Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

It took a couple of months longer than usual but summer finally washed over southwestern Ontario a few weeks back with a familiar wrenching heat and wringing humidity, reducing otherwise healthy appetites and cooking ambitions to a minimum. And while bodily health might be braced under these circumstances with a cold gin and tonic on the patio, a little food value — no matter how reluctant — is still vital for its maintenance.

Oat, yogurt and fruit smoothies present a simple and delicious no-cook solution to stifling temperatures without burdening the appetite. Fermented in good, whole-fat yogurt, blended oats are ready to digest without cooking and provide you with the B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, protein, and soluble fat and fiber to get you through a summer day's lazing. And the natural mild nuttiness of oats and the tang of fresh yogurt form a perfect flavor backdrop to the sweet and tasty vitamins and anti-oxidants found in fresh fruit.

In fact, the overnight room-temperature soaking of one part rolled oats and two parts whole-fat yogurt presented here is a one-size-fits-all base for adding any variation of fruits and natural sweeteners to make a thoroughly nutritious and digestible smoothie. This refreshing and nutritious pomegranate and blueberry smoothie was born with plenty of fresh and juicy local blueberries on hand as well as some wonderful samples of pomegranate juice generously provided by POM — a product I'm pleased to endorse both for its taste and for its health benefits.

Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on September 4, 2009 A delicious, refreshing and nutritious smoothie with the goodness of pomegranates, blueberries and oats soaked in yogurt Preparation: 10 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 3/4 cup rolled or steel-cut oats 1 1/2 cups whole-fat yogurt 1/2 pint fresh or frozen blueberries 2/3 cup pomegranate juice 1/3 cup cold water 2 tablespoons honey 4 ice cubes Instructions: Stir the yogurt into the oats and let soak overnight at room temperature in a covered non-plastic bowl. In the morning, blend the soaked oats together with all the other ingredients in a blender until smooth and frothy. Serve with breakfast, or as a snack. Makes 4 large servings

Other fruit smoothies you may enjoy:
Blueberry and Maple Syrup Oat Smoothie
Oat-Mango Smoothie with Blackberries

On the top of the reading stack: Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski

Audio accompaniment: Anger Do Not Enter by Beef Terminal