Friday, November 30, 2012

From My Kitchen

The rain is pouring, the hot cocoa is simmering, and the music is lightly playing in the background.
And, best of all, I am in a blogging kind of mood!

My mind is spinning with all kinds of writing possibilities.

While I was contemplating what to write first I was enjoying a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that I had made for the family.  
I love to cook (put up with baking) and thought I would share with you some of the delicious foods we have been enjoying.  
I'm not an original sort of gal...no Martha Stewart or Ree Drummond here.  
But, I do like to experiment and with our change of diet around here I think that some of you might find some of these recipes useful....and hopefully, good tasting!


 Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 cup of kefir or plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 medium fresh or frozen banana or 2 pitted dates (we like the dates!)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup of walnuts or pecans or almonds
3 1/2 Tbs sweetener of choice (we use maple syrup)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup ice cubes (adjust to reach desired consistency)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

We make our own dairy kefir.  Every other day we blend it up with either organic strawberries or the organic mixed berry bag at Trader Joes.  But, having this option has been wonderful for the autumn/holiday season.  Hmmmm...that gets me thinking.  Maybe an eggnog kefir smoothie for Christmas?  I say yes!

I also roast my own pumpkin.  Yes, it can be a long process but the pumpkins are such a bargain when you cook them up yourself and roast the seeds.  Those seeds are expensive and yet such a great afternoon snack.

By the way, this shake is so stinkin' good for you!
You get the additional probiotics that the kefir adds to the recipe and then you get magnesium, zinc, protein, and Omega 3 oils when you munch on pumpkin seeds.
And, don't forget the vitamin packed pumpkin itself.

You should feel good while drinking this yummy drink.

So, I've set a goal for myself to share with you one recipe that I have successfully experimented on per week.  I promise not to share my flops!

Let me know if you try the above and if you like it!
~Heather

1 comment:

Sara said...

Cool! Looking forward to all you have to share. I've been needing some inspiation in this area!