Pumpkin Pie Smoothies

When we lived in Hawaii, Nick and I would have a smoothie every single morning.  Possibly because we always had fresh delicious fruit on hand, or because they were so darn easy! Seriously, we would make about 10 jars of smoothies every Sunday evening, then stick them in the freezer, take them out before work and by the time we'd get to work and settled in, they were perfect! 

These smoothies are delicious and have the flavors of fall!  Usually when I make a smoothie, I just dig through the cupboards and fridge for whatever I can find and throw it in the blender.  Which is exactly what I did this time.  I knew I had some leftover pumpkin that I wanted to incorporate so I just went from there.  I know they should be bright orange like pumpkin pie, but since I added the oatmeal, they turned a brownish color.  But some of the best things in life are brown... chocolate ice cream, root beer, fudge... it's all good.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothies

Makes: 6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

1 cup cooked oatmeal

2 bananas

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup soy vanilla protein (cause Grandma said so)

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

4 tablespoons toasted pecans (this was one of those ingredients that I just dug out of the cupboard)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

a shot of pure maple syrup

Directions:

Throw everything in your blender and blend until smooth.  I always freeze afterwards, but if you want to eat right away, just use frozen bananas.  :)