Boost Your Energy For Autumn With This Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
What an amazing autumn we are having this year; the continuous sunshine and warmer-than-average temperatures have been appreciated by many of us here in Michigan. In my opinion, this is the perfect walking weather — so perfect in fact, that I find that I’m taking more than one walk per day and enjoying every step a little bit more as I enjoy the fall foliage.
Speaking of walking… I’m hoping the weather stays cooperative this weekend, since I will be participating in a 5K walk on Sunday, Oct. 16. This trail run will be taking place at the Watervliet Municipal Airport beginning at 10 a.m. and will take race participants around the runways and through the surrounding airplane hangars. The cost is $15 per person with onsite registration until 9:45 a.m. on the day of the race. I hope you can join in on the fun! Don’t forget that you can also enjoy a steaming bowl of chili after the race is over.
The Flavors of Fall
Mmmm, a bowl of hot chili this time of year always seems to taste extra delicious, doesn’t it? It’s one food item that seems to go hand-in-hand with autumn. My family loves a good meal of white chicken-chili, but in our home, there is another autumn favorite that has been enjoyed recently: pumpkin smoothies! If you like pumpkin pie, you’ll love one of these scrumptious treats.
Not only do these pumpkin smoothies taste great, but pumpkins actually contain several health benefits. Pumpkin is one of the most nutritional foods available — they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and both the flesh and seeds of the pumpkin provide many health-boosting nutrients. Pumpkin is also low in fat and calories and rich in disease-fighting nutrients such as: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, fiber, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium and pantothenic acid.
I always seem to have a little extra energy after enjoying one of these smoothies too! I’ve found that when making these smoothies you can use canned, pure solid-pack pumpkin, but using fresh pumpkin from the garden tastes just a little bit better. A recent cooking show demonstrated how to place a small, cleaned-out pumpkin in the microwave for six minutes and then the insides can be easily scooped out.
Pumpkin Smoothie
Place in a blender:
- 1 cup of ice
- 1 cup of pure pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Nutmeg and cinnamon to taste
- Artificial sweetener to taste (Stevia is recommended)
- ½ cup skim milk or plain yogurt
Mix in blender until the mixture is slushy. It tastes just like cold pumpkin pie without all the calories! Obviously there is no crust, so be a little creative and find some low-fat graham crackers or vanilla wafers to scoop up the mixture with, almost like it’s a pumpkin dip.
After you’ve enjoyed your smoothie, I highly suggest you take a walk in this beautiful autumn weather! It’s not going to stay like this for long, you know. In fact, I’m not even going to mention what will be covering the ground after the fall leaves have been cleaned up. (We live in Michigan — we already know.)
What’s your favorite fall drink? Share your recipe here.
Photo by bobjudge
