) But, quite good. I think next time I will make a smaller batch next time. This was waaaay to much, I didn't even end up able to finish one 16-oz glass and I still had a cup or so left besides the leftover in my glass!

I'm still thinking of making one with raspberries...bananas are high in carbs and sugar. I probably wouldn't put avocado in that one. That may happen next week :)

Official Green Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe (2-3 servings)
1 cup ice
1/2 Hass Avocado, chilled
1 small banana, ripe, chilled
1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup vanilla coconut milk
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 tbsp honey
dash (or two) ground cinnamon

Blend 2-3 minutes and enjoy!