Raspberry breakfast smoothie

We all know that breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, but if you are like me then it can be hard to always ‘do the right thing’ when it comes to early mornings. I need breakfast as much as I need some caffeine in the morning (despite a recent article’s suggestion, I will not be sacrificing my morning coffee), but time is always a factor. Recently though I’ve been experimenting a little with smoothies. Normally these fill me up for the grand total of about ten minutes, but my raspberry breakfast smoothie is one a new batch of recipes I’ve really enjoyed and (with a little will power) have not required mid-morning snacking.

Don’t worry, this is not the start of an evangelical streak. I’m not going to start talking about juice cleanses, detoxing and such like - I have literally zero knowledge on the subject (although some might say that puts me on a par with the ‘experts’ in the field…). I love a breakfast smoothie because it’s a great way to get some more healthiness and goodness into the day and it doesn’t take a long time to make. Sure it’s still quite heavy on the natural sugars, but it is fresh, delicious and starts your morning off in the right way.

Not convinced you’ll be full until lunchtime? The reason I call this a raspberry breakfast smoothie is because it includes oats. Not only do they thicken the mixture up, but also there’s something in it to stop you from reaching for the snacks mid morning (well, unless you want to, of course).

One thing I would say though is to watch the raspberries you use. If local ones aren’t in season don’t go for sub-standard out-of-season imposters. These really won’t have the flavour or juiciness you want. A much better option is to get some ‘frozen fresh in season’ raspberries. We have an odd relationship with frozen foods, but if it was in season and good produce when it was frozen you’ll find it much better than a mediocre grown in the depths of winter.