Fall Recipe: Eating healthy can sweeten your life.

  Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients (Makes 4 cups)

·         2 cups almond milk

·         1/2 cup rolled or steel cut oats

·         2 tbsp chia seeds

·         1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin

·         2 tsp blackstrap molasses

·         1 frozen ripe banana

·         2 tsp cinnamon

·         1/2 tsp ground ginger

·         1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

·         5 ice cubes

·         1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup

·         Coconut whipped cream topping (optional): see below

Instructions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the milk, oats, and chia seeds. Place in fridge for 1 hour or preferably overnight. 2. Add soaked oat mixture to blender along with the pumpkin, molasses, frozen banana, and spices. Blend until smooth. Add about 5 ice cubes and blend until ice cold. 3. Add maple syrup to taste. 4. Serve with Coconut Whipped Cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top!

Optional garnish: Coconut Whipped Cream Topping

1. 14 oz can full-fat can coconut milk.  It must be full-fat because you will be whipping the solid cream. Do not use light coconut milk.

It will not whip into cream properly

2. Place can in the fridge overnight to chill till firm.

3. Remove the chilled can from fridge and flip it upside down. The liquid coconut milk (the part that doesn’t harden) will now be at the top of the can. 

4. Open the can. See the liquid at the top? You won’t be whipping this part.

5. Pour the coconut liquid into another bowl. You should have just under 1 cup of liquid, but this yield will vary a bit by brand and even

by can. Don’t discard the liquid as it can be used for another cooking project.  It is good in fruit smoothies, baking or cooking.

6. Scoop the coconut cream into your chilled bowl.

7. Whip the cream. Grab a hand mixer (alternatively, you can do this in a stand mixer – just chill the bowl first) and whip the cream until fluffy.

8. Add in a touch of sweetener and vanilla extract and whip it again. You can use regular cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, or even a touch of maple syrup. 2-3 teaspoons of maple syrup should be perfect. You may also like to add about 1/4-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.

Click here to learn about the health benefits of Black Strap Molasses: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=118&tname=foodspice

Black Strap Molasses is mineral dense and a grood source of iron and calcium. 
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