Finnish Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Hello again, smoothie lovers! 🙋🏻

Today I want to share with you a recipe for something typically Finnish: a blueberry oatmeal smoothie. What makes it so Finnish? Well, first of all, Finns love blueberries. Going to a nearby forest to pick blueberries straight from the bush is a common pastime in the late summer and early autumn. Secondly, the oatmeal (by which I mean rolled oat grains, not oat porridge). In Finland, oatmeal is very popular. Many Finns start their day with a big bowl of oatmeal porridge, so it’s only natural that oatmeal often finds its way to people’s smoothies as well. Thirdly, this smoothie is simple and easy. Finns don’t like over-complicating things. Simple is beautiful. Just look at the work of most Finnish designers and you’ll realize that everything unnecessary is left out. Fourthly, the ingredients to this smoothie can be found in every grocery store in Finland: blueberries (fresh or frozen), oatmeal, banana, yogurt and milk (dairy or non-dairy). In other words, it’s a smoothie that can be made all-year round.

As you probably have noticed, I am using the term blueberries in this recipe. The “blueberries” growing in the Finnish forests are actually bilberries. They are very similar, but there are some differences. Here are the most notable differences between blueberries and bilberries:

• bilberries have red flesh and red juice, whereas the flesh of a blueberry is white or translucent
• bilberries grow mostly in Europe, blueberries in North America.
• bilberries are harvested from wild plants, blueberries cultivated and commercially grown
• bilberries are not for people who don’t want to “get their hands dirty”: the red flesh will stain your hands and color your tongue purple or blue.

You can find blueberries in the Finnish forests between July-October, so if you want fresh, Finnish blueberries, this is when you can find them being sold at market squares and grocery stores. Outside the blueberry season, you can easily find frozen blueberries in the frozen food aisle.

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this smoothie as much as I do!

A quick tip: if you want to add some berry power to any of your smoothies but don’t have fresh blueberries, you can substitute them with a few spoons of concentrate blueberry powder. Of course, it isn’t the same thing as fresh berries — you should always give fresh produce a priority — but at least you get more nutrition to your drink.   

In my mind, there’s no smoothie more Finnish than a blueberry/bilberry smoothie. But Finns also use other berries in their smoothies, such as strawberries, lingonberries, and raspberries. For other Finnish and Finland-inspired smoothies, check out these simple recipes:

• Bilberry Dream Smoothie
• Super-Healthy Lingonberry Smoothie
• Simple Raspberry Smoothie Bowl
• Finnish Queen (Kuningatar) Smoothie

P.S. You can find Smoothie Fairytales on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. And if you like my website, feel free to share it with your smoothie-eating friends 🙂

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