Rainbow Smoothies with Oats ⋆ Design Mom

We love smoothies for after school snacks, and we love them for a quick morning breakfast. I would say especially in the mornings. When we’re feeling rushed, or have a morning time crunch, smoothies are our fastest breakfast. Partly because in general, I’m not big on measuring smoothie ingredients. I tend to throw in whatever’s in the freezer or fridge and adjust proportions as I go.

When I’m deciding what should go in the smoothie, the rainbow is my general guideline. If I can fit in red, orange, yellow, green and blue/purple ingredients, that’s terrific. And when I can, I call it a Rainbow Smoothie.

Today I’ve got two Rainbow Smoothie variations for you. I asked my kids to describe the difference, and they said one is creamy, and one is refreshing — and that they loved them both! Each includes wholegrain oats. They make the smoothies more filling, so that it really feels like breakfast in a cup. And though I mentioned I don’t typically measure my ingredients, I did measure these so that I could give you a good starting point, and then you can add more or less amounts of ingredients as you see fit.

#1 Refreshing Rainbow Smoothie

Ingredients:
– 5 large frozen strawberries
– 1 persimmon, cut into chunks or wedges
– 1/2 cup frozen pineapple (or about an equal amount as the persimmon)
– a handful of spinach
– 1/3 cup frozen blueberries
– 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
– 1 cup water

Throw everything in the blender and mix it up till smooth. You can add more or less liquid if you want the smoothie to be thicker or thinner.

For the next one we switch out the persimmons and pineapple for cantaloupe and bananas. And use milk instead of water. That combo of banana and milk is what brings the creaminess.

#2 Creamy Rainbow Smoothie

Ingredients:
– 5 large frozen strawberries
– 1 wedge of cantaloupe (about the same amount as one banana)
– 1 frozen peeled banana
– a handful of spinach
– 1/3 cup frozen blueberries
– 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
– 1 cup milk

Once again, add everything to the blender and mix it up till smooth, adjusting the quantity of milk as you prefer.

Note: Do Yourself a Favor and Prep Ahead

I think the think that makes smoothies so fast for us on busy mornings is that we have prepped ingredients in the freezer. Sometimes I buy bags of frozen fruit, other times, if I can see our fresh fruit is about to turn and we won’t have time to eat it, I’ll rinse and prep it for the freezer (See: My Guide to Freezing Fruits & Vegetables).

When I’m really on the ball, prep Smoothie Packets in freezer bags. I combine all the ingredients in one bag — even things I don’t normally freeze, like the oats — and then stack them flat in the freezer. Which means I can simply you empty the contents of the bag into the blender in the morning super quick. We get a good breakfast, even when we’re crunched for time.

Now I’d love to hear: Are you a smoothie drinker, too? What do you like to add to yours? Any favorite go-to ingredients? And how often do you make them?