The Great Pumpkin Smoothie

‘Tis the season to eat pumpkin fa la la la la la la la la…la!  But who am I kidding?  For me, pumpkin is a food that I eat year round. Thanksgiving, Christmas…Flag Day.  The truth is, I ❤ orange vegetables in just about any form.  So bring on the sweet potatoes, squash and pumpkin and especially THIS time of year bring them on all the more.

            Today I wanted to share my “Super healthy, allergy friendly, FODMAPS friendly, way-too-delicious to be good for you, easy way to detox and start your day smoothie,” BUT, that title seemed like overkill.  So, for the sake of time and ease we’ll call it the

“Green Pumpkin Smoothie,” …and just you and I will know the truth 😉

            This smoothie is a great way to get your Pumpkin fix this time of year, but in a form that will actually help your waistline stay trim and your blood sugar stay in check.  This smoothie is also a huge immune system booster!  It’s chock full of vitamins, protein, and fiber and will keep your energy up through all of your holiday prep.  Plus, in this season of overindulgence, it’s important to give your digestive system a break every once in a while.  Ready for it?  Here we go.

            First assemble all your ingredients:

From left to right we have:  Flax seed meal, Nutiva Hemp Protein, (I get mine at Vitamin Shoppe, but you can also get it on Amazon) SweetLeaf Vanilla Creme Stevia (my favorite brand for taste and texture.  P.S. you can find it in many grocery stores now), Pumpkin ( you can use homemade if you have time time, but canned works just as well here), cinnamon, Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk, baby spinach, Vanilla extract (make sure you get the good stuff without all of the high fructose and gluten nonsense) lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, chia seeds (which are way cheaper at Costco!)

and last but certainly not least:

The greens! Today I have kale, parsley and swiss chard.  If you’re a “newby” to green smoothies, start with spinach and then graduate to the “more advanced” greens 🙂 I LOVE swiss chard in smoothies, but sometimes kale can have a stronger flavor that you need to ease into.  You’ve been forewarned.

Now grab your trusty Nutri Bullet (ours was a present from an uber awesome friend!) or blender and get to work!

• 1 Tbs Flax seed meal
• 2 Tbs Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder Hi-Fiber (this is NOT tasty on its own, that’s why we have all the doctoring going on! But, with 12g of fiber & 11g of protein, we’ll forgive it)
• Vanilla Stevia to taste
• 1-2 large scoops of canned pumpkin
• generous sprinkle of cinnamon
• Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (probably around 1/3 of a cup, I eyeball it to the consistency I like)
• a generous handful of Baby Spinach
• 2 small splashes of Vanilla Extract
• Lemon Juice-just a splash.  You can omit this, but it does brighten the flavor
• about 1/8 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice, you can always add more, but cloves can be strong!
• 1 Tbs Chia Seeds
• 1-2 stems Swiss Chard (Bok Choy is really great in this too)
• 1-2 stems Kale
• 1-2 stems Parsley

As you can see the spices in this recipe are pretty much all to taste.  It’s very customizable and can be used as a base recipe.  Feel free to experiment with different greens.  I also will sometimes add  a Tbs of gluten-free oats and frozen berries, but this is what I had on hand for today.

Here’s what it will look like when it’s all assembled:

And here is your final product, Enjoy!!!

Another great reason to love this smoothie, is that it can all be assembled the night before and stored in the fridge.  By doing this, you can literally make breakfast in less than 1 min in the a.m!

Cheers to eating at least one healthy thing this holiday weekend! 🙂

Meg

*I have nothing to disclose