Recipe: Blueberry Pie Smoothie — Weekday Breakfast Recipes from The Kitchn |Cooking With Amanda

Spring is a lovely time of year to be a farmer. Yes, the days are incredibly busy from sunup until sundown, and most of that time is spent hunched over the dirt in a back-breaking position. But on our farm, we're are never bitter in springtime (which is quite a contrast to the middle of August!). Right now, the unfolding of the summer seems bright and full of promise.

Spring is also a great time of year to start eating lighter and healthier meals to fuel our bodies for long days ahead. This blueberry pie smoothie is a perfect example of how my husband and I begin our day before we head out into the fields.

We are lucky enough to still have frozen blueberries from the 2013 farm season in our freezer. Frozen blueberries (or any frozen fruit for that matter) make smoothies like this taste like an indulgent treat. With the combination of creamy coconut milk, oats, pecans, and spices, this tastes like blueberry pie but is full of good-for-you ingredients. It's so thick and creamy that I usually eat my smoothie with a spoon while my husband prefers a straw.

If you are a blueberry pie lover, then I think you may have just found your new go-to morning shake. Grab a straw (or a spoon) and dig in!

Blueberry Pie Smoothie

Serves 2

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana
1/4 cup rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons shredded coconut

Place all ingredients except the shredded coconut into a high-speed blender and whirl away until smooth. Garnish each smoothie with shredded coconut.

Recipe Notes

If you don't have a powerful blender I would suggest using pecan butter instead of chopped pecans. Another nut butter such as almond butter or sunflower seed butter would work well too!

(Image credits: Andrea Bemis)