Holiday Pumpkin Smoothie

Written by Chef James on 17/11/10 pm30 07:53 PM
6 Comments

Some mornings I awake from sleep craving a smoothie instead of a hearty breakfast. I may still have eggs and vegetables an hour or two later, but there’s no denying my body’s request for the easily digestible, cooling smoothie.

The great thing about making any food from scratch, particularly a smoothie, is you get to control the quality and amount of ingredients. Many smoothie recipes are packed with excess sugar. This one is intentionally mild, so we’re not starting off your morning with a sugar rush. Here’s a winter recipe for all you pumpkin pie lovers. Drink up!

Yields: three 8oz servings

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened organic pumpkin puree (from can or 1 cup of precooked winter squash)
1/2 cup whole coconut milk
1Â cup raw milk (if you don’t have access to quality unpasteurized milk, then replace with another 1/2 cup whole coconut milk and 1/2 cup water)
1 raw egg (omit if you don’t have access to quality pastured eggs)
4 pitted dates
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp maple syrup (ideally grade B, even better grade C, or just use whatever grade you have)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground clove
1/8 tsp grated ginger (optional)
4 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

6 Comments »

Lisa Princic said:

Yum. Sounds interesting Margaret.

I love having a smoothie as a option for breakfast and this one seems warmer and more fitting than my usual one with frozen berries. It’s cold up here now!

# 22 November 2010 at 3:17 pm

Chef James (author) said:

Thanks for the comment, Lisa. If you want to make the pumpkin smoothie more warming, just omit or decrease the amount of ice cubes. Happy Holidays!

# 23 November 2010 at 10:07 am

Zico said:

Do you put coconut water?

# 29 November 2010 at 10:25 am

Chef James (author) said:

We use coconut milk in the recipe, but you can absolutely include coconut water in the smoothie. It will thin it out so you may need to add a little more coconut milk or ice if you want the smoothie to be thick.

# 29 November 2010 at 10:31 am