Pumpkin Apple Smoothie

AnitaDairy Free, Fruits, Gluten Free, Kids Eat Here, Paleo, Smoothies, What's Cooking 4 Comments

Apples

I have realized one thing over the years.  The closer I get to the source of the food, the closer I want to be.  We are blessed in Raleigh, NC to have a year-round-seven-day state farmer’s market.  It’s gigantic and dynamic.  The bounty changes with the season, farmers rotate based on specialties and we love all of it.  It’s been a weekend ritual for us for a few years now, and somehow, I am finding it harder and harder to buy produce that was picked weeks ago and shipped to the nearby store.  It just doesn’t taste the same.   This past weekend, we went crazy with apples and pumpkins.  A couple of the pumpkins are destined for carving and painting and most of the apples will end up in smoothies or lunchbox for snack.

Kids Playing
Pumpkin Apple Duo

Smoothies are a ritual in our house.  They’re a must have for the kids first thing in the morning and last thing before bed.  I love it because it’s an opportunity for me to infuse them with all sorts of seasonal goodness and know that the kids are getting a nourishing drink, full of nutrients which may have been missed throughout the day.  If you haven’t tried it before, pumpkins make excellent smoothies and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Pumpkin Apple Smoothie

Pumpkin Apple Smoothie
1 cup almond milk
1 apple, quartered (your choice)
1 banana, ripe
2 slices pumpkin, roasted, with skin (red kuri, butternut – your choice)
3 dried apricots
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, raw or roasted*
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp wheat grass powder (optional)
* You can roast some of the seeds that we cleaned out of the same pumpkin.

For roasted pumpkin: Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds, slice, arrange on a baking sheet and roast in a 400ËšF oven for 30 minutes or until soft to the touch.  Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for later use.
In a heavy duty blender, combine all ingredients and blend until liquified. More almond milk may be needed depending on texture desired. Enjoy as breakfast or snack.  Stores in refrigerator for one day.

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