Pumpkin Pie Green Smoothie

I have a green smoothie for breakfast every day (& sometimes lunch too). I used to make enough for my son, but then he went through a major anti-smoothie phase. Then yesterday I thought "I need to do something with the leftover pumpkin from the cupcakes I made." I came up with this recipe for pumpkin pie smoothies, and made enough for the hubby, only to find the 5 year old gulping it down when I turned my back.

Here's what you need:
1/2 cup coconut milk (plain, unsweetened)
1/2 a banana
1/2 cup kale (I buy it bagged at trader joe's and store it in the freezer.)
1/4 cup pumpkin (you can find this in the baking needs aisle- make sure you get 100% pumpkin & not pie filling. We're making health food here!)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
A generous shake of REAL cinnamon (I buy it in bulk at the health food store. The stuff you get at the grocery store is actually cassia. Yummy, but real cinnamon is even yummier & has all sorts of great health benefits, and aiding in weight loss is one of them!)
A handful of ice cubes
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (I use designer whey- it's only $11.99 at trader joe's)

Blend it all together & enjoy!


My other 2 go to smoothies are strawberry banana & piña colada. I never measure very accurately, and almost always have to add more liquid to get everything blended, and end up with a HUGE serving, but some friends have been asking for the recipes, so here goes:

Strawberry Banana-
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup plain kefir
About 5 frozen strawberries
1 banana
About 1 cup kale
Generous shake of REAL cinnamon
1 tbs flax seed meal (I need to add this to the pumpkin smoothie next time!)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

Fun facts:
The browner the banana, the more cancer-preventing properties it has (and your smoothie will be sweeter!)

The kefir is added for the probiotics, so important for overall health, and along with the flax seed, great for keeping you regular.

And I already told you about the cinnamon. I've lost 20 lbs since I plateaued after my initial quick post-pregnancy weight loss, so I'd say it's working. (My Zumba addiction doesn't hurt either)

Piña Colada-
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup kale
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

Blend & enjoy! It's like a cross between a piña colada & a vanilla milkshake. Mmmm!