Toasted Coconut Oats over Tropical Smoothie

These toasted oats are basically a skinny version of granola. They are light, sweet, and simple. If you don't use all of them on your smoothie, they would also go well with applesauce or yogurt!

Lightly toast one cup of oats in a non-stick pan over low to medium heat. Watch these carefully; they will taste burnt before they look it. 

Mix together your vanilla, brown sugar, and honey. Pile the oats in the middle of the pan, pour the wet ingredients over, and stir to combine. You'll need to stir it around kind of fast to make sure the mixture coats all of the oats evenly. 

And uh, that is kind of hard to do while holding a dSLR in one hand... but you probably don't have to worry about that. 

Next, add the coconut and walnuts. Toast these for just a couple of minutes. A good rule of thumb is when you can smell them, they are done!

I prepared my toasted oats the night before, let them cool, and stored them in a sealed container. The next morning, all I had to do was make the smoothie! 

Take your yummy tropical fruit and chop it up into big pieces. Skin on or off? That's up to you. If you read my fruit salad post, you know what I chose. :) 

Divide the chopped fruit into four equal portions. At this point, you could go ahead and make four smoothies OR put the other servings into plastic baggies to freeze for later. 

Combine one fourth of the fruit with 1/4 cup of yogurt. Hey! Waaaait a second... what's all that green stuff?! I like to throw a cup of spinach or kale into my smoothies. I don't think you can taste it, and it adds a nice punch of nutrition! Totally a win-win situation. 

If you're making this smoothie with frozen fruit, I would double the yogurt and gradually add a little milk (or almond milk, soy milk, water, fruit juice, etc) to achieve the consistency you want. That will mess with the points, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Simply adjust accordingly. 

Why yes, I did use a tropical-looking plant as a prop in this picture. It was an act of inspiration, ok?

A sweet, simple smoothie with a satisfying crunch! Enjoy!

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Good for: breakfast, snack

Time to table: 10-15 min

Serving Size: A little more than 1 cup of smoothie and about 1/4 cup of toasted oats

WW PointsPlus® value: 5 (fresh fruit not counted towards points)

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Toasted Coconut Oats over Tropical Smoothie

Makes four smoothies with about 1/4 c of toasted oats each

Toasted Oats:
1 c. uncooked oats
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp honey
2 tb sweetened shredded coconut

Smoothie:
mango
banana
2 kiwis
pineapple
spinach or kale
1/4 c non-fat plain yogurt

1. Toast one cup of uncooked oats over low to medium heat for a few minutes. They should be lightly toasted, mind them carefully to make sure they do not burn.
2. Mix together vanilla, brown sugar, and honey. Pour over toasted oats and stir quickly to coat evenly.
3. Add coconut and walnuts. Toast until fragrant.
4. Chop all fruit into big chunks. Divide into four equal portions. You can freeze the portions you do not use.*
5. Place one-fourth of the fruit, one cup of greens, and 1/4 cup of yogurt in blender and blend until smooth.
6. Pour into glass, top with 1/4 cup of toasted oats and enjoy!
*For frozen smoothie, use 1/2 cup of yogurt and gradually add milk, water, or fruit juice to achieve your desired consistency.