Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

More pumpkin, please. I make pumpkin recipes all year around. Any excuse for something that calls for pumpkin, I'm in!

This smoothie is good. It takes a little prep but for the taste and nutritional punch it delivers, it's worth it. I did a version with a couple of handfuls of mixed greens and it was good. But if you want the true pumpkin pie flavor, save your greens for another smoothie.

I'll be sharing more of my favorite smoothie recipes soon including green smoothies. I'm a big fan of the wonderful team at Simple Green Smoothies and they have inspired my green smoothie habit almost entirely. You can hop on over to their site for some recipes right now. I can't say enough about their recipes being the best for "beginners" or those that think they could never stomach greens in a smoothie. :)

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Makes 1 smoothie
Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 cups Almond milk
1/4 cup Rolled oats
1 tbsp Chia seeds
1/2 cup Canned pumpkin
2 tsp Molasses
1/2 Banana, frozen
2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp Pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the milk, oats, and chia seeds. Place in fridge for 1 hour or preferably overnight. I took the original author's advice and prep'd it the night before.

2. Add soaked oat mixture to blender along with the pumpkin, molasses, frozen banana, spices and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.

Energy Scoops, Balls, Handfuls or whatever you want to call them!

These things are fantastic. Really. My sons and I did a happy dance the first time we ate one. This recipe comes from Eating Rules, a blog that I frequent. I've been participating in the October Unprocessed 2013 over there. It's been challenging. I thought I ate mostly unprocessed but I quickly realized that I do rely on a decent amount of food that is considered processed. Not "highly processed" but not "unprocessed." So the month hasn't been perfect but I'm learning new stuff like how easy it is to make my own almond milk. I'll be doing that ASAP. If you want to learn about how Eating Rules defines unprocessed, click here. They have a guide you can download as well.

Okay, back to the yummy mounds of goodness. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of leaving mine in the shape of the scoop I used. This recipe is versatile. You can use any nut or seed butter, you can leave out the chocolate chips (I wouldn't!) and make them any size. They kind of taste like oatmeal cookie dough to me. I encourage everyone to make these. They're easy, affordable and make a great potluck or party item. I've also started to put them in my son's lunch on Fridays as a special treat.

Energy Balls
Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup peanut or almond butter
½ cup chocolate chips
8 medjool dates (pitted)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients in food processor.
2. Mix thoroughly. Mixture will look crumbly.
3. Scoop or roll into balls.
4. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Overnight Oats

Yum! 

I may be a little late to the overnight oats (in a jar) party but I'm so happy that I discovered this super easy and nutritious breakfast or any time snack.

It's funny, for the last six months or so, I've been saving glass jars. Any and all jars - fruit spread, salad dressing, pasta sauce, applesauce and spice jars. I decided to start saving them for storing food in, using in future craft projects, to make my own vanilla extract and for drinking out of or serving cute desserts in. So when I rediscovered this recipe I saved a while back, I was equipped!

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to dig it. Maybe that's why it took me so long to get back to it. Well, I did like it and find myself thinking about all the different combinations I can try. My husband loved it, too. He's already suggested a peach combo once they're in season. Sounds awesome to me! My first time making overnight oats, I used banana and blueberries. The second time (pictured above), I used bananas and mixed berries. Both were great. The mixed berries I used are the organic frozen mixed berries from Trader Joe's. Makes using berries more affordable.

One of my goals this year is to use new ingredients. This recipe provided the perfect opportunity - chia seeds. I've had chia seeds in a drink I bought and I liked it but hadn't added them to anything myself. They're sorta plain, maybe a little nutty in flavor. They can also be expensive. The best price I've seen is at Trader Joe's. $4.99 for a 5.3 ounce bag. I feel like I'm always saying Trader Joe's but it seems they almost always offer the best price. I still can't find coconut oil cheaper anywhere even when ordering bulk. Chia seeds provide fiber (5 grams per tablespoon) and omega-3 fat. Flaxseed or hempseed would also work well in overnight oats and provide healthy benefits as well. Now that I think about it, I'm gonna add hempseed to my list of new things to try since I haven't tried it yet.

Now for the recipe. Give it a try. The combinations are endless.

Overnight Oats
Makes one serving
Adapted from here

Ingredients:
1/4 cup quick oats
1/2 cup almond milk or any milk of choice
1/4 medium banana, sliced
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup blueberries or other fruit
1 tsp maple sugar or brown sugar
pinch cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped pecans, granola, etc. (for topping)

Directions:
Put all the ingredient in a jar, cover and shake then refrigerate overnight. Add pecans or other crunchy topping right before eating. Yum!