What do you think of smoothies, the healthy variety that is? I really am curious to know. Are they an efficient way for you to pack a meal in a glass, do they fit well into your lifestyle, or do you think they are overrated?

Smoothies, especially green smoothies, are cooling, cleansing, and lightening, great for warm weather. In the cooler months I look for less cleansing and more grounding and nourishing properties to maintain a balanced state to support my immune system and counteract the cold outside. So inevitably my smoothie consumption goes down in the Autumn and Winter, but when I do have one it's a denser version that I try to consume at room temperature. So without further ado, I would like to introduce to you Green Smoothie's more nurturing and heftier cousin, the Oat and Pear Smoothie.

The flavor is pleasant without being aggressive, it is calming, almost neutral without being boring. The vanilla, cinnamon, and dates bring out the sweet side of earthy. And the steel-cut oats and almond butter ground the smoothie into something substantial.

And remember, although it is a smoothie, treat it like any other breakfast and sip it slowly, even chewing it a little. I will often spoon it out of the glass instead of drinking it. Adding additional chopped pear and dates to individual glasses would give a nice reason to use a spoon and add texture.

Oat & Pear Breakfast Smoothie
Serves 1

Notes: If your dates are not soft, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients. If possible, take the oats and almond milk out of the fridge first thing in the morning so they come to room temperature while you are getting dressed.

1/4 cup steel-cut (Irish) oats, soaked in fridge overnight, drained and rinsed
1 pear, cored and chopped (keep skin on if organic)
1 Tbsp almond butter
2 soft dates, pitted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Seeds scraped from 2 inch strip vanilla pod (or splash of vanilla extract)
Pinch of salt
Squeeze of lemon
3/4 cup almond milk

Optional Add-Ins

Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Maca powder

Remove oats, lemon, and almond milk from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Add all ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth, or to desired consistency. 

If there are pieces of pear and date that don't get blended, that's okay. In fact, adding additional chopped pear and dates to the smoothie would be delicious.

I am sharing this recipe with Mark over at Javelin Warrior's Cookin' W/ Luv for his Made WithLove Monday weekly series that celebrates recipes made from whole, natural ingredients.