Pumpkin Pie Smoothie -- Its not as SCARY as it sounds. I PROMISE!

Hello Everyone!
It's probably pretty obvious right now, but I love fall.  I'm sort of a walking cliche.  I want to wear the big, bulky sweaters, scarves and boots.  I want to drink pumpkin spice lattes and hot apple ciders.  But, until just about a week ago, the temperature where I lived was in the nineties.  So no sweaters, no boots, and no hot beverages.  In an attempt to appease my pumpkin spice latte addiction, I thought that I would try to come up with a pumpkin pie smoothie recipe.

Why don't they decorate spices like this anymore?  It would make your spice cabinet look so much more interesting!

I would like to say that this was my genius brainstorm, but the truth is I saw an e-mail from Bon Appetit that contained a recipe for a pumpkin smoothie.
Unfortunately, I did not like their recipe.  And when I went to look for other recipes online I wasn't crazy about their recipes either.  Some recipes asked for banana, or put in ice.  Yuck.  The only one that I found that sounded delicious was the recipe from the Pioneer Woman, but her recipe was for eight servings and I am just one person.   (I thought that you might like to try it, so I have put the link in this blog.)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/pumpkin-smoothie/

So, to the drawing board I went.  I even asked one of my friends, who works in a smoothie shop, what he thought of my ingredients and whether it would make a good smoothie.  He gave me some pointers and then it was off to experiment!  After a few tries, this was the recipe that I liked the most.

For those of you who are leery of a pumpkin pie smoothie, I have this tale to tell.  My husband was disgusted by the idea when I told him what I wanted to try this week-end.  For this reason, I only let him sample my final project.  Which he STILL looked on with distaste.  But, he loves me, so he tried it.  HE LOVED IT!  He says that he could easily drink this in the morning and he also believes that it could be served as a desert and no one would be upset.  (So long as they liked pumpkin.)  The moral of the story is, don't be afraid to try this, it is really yummy.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients

1/4 serving pumpkin, from 15 ounce can (Please note that this is a serving, not 1/4 cup)

1/4 - 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk (I like to do 1/4 cup because I like a thicker smoothie)

1/4 - 1/2 cup Vanilla Honey Greek Yogurt  (I do slightly less than half a cup), you can also use regular vanilla yogurt

1/4 tsp. - 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon (This all depends on how much you love cinnamon.  1/2 tsp. can be ALOT, so try small and work your way up 

Nutmeg, a pinch.  Seriously, you do not need a lot here, I just sprinkle mine on.
Ginger, dusting  (Just sprinkle this on.  A little goes a LONG way.)

1 tsp. Maple Syrup (Optional)  can do more if you would like it sweeter (Also, I use real maple syrup, not maple flavored syrup.

Graham Crackers (Cinnamon or Regular), crushed 

*NOTE*  You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

Please keep in mind that all of these ingredient amounts are relative to personal taste.  You may want to add more cinnamon, or more almond milk -  if you want your smoothie to be thinner.  One of the things that I love about smoothies is that they are so organic when you make them.  I, literally, never measure anything when I make a smoothie.  (I did when I made this, so I could let y'all know the measurements and it was weird!) So do what you think will taste good - I have just put these measurements as guidelines.

Instructions

1.  Separate a 15 ounce can of pure pumpkin puree into four equal parts.  (You can measure it, but I just eyeball it.)  Put each part into a freezer bag.  

This is the pumpkin.  I know that it looks like some sort of Oompa Loompa shaded chicken breast, and is not very yummy looking but, trust me, it gets better.

As you can see by the picture, I took each quarter and put it into sandwich bags and put all of those into a gallon freezer bag.)

Put into the freezer and freeze overnight.

2.  Once your pumpkin is frozen, you can now make smoothies.  Take one packet of the pumpkin and put it in a single serve blender.  (I like to use the bullet and use the cup container with a handle.) 

3.  Add the yogurt and the almond milk.

4.  Add your spices and maple syrup.

Still sort of horrifying, I know.  But it will get better!

5.  Blend all of the ingredients together until the frozen pumpkin has been completely incorporated into the beverage.  

Once it is done it should be creamy and wonderful.

6.  You can add the crushed graham crackers if you want.  Or you can just drink it plain.  Whatever suits your fancy!

How easy is that?!?!?!  It tastes like pumpkin pie and you didn't have to wait for it to bake!

I'm not done with Halloween yet.  Soon I will be posting some inexpensive, but scary, ways to decorate the outside of the house for the Halloween holiday and I will be adding some more recipes. Plus, I will have pictures of my adorable pooches in their Halloween costumes.   Its a Halloween boo-fet (pronounced boofay) of goodies on the Frugal Femme which I hope you enjoy!

"Mommy, why don't I get to wear a costume?"