Are you tired of the same old oatmeal in the morning? Are you short on time, but want a breakfast that will leave you satisfied until lunch? Have you ever considered that drinking your whole grains could be the answer to all of these problems?

Here in Boston, the recent weather has us buried under 7 feet of snow. The unrelenting storms have caused weekday mornings to become hectic, to say the least. My normal 20-minute commute has become upwards of an hour with all of the weather-related public transit delays and gridlocked traffic. The last thing I want to think about before braving the increasingly impassable streets during my increasingly difficult commute is what I’m going to have for breakfast! That’s where the smoothie comes in. It is a quick and easy option for those mornings on the run. You can prepare the ingredients days, weeks, even months in advance, placing them in individual ziplock bags to store in the freezer. Just blend and go!

Adding whole grains to your smoothies can be done in a few different ways. The good news is that no matter how you choose to do it, it shouldn’t take much time. The first, and most common way is to just add rolled oats directly to your blender with your other ingredients. The second way is to use a spice grinder or food processor to make your oats into more of a powder before adding to your blender (think your own natural protein powder). The third way is to use leftover cooked grains, such as in this Quinoa Berry Smoothie, or this unique Warm Millet Breakfast Smoothie for especially cold mornings.

With smoothies, the possibilities are endless! You can even tailor your morning treat to the time of year by using different fruits and vegetables that you can find in season, or have your tropical fruits in the middle of the winter by using frozen fruit from the freezer. Smoothies are the perfect option for those of us who like to switch up our routine often, because you can easily have a different flavor profile every day of the week if you want! If you’re feeling creative, you can experiment with a smoothie for dessert instead. Here are five recipes for oat smoothies to help get your creative juices flowing.

What are your favorite ingredient combinations for delicious, whole grain smoothies?

(Harley)