Berry Oat Hazelnut Smoothie

The past month I made the decision to eliminate dairy from my diet for the summer. As someone who is very pro-mozzarella stick, this was extremely difficult to start. The first few days consisted of looking up pictures of nachos when I was sick of eating rice and ordering water when my friends and I went out for ice cream.

However, my diet changed encouraged me to make food at my house with the food I already had and to buy healthier products. I really wanted to look forward to my meals and become accustomed to a life without covering everything in cheese. I don’t have a huge budget so I also wanted to use as few ingredients as possible. I’m also not the most impressive chef in the world, so I found a website that has many 3-5 ingredient fruit smoothie recipes and started experimenting!

It’s important to note that you can find many fruits in our farmers markets and at local farms in New Hampshire throughout the summer. Strawberries will be available in a few short weeks and blueberries will be following soon after. By taking advantage of the harvest when berries are in season, you can freeze extra for use year-round. There are also many local milk producers in our region– from cow’s milk at Brandmoore or Brookford Farms to a variety of goats milk dairies. If you’re like me and are trying to cut down on dairy, I’ve found that almond milk is a delicious substitute for recipes calling for milk. The great thing about these recipes is that you can alter them to fit what you like! Here is my favorite:

Berry Oat Hazelnut Smoothie

• 1 cup milk of your choice
• 1 cup berry of your choice
• 1 banana                                                             
• 1 tablespoon hazelnuts
• ¼ cup oats

Throw all of this in a blender, and stop when you find a consistency you enjoy! I have this for breakfast about twice a week, it’s very filling and nutritional. I’ve experimented with different nuts and berries – like I said the great thing about smoothies is that you can make it your own!

This recipe is adapted from: https://greatist.com/eat/simple-smoothie-recipes