Blueberry Muffin Smoothie

I mentioned that I’ve been cutting back on sugar with the help of a Go Sugar Free program and you guys? It’s TOTALLY working. My consumption of the sweet stuff has dropped at least 95% over the past several weeks, and the course has taught me to be more sugar selective moving forward.

That being said, I still crave a sweet treat at night every now and again so I’ve been turning to Blueberry Muffin Larabars which are naturally sweetened with dates, unsweetened dried blueberries, and blueberry juice concentrate. All natural ingredients but still, the grams of sugar in the nutrition label is OFF the charts.

So, I decided to throw a few Blueberry Muffin Larabar-inspired ingredients into a blender and voila, Blueberry Muffin Smoothies were born! This not-too-sweet, ultra-thick smoothie recipe tastes just like a Blueberry Muffin. It’s crazy!

Vanilla Greek Yogurt is blended with milk, frozen blueberries, frozen banana, lemon zest, ice, and uncooked oats until it’s thick, smooth, and perfectly sippable. So much healthier than a blueberry muffin and will keep you much fuller longer too.

I credit the blueberries for giving this smoothie such a superb blueberry flavor, of course, but the addition of lemon zest, vanilla yogurt, and raw, uncooked oats really takes it from blueberry smoothie to blueberry muffin smoothie.

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If you’ve never added raw, uncooked oats to your smoothies, don’t be scared. Not only does it add a boost of heart-healthy goodness to each sip, but it reminds me of the crumble topping some blueberry muffins are garnished with. Gosh I love me some blueberry muffins but even before I got Celiac Disease and started the Go Sugar Free Course they made me feel like h-e-double hockey sticks after eating them. WAY too much. This smoothie recipe on the other hand is just the ticket for a perfectly satisfying breakfast, snack, or after-dinner treat!

Here’s your all-star-smoothie lineup.

Start by adding 1/2 cup milk into a blender. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk but you can use whatever milk you’ve got. Next add an individual-sized container (4-6oz) Vanilla Greek Yogurt. The vanilla flavor is one of the things that really makes this smoothie taste like a muffin.

Then toss in 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Anyone else’s children just bonkers for blueberries? Lincoln annihilates at least a pint a week. Fresh blueberries are really easy to freeze, too. Just toss them in a freezer bag and freeze flat so they don’t clump together.

Add 1/2 frozen banana next (or a whole frozen banana for extra sweetness.) I like to freeze bananas when they’ve got “cheetah spots.” To eat them at this stage would make me gag (it’s the texture, right?!) but they indicate the perfect ripeness level, and therefore sweetness level, to use in smoothies.

You never want to freeze a banana with the peel on as it’s next to impossible to peel frozen. All you have to do is peel then place inside a ziplock back and squish. There’s no need to uniformly slice the banana as the chunks will come right out of the bag.

Finally, add 1/2 cup ice, 1/4 cup raw uncooked certified gluten-free oats, and 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest. If you don’t want to buy a lemon just for this smoothie recipe, it’ll still be good without it. With the lemon zest though, it’s GREAT. Again, really drives home that muffin flavor.

Turn on the blender then blend until the smoothie is very, well, smooth.

Pour into a glass and enjoy!

I’m telling you – thick, not-too-sweet, and bursting with blueberry muffin flavor. Love this combo! Enjoy!