Chocolate Oatmeal Smoothie

By Sona Narayanan @spillthespices

Oatmeal is a great way to start your day. Having a bowl of hot porridge everyday can get really boring. Adding oatmeal to smoothies is a another way to enjoy this highly nutritious grain. You can add cooked oatmeal for a creamy smoothie or raw oatmeal if you like little crunch. If using cooked oatmeal in your morning smoothie, it's best to pre-cook the oatmeal the night before, to allow to cool completely. 
Usually I make oatmeal breakfast smoothie with some fruits like this strawberry banana oatmeal smoothie. So this time I thought to try something different and made this chocolate smoothie with oats, banana, almonds and dates. I added a little drinking chocolate to make it extra delicious. The sweetness from the banana, dates and drinking chocolate was perfect and I didn't have to add any extra sweeteners. Even kids would love this healthy smoothie, so do try and let me know how you like it.

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL SMOOTHIE RECIPE

{ Breakfast smoothie with oats, cocoa powder and banana }
Serves 1

Ingredients:
¼ cup rolled oats
5-6 almonds, chopped
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tbsp drinking chocolate powder
5 dates, pitted
1 small banana, chopped
1 cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
Method:
1. In a blender add oats, almonds and grind it to a fine powder. Now add banana, dates, ½ cup milk and blend until smooth.
2. Add remaining milk, cocoa powder, drinking chocolate powder, vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Pour into glass and serve immediately.
Notes and Tips
  • If you prefer cooked oatmeal in smoothies, cook it previous night to allow to cool completely.
  • Instead of drinking chocolate, you can also add any chocolate malt powder.
  • To spice up the smoothie, you can add a pinch of cinnamon.
  • You can add honey or natural sweeteners if you want more sweetness.