You guys, Pumpkin Spice Latte season (the season formerly known as Fall) has pretty much arrived, on the calendar if not in the weather. Which means you’re likely being ambushed with the autumnal deliciousness of all things pumpkin. Which would be GREAT except that most of those things are loaded with caffeine and sugar and toxic crap and that is why I want to share this yummy breakfast smoothie recipe with you.
I got turned on to this idea courtesy of The Daily Harvest and hey, if you want this stuff shipped to your door ready to rock-and-roll, just click here and you can try 3 smoothies for *free*. But, I digress…
I reverse-engineered their Carrot & Chia smoothie and made it my own…and the best part is, you can do this in batches on the weekend and get a few weeks’ worth of smoothie ingredients chopped, put together, and in the freezer so that the mornings are quick and easy.
There are 2 things you need, aside from the ingredients, for this recipe: freezer-safe containers and freezer space. I use the 3 cup / 24 oz Glad plastic-ware that you can find at the grocery store, but you could easily use freezer quart bags or any other containers that you have handy. To really maximize your time, be sure you have enough space in your freezer for your breakfast stash. Here’s a pro tip for ya: freezers work more efficiently when they’re FULL. So reorganize if you need to and get ready to pack your freezer.
Organic is best! Buy fresh, organic, produce whenever you can (for bonus points, buy local).
Ok! The Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. For 3 smoothies (scale as you wish) you’ll need:
1 small sweet potato
3 carrots
1 ripe banana
9 dates, pitted
Flax seeds
Handful of walnuts
Handful of shredded coconut
Wash, peel, and finely dice the sweet potato (yup, we’re using it raw!) and separate it into thirds. Wash and peel the carrots; then either keep peeling or grate the carrots. Each smoothie gets 1 whole carrot. Cut the banana into thirds and then slice up each third into smaller chunks so your blender can handle it. Each smoothie gets 3 dates, 1 heaping tablespoon of flax seeds, 4-5 walnuts, and a small helping of coconut flakes.
Take the above ingredients and put it in your 3 freezer containers and freeze at least overnight. When you are ready to make your smoothie, add 1 1/2ish cups of organic, unsweetened almond milk (depending on how thick you like it) to your blender. I also throw in a handful of gluten-free organic oats, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, and some Maca Powder. For seasoning, toss in some ginger (fresh or dried/powdered), nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract OR use pumpkin pie spice. Add 4-5 ice cubes and blend on high for 1 minute or, you fellow Blendtec people, use the “smoothie” button. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon and coconut flakes on top if you want to be fancy.
