I so love the color orange! And that is my favorite color when admiring fall foliage too! It represents vibrancy and a deep passion… like fire! So fall is here and along with the beautiful foliage we also get all the fall seasonal fruits like apples, pumpkins and squashes! And you can guess which is my favorite out of all those? yes of course the pumpkin! I love the gorgeous orange color in Pumpkins!
Orange vegetables and fruits contain beta-carotene, a form of Vitamin A which gives them the orange color. It is great for our eyesight and for eliminating free radicals. Pumpkins are so versatile – they are great in soups and stews as well as in desserts! I have already posted a lot of pumpkin recipes before like Pumpkin Coconut Soup, Pumpkin Flan, Pumpkin Brownies etc.
Last year I first made this Pumpkin smoothie adding some pumpkin pie spices to it and it was heavenly! It was so rich and creamy that it felt like dessert! I remember making this smoothie almost every week last year but I somehow forgot to post the recipe that time. This year as I made this smoothie again this week, I said to myself ‘I have got to post this recipe! It’s not fair if I keep this to myself!’ 🙂 Yeah it is so good!
In addition to pumpkin, this smoothie has 3 other vegetables too! Talk about nutrient density! It also has good fats from the coconut milk and avocado. The collagen protein gives it good quality protein that is also good for gut healing and for healthy joints, hair, skin and nails. And that makes this smoothie an excellent breakfast and a great way to start the day! I like to drizzle a little extra coconut cream on top while serving to make it really creamy, delicious and decadent!
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- ½ of a ripe avocado, scooped out
- 1 cup cantaloupe or winter melon or apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- 1 banana, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp collagen protein (omit for Vegan)
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice ( For AIP, use ½ tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp ground ginger)
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- extra coconut milk to drizzle on top
- Add everything into a blender and blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. (If your blender is not high powered , you may need to add a little bit of water additionally to help blend - you can add water little bit at a time up to about ¼ cup water)
- Drizzle with extra coconut milk on top before serving.
