Sweet Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (Thickalicious, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

When I was a child, pumpkin pie (with whipped cream or ice cream) was a dessert that my Grandma Sanders always contributed to the holiday meal.  Since I continue to love pumpkin pie but can't make pie crust to save my soul (perhaps fortunately), this lovely sweet pumpkin pie smoothie is a great tribute to that great tradition!

Ingredients:

1/2 C. Rolled Oats (Gluten-free variety, if you are wheat-sensitive)
1 T. ground Chia Seed (Grind in the Coffee Bean grinder)
2 cups Almond Milk
1 cup frozen Banana chunks
1/2 cup Ice
3/4 cup canned organic Pumpkin (unsweetened)
2 organic Mandarin oranges, segmented, seeded if they have seeds
1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1+ tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice or a mix of Cinnamon/Nutmeg to suit you

Method:

1. Put the Oats and the Chia Seed into the blender carafe first and then pour in the Almond Milk, letting the Oats and Chia soak for 15 minutes or longer.  Their rehydration really helps with digestibility.
2. Put other ingredients in to the carafe and spin up for as long as it takes to produce a nice silk-blended smoothie.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Here are the other 6 Christmas Smoothie Recipes for you to sample!

Cranberry-Apple, Green Grape and Chia Christmas Smoothie

Cranberry Lassi with Coconut Milk, Cumin, Chia and Ginger Smoothie

Mandaringo-Ginger Smoothie

Christmas Cake Smoothie

Luscious Eggless Nog Smoothie

Chocolate-Mint Smoothie

Smart Pineapple Sage Smoothie (vegan)

Salvia elegans, photographed at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum- Wikipedia, Eric Hunter, cc-

Okay, I've been wondering this all summer: what would a green smoothie with sage in it taste like? More specifically, what would a green smoothie with some of my abundant pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) in it taste like?  It smells like pineapple, it tastes slightly like pineapple and a lot like a mild version of the sage you put in your Christmas turkey.  I'm thinking it will have a sharp bitter flavour that will punch through any fruity flavours.  I decide to give it a try anyhow.

Ingredients:

• Water drained from 1 Young Thai Coconut (gel/meat reserved for another recipe)
• Handful of cleaned (with water) Pineapple Sage Leaves
• 2 Bananas
• 1/4 C. Organic Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)
• Dash of Cinnamon (optional)
• Filtered Water - as much as you want (1-2 Cups?)

Whirl up the above in your blender.  

Result: Actually, this is one of the mildest, sweetest Green Smoothies I've ever made. I may try it again and only use 1 banana.  It tastes very tropical.  I think some fresh pineapple would be very nice in this as well.  Sage is an herb with many ascribed natural healing properties.  Go here to read an interesting article from that perspective (also a recipe for Pineapple Sage Pound Cake). 

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This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions.

 To your better and better health, 

 ~Cynthia

Smoothie of the Week: Coconut-Peach Punch

Peach Smoothie @pixabay

This is my absolute favourite green smoothie in a long time.  If you are new to the 'green' in a green smoothie, you might be surprised by the ingredients... but keep your mind open... I think you'll be surprised!  It's fair to preface the recipe with a few other ideosyncratic details of my own: I freeze all my fresh fruit and berries and then I don't have to use ice cubes.  Sometimes I will throw in unfrozen, fresh off the vine fruits, but quite often not.  The peaches in this recipe were peeled by hand (they were that ripe) and sliced and put into a medium freezer baggie (I also really like to use mason jars in the freezer, but more for berries).  I hack about 1/8 of the resulting block off-- maybe a couple of peaches.  We'll go with that.

All smoothie recipes have a "you-decide" quality-- you can decide if you want more or less or different ingredients!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 peaches, cut in sections (no pit)
• 4-6 ribs of celery, including leaves
• 2-3 frozen bananas
• 1 coconut, water and meat (or a small container of coconut water from the store)
• Water to the top of the blender container, or as much as you wish

Whirl up to heavenly smoothness.  Drink.  Enjoy!

This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions. If you found anything useful, intriguing, or have questions, I would really appreciate your feedback... please use the comment box below.
To your better and better health, ~Cynthia