Since becoming pregnant I have tried to live a healthier lifestyle and to eat a nutritious, fruit and veg based diet. I’ve been paying more attention to how my body interacts with certain foods or drinks – for instance, I have noticed that my baby becomes hyperactive whenever I drink coffee, and I have limited my daily caffeine intake as a result. It has been a process or rediscovery – of my body, my diet, and my general well-being. Thankfully, summer is the season when healthy eating can be accomplished relatively easily – in my case, I need some fresh produce, a panini grill and/or a blender, some inspiration and, of course, a bit of willpower 🙂
As someone who’s interested in nutrition, I was pleased to be contacted by Oatworks to review their oat-based fruit smoothies. Oatworks sent me a pack of smoothies to try for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
These smoothies come in 3 varieties – strawberry banana, peach mango and pomegranate blueberry – and can be purchased from various local stores in the New York City area, as well as from Amazon and from Oatworks directly.
Oatworks smoothies contain vitamins and minerals and are packed with beta glucan (or soluble fiber), a component of oats which works to satisfy hunger and to make you feel fuller for longer. There are 2 grams of soluble fiber in every bottle, which represents two-thirds of the recommended daily intake. Moreover, the sweetness in these smoothies comes exclusively from the natural sugar in the fruits, and they contain apple juice and pear juice for extra sweetness. Oatworks are also gluten, dairy and soy free, kosher, and non-GMO.
At first, I was intrigued: oats in a smoothie? How can that be? And what is the taste going to be like? To test them, I stored the smoothies in the refrigerator and served them chilled with my lunch. I assumed the oats were going to give the smoothies a thick consistency, but this was not the case. They were easy to pour and to drink, which I thought was great.
Flavor-wise, the peach mango smoothie was my favorite. I could clearly taste the flavor of the peach (one of my favorite summer fruits ever), and I thought the smoothie had the right amount of sweetness and a pleasant aftertaste.
The pomegranate blueberry variety was next on my list. I’m not a fan of pomegranates, but this smoothie did the trick for me, and I really enjoyed the flavor combination. The inclusion of the blueberries made the drink upbeat and refreshing.
The strawberry banana smoothie was the one I liked the least. I usually like to blend bananas with strawberries; here however, these fruits were weak and they appeared to me to be overwhelmed by the flavors of the added apple and pear juice. A more assertive presence of the banana and strawberry flavors would have made this smoothie a winner – in my case, anyway.
I thought my apple and celeriac panino would go well with these smoothies, so I made one for lunch yesterday. The freshness of the shredded apple and celeriac reminded me how much I liked this panino – plus, it complemented the freshness of the smoothies to create a vibrant summer lunch combo:
Overall, I liked the Oatworks smoothies and thought they were refreshing and had the right consistency. I also liked the overall concept behind these smoothies (that of a marriage between oats and fruits) and the novelty element they brought to my lunch. Oats and fruits in a smoothie? Yes, please! 🙂
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