Hey guys!
It's almost Thanksgiving, which means the season of pumpkin everything is nearing the end! Some of you may be sick of pumpkin by now but I don't belong in that camp. I love pumpkin. Judge me or join me I don't care. I'd proclaim it from mountain tops if Florida wasn't so damn flat. Anyway the other day I made a super delicious and not vegan or healthy in any way layered pumpkin cheesecake and I had some leftover pumpkin purée. So I did what any self respecting human would do and I put it in my protein shake. Usually my protein shakes are just a blend of everything in my house. Sometimes they taste like vinegar, and sometimes they taste like kale, because they're mostly kale. But this time I actually paid attention to what went into it and it was pretty magical. So that's a really long intro for a smoothie recipe but I hope you enjoy it!
• 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 frozen banana (peel your almost overripe bananas and coat them in lemon, or any other citrus juice then put them in a ziploc bag or other container & freeze. This prevents them from going brown)
• 1 generous handful of kale, spinach, or your preferred greens
• 1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used Naturade Vegan Smart Chai, I also love Vega)
• 1 (or 2) dates, or sub 1 tablespoon of Grade B maple syrup
• cinnamon (to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or sub pumpkin pie spice)
• 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds (or hemp)
Blend everything until smooth, creamy, and delicious and enjoy!