Blueberry Muffin Smoothie

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Skip the muffin and drink a healthy, gluten-free Blueberry Muffin Smoothie that tastes like one instead!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I’ve been cutting way back on sugar with the help ofJacqueline Smith’s Go Sugar Free course (<– affiliate link) and have had a lot of success. At this moment I’ve not had candy in over 60 days which is absolutely huge, and the real reason I wanted to go for it. Love(d) me some candy!

Let’s be real, I haven’t been perfect. I’ve enjoyed a couple bourbon balls a reader from Kentucky so generously sent me, several spoonfuls of homemade hot fudge sauce the sweetest reader (see what I did there) brought to a Join My Journey event last month, and a few sugary recipes I’ve posted here on IGE.

Clearly I can’t say I’ve completely kicked my sugar habit, but truly my consumption of the sweet stuff has dropped at least 95% over the past 60 days and the course has taught me to be more sugar selective moving forward. Plus my taste buds have become ultra sensitive to sugary foods. Total win in my book.

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, lemon, vanilla, and blueberry juice concentrate. OMG they are so good! Even better when you’ve left one in the car on a hot summer day and it tastes like you’re eating a warm blueberry muffin.

Uhhh.

Anyway, where am I going with this…oh yes, already long story short I attempted to make homemade Blueberry Muffin Larabars the other day and it was a complete disaster. Sticky, way too sweet, and just, blech. Some things are better left to the professionals.

I was sad the recipe didn’t work out but still craving the homemade taste of a blueberry muffin, so I threw a few Blueberry Muffin Larabar-inspired ingredients into a blender and voila, Blueberry Muffin Smoothies were born! This perfectly sweet, ultra-thick smoothie recipe tastes just like a Blueberry Muffin. It’s crazy!

Vanilla Greek Yogurt (I know, it’s sweetened, but not much,) 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.

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 topped 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 ’em. WAY too sweet.

This smoothie recipe is just the ticket for a lightly-sweet and satisfying breakfast, snack, or after-dinner treat!

Here’s the all-star-smoothie lineup.

Start by adding 1/2 cup milk into a blender. I used unsweetened vanilla almond breeze but you can use whatever milk you’ve got on hand. 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 yummy 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 (either old fashioned or instant,) 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 let ‘er rip for up to two minutes or until the smoothie is very, well, smooth.

Pour into a glass and enjoy!