Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

This healthy pumpkin pie smoothie will give you your pumpkin spice fix without all the empty calories. It is naturally sweetened, gluten free and contains no artificial ingredients!

This was originally posted on September 23rd, 2015.  It was updated with new photos on August 2nd, 2017. 

Happy First day of Fall!  Finally I can bring you this Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie!  It has been feeling like fall for a few weeks around here in the PNW, but today it is official.  Of course this means the onset of pumpkin spice everything.  Well, for me anyway.  I know pumpkin spice everything has been emerging for the past few weeks.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll admit, I like pumpkin spice stuff.  Case in point: Yesterday I had to take my cat to a special vet, because she has been having all sorts of crazy skin allergies, and no matter what we do they just wont go away.  So I packed her in the dreaded carrier and drove 40 minutes to a far away suburb so that they could do some testing and hopefully get it resolved.  I had to wait around for a few hours while they did the testing, and it is always nerve wracking leaving your beloved pet at the vet’s office.  So to pass the time, and to comfort myself a little, I went to a nearby Starbucks and ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I remember last year deciding that I didn’t like the PSL anymore, it was just too fake tasting.  But I heard that this year they had revamped the PSL and were now making it with real pumpkin.  And it really is better this year – real ingredients usually make better food, honestly.  But the truth is that since making an effort to eat healthier, I don’t go out and buy fancy coffees that often anymore, so I need to get my pumpkin spice fix another way.  Since I have been borderline obsessed with smoothies this year (Like THIS one or THIS one) – why not turn it into a smoothie that I can have for breakfast or a snack?  Plus pumpkin is a vegetable.  Another sneaky way to get some vegetables for breakfast?  I’m in.

Real pumpkin is the base of this smoothie, along with some frozen banana for some sweetness and a better texture.  It will really improve your smoothie if you also freeze the pumpkin before hand, but be sure that AT LEAST your banana is frozen. I normally don’t add any sweeteners to my smoothies, but I really felt like this one benefited from some maple syrup.  Both for a touch of additional sweetness and the warm, maple flavor that fits so perfectly with pumpkin.  The other note is the spices.  I did first try making this with store bought pumpkin pie spice, but I felt like the flavors were off – too much cinnamon, not enough everything else.  I do think it is better to make your own spice mix, and you can make a big batch and then have it on hand for other things this fall (pie, bars, more smoothies?).

I am a big, huge fan of bulk spices.  You can normally find a bulk spice section in the natural section of the grocery store.  Then you can buy as much or as little of a spice that you want.  Instead of spending 5-10 dollars on a huge bottle that you will never use up, you can buy a small quantity, usually for under a dollar.  You only buy what you need, so your spices stay much fresher.  And speaking of fresh, do you use whole nutmeg?  It is really the best.  You can buy a whole nutmeg, and it keeps FOREVER.  Then you just grate a tiny amount whenever you need it.  The fresh nutmeg taste is just the best.  And you can grate more on top of your smoothie for a little something extra.

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I really enjoyed this Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, and I hope you do too!

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Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Prep 1 min

Total 1 min

Yield 1 Serving

Ingredients

1/2 frozen banana

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling), frozen*

1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 Tablespoon old fashioned oats, toasted and ground**

3/4 teaspoon homemade pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

whipped cream for topping, optional

Instructions

Add frozen banana, pumpkin, yogurt, maple syrup, oats, pumpkin pie spice,  vanilla, salt, and almond milk to a blender and blend until smooth.

Top with whipped cream and nutmeg if desired.

Notes

*The smoothie will be better if your pumpkin is frozen. I just freeze tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet and keep in the freezer.

** to toast the oats, place in a small skillet over medium heat and toast for about five minutes, stirring often and watching to make sure they don't burn. You can grind them in a spice grinder or in your blender.

***for gluten free be sure to use GF oats!

Oh PS, you guys – I’m on snapchat now because…I’m not sure why?  But my younger and much cooler sister is teaching me how to use it so that I can look like less of a dork (unlikely).  Nothing makes you feel old like a.) going into urban outfitters (I used to shop there, what is happening??) or b.) trying to learn snapchat.  So if you are either young and already on snapchat or old and cooler than me and already on snapchat, find me @foxandbriar, and then you can watch me post REALLY INTERESTING stuff like pictures of food and probably my cats.

What are you doing to ring in autumn?  Do you enjoy pumpkin spice everything, or do you kind of hate it?  Are you on snapchat?  Does it make you feel old or do you love it?  Let me know!