This smoothie took me out of my comfort zone. Normally, when I think “smoothie,” I think “fruit.” And with fruit comes a certain level of sweetness. While this pumpkin smoothie does contain banana, it struck me as a little flat at first sip. And I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way—you just need to go into this wanting a healthy, pumpkin breakfast drink, and not a summery fruit smoothie.
Taking inspiration from the countless Shipyard Pumpkin Head beers with cinnamon-sugar rims I’ve already consumed this fall at various Boston bars, I decided to add a pumpkin butter and cinnamon rim to this smoothie. BOOM. Talk about a taste improvement. Healthy pumpkin breakfast beverage turned into delicious, lip-licking autumn smoothie.
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (or puree fresh pumpkin yourself if you enjoy overachieving and annoying others)
- ½ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp pumpkin butter
- 1 banana
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- For the rim: a smidge of pumpkin butter (smidge is a technical term) and a pinch of cinnamon
Mix everything together in a blender.
Invert a glass in pumpkin butter to coat the rim. Alternatively, just dip your finger in the pumpkin butter jar and smear it around the rim. I did the latter because I am a Neanderthal. Next, dip the rim in cinnamon, or just sprinkle it around the edge on top of the pumpkin butter.
Pour in the smoothie and enjoy!
Hey there! I'm Nicole, a group fitness instructor, healthy lifestyle blogger (you probably figured that one out by now) and Certified Personal Trainer living in Boston, MA.
I love the cinnamon dusted rim! Such a fun little twist! 🙂
Oh yum. This looks amazing!
I love your blog, Nicole!
I just found your blog via pinterest, seriously LOVE it. so many great workout ideas and the site layout is super easy. just wanted to let you know…. Thanks!! 🙂
yum yum 🙂 looks very nice !
http://vanillajungle.wordpress.com/
Looks delish! I love this time of year and everything pumpkin! 🙂 http://www.glitzgirlzglamourguide.com
I’m obsessed! Such a good substitute for a pumpkin spice latte.