Ginger Snap Pumpkin Smoothie

At our house, we LOVE Autumn!  Bulky sweaters, brisk days, and the sound of leaves crunching under our feet as we walk.  Of course, me being a foodie and all, I love all of the yummy fall flavors!

I'm sure most of you have been hitting your neighborhood coffee shops for your fall drink fix, but I'm not a coffee drinker.  When Joe brought home some pumpkin pie flavored yogurt the other day, I knew I just had to turn that into a smoothie!  The result?  This creamy smoothie is  perfect for breakfast or lunch or even as an alternative  to pumpkin pie for dessert!

Ginger Snap Pumpkin Smoothie 

Ingredients:  

• 4 oz. container of pumpkin pie yogurt (discard the "pie crust" crumbles)
• 1/4 cup Plain, fat free Greek Yogurt 
• 1/4 cup skim milk 
• 1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup crushed ginger snap cookies + additional for garnish
• 5 ice cubes

To prepare:  

• Combine ingredients in blender pitcher and blend until smooth and creamy.  
• Pour into glass.  
• Garnish with crushed ginger snap cookies. 
• Add a straw and enjoy!  

Notes: 

• I crushed about five smaller sized ginger snaps before making my smoothie.  I still had some crushed cookies left after preparing my smoothie.  
• I crushed the cookies using the same method that I used when I crushed the Whoppers Candy for my Whopper of a Smoothie!  Alternately, you could probably just toss the whole cookies into the blender with the other ingredients.  

I made this smoothie for myself for breakfast over the weekend and LOVED it!  I was having a difficult time concentrating on taking photos of the finished product because I really just wanted to devour it right away!  While I sipped this for breakfast, I realized that if I had this instead of pie for dessert, I'd be totally satisfied and not feel as if I was depriving myself of dessert!  In fact, I'd even splurge and allow myself a dollop of whipped cream on a special occasion!  

A Whopper of a Smoothie

Did you know it's smoothie week?  Well, it is over at Williams-Sonoma and they've asked me to whip up a smoothie using a unique ingredient.

I'm not sure why, but Whoppers Candy was the first thing that popped into my head.  Maybe because I had a huge bowl of Halloween Candy sitting next to me and they were calling my name!

Regardless of what inspired this delicious dessert smoothie, I was super pleased with the result!  This smoothie is a perfect way to add some dairy and fruit to your day while satisfying your sweet tooth at the same time!

So, go ahead and raid your kids' Halloween candy and get your blenders ready to whip up this yummy, almost-guilt-free treat!

While Whoppers Candy isn't something totally off-the-wall unusual, it is a bit of a jump from my normally healthy smoothie ingredients.

 

You'll want to crush those candies and that's really easy to do!  Just pour the candy into a zipper bag.  Seal the bag after squeezing out the air.  Place the bag of candy into a folded dish towel and crush the candy by whacking it with a meat mallet or rolling pin.  Grace had fun helping me with this part of the preparation!

Grace and I crushed up a movie theater sized package of Whoppers because I wasn't sure how much I'd need for this smoothie.  I love that we have enough to make at least 2 more smoothies!  This is great because normally, I'd sit there and just devour the entire box, but by adding some of the crushed candy to healthy smoothie ingredients, I was able to enjoy a sweet treat without feeling too guilty!

Now that we've gotten past the candy crushing, scroll down for the recipe!

Enjoy!

A Whopper of a Smoothie

Ingredients:  

• 1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk 
• 1/4 cup crushed Whoppers Candy 
• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1/2 Tbs. crushed Whoppers Candy for garnish, optional 

To Prepare: 

• Add all ingredients (except the 1/2 Tbs of candy used to garnish) to blender pitcher
• Blend until creamy. 
• Pour into a glass. 
• Garnish with additional Whoppers Candy.  

Creating this smoothie recipe started me thinking about a dessert I used to get as a kid and how I'd like to transform the concept of that dessert into another dessert smoothie...so be sure to check back soon for more healthy dessert options!

In the meantime, check out my latest recipe for a Ginger Snap Pumpkin Smoothie.  The delicious flavors of fall in a tasty breakfast smoothie!  Psst!  It's great for dessert, too!

If you like, you can also check out the rest of my smoothie recipes by clicking the smoothie tab at the top of the page or by following this link Smoothie Recipes

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated for this post in any way.  All ideas and opinions shared in this post are original and my own.  

Menu Plan Monday 2014 ~ Week of July 21st

We're busy most of this week around dinner time, so meals will be easy this week.  Super-easy.  If I don't keep things simple, I'll want to resort to take-out every night and I can't afford to do that.  Our wallet and my diet just can't handle take-out and fast food all week long!  

Speaking of dieting, I took a break this past week.  Mentally, I just couldn't do it.  I was dealing with a lot of stress last week and Grace was really pushing my buttons on top of all of that.  I ate what I wanted and didn't count a single point (Weight Watchers).  But, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things and start the week off with healthy choices.  

I'll be drinking lots of smoothies for breakfast this week and since I'll be following the Simply Filling Plan again (Simple Start for WW beginners), eggs and potatoes will also be part of my daily routine.  Probably for lunch.  

Monday 

Brunswick Stew 
I'll use leftover Balsamic Pork for this delicious stew.  

Tuesday 

MorningStar Farms Burgers
Roasted Acorn Squash 
I have some burgers left in the freezer from my MorningStar Farms
House Party this weekend.
I'll serve them up on some low point sandwich thin buns
and serve some roasted acorn squash instead of fries.  

Wednesday

Taco Salad
I've been loving taco salads for lunches and dinners for the past several weeks.
The flavors fool me into thinking I am eating junk food,
when really it's just some lean meat with some low-sodium taco seasoning!
I load up on the black beans and fat free refried beans and all that protein really helps keep me full!
No need for dressing with all of those great flavors!  

Thursday

Leftover Night
This will be a fend for yourself night utilizing any leftovers available in the fridge.
This will not only keep meal time easy for me,
it will also give me a head start in cleaning out the refrigerator.

Friday

Coney Island Hot Dogs 
Grilled Potatoes
I've been wanting a Coney Island from Sonic for a few weeks now.
We're not very close to a Sonic, so unless we are heading that way
for other stuff, we rarely get there anymore.
I have some low-cal hot dog sauce and reduced fat hot dogs
that will be perfect for this fast food knock-off.  

Saturday

Dining Out

Sunday 
Undecided 

Now that you know what we're eating this week, let us know in the comments what's for dinner at your house this week! Or, if you need more menu planning inspiration? Follow me over to Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie! Or, if you like what you see here, you can check out my past menu plans.

You can also find this week's menu plan linked to On the Menu Monday hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable. If you haven't checked out Yvonne's blog before, I suggest you drop everything and head on over to check out her delicious recipes, inviting tablescapes and stunning photographs!

Strawberry Lemondrop Melon Smoothie

Since I've been eating healthier, I've been more open to trying new foods.  So, the other day when we spotted a Lemon Drop Melon in the produce section of the supermarket, I decided to give it a try.

It tasted a lot like Honey Dew Melon to me and was fabulous in the fruit salad I made for dessert that night.  I've been drinking a lot of smoothies for breakfasts and/or lunches, so naturally, I wanted to try this new (to me) melon in smoothie form.

Sorry, no photo this time around!

Strawberry Lemon Drop Melon Smoothie 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup plain, fat-free Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup non-fat milk 
• 3 splenda packets (optional) 
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 1 banana, frozen
• 1 cup spinach, frozen 
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, frozen
• 1/2 cup lemondrop melon, frozen 
• 10 ice cubes (optional) 

Directions: 

• Add all ingredients, except for the ice, into the blender pitcher.  I added them in the order listed above.  Blend. 
• Add ice, and blend until smooth and creamy.  

Notes:  

• This makes a big smoothie!  Easily, this could be two servings.  One for breakfast, one for lunch.  Or one for you, one for a friend.  Or, if you're a piggy like me, drink it all at once!  
• Can't find lemondrop melons as your grocer?  Use honeydew instead!  

Click here for more of my favorite smoothie recipes.  

Linking to: 

• Tasty Tuesday
• 
  

Peachy Green Smoothie

I really cannot believe how much I am enjoying green smoothies!  I was skeptical about all the claims that you cannot taste the spinach!  I mean, bananas and spinach?  Who eats that together?!  Well, apparently I do!  Now!

The other day I was throwing together a few make-ahead smoothie kits for the freezer.  I ran out of frozen blueberries for my Blueberry Banana Green Smoothie.  I was sure I had another bag of frozen blueberries stuffed in the back of the freezer, but as I was digging around trying to find it, I spotted a bag of frozen peaches and decided to give them a try with the spinach.

I have to admit, I had a tough time getting past the color!  I like that the blueberries dominate the spinach in color in the Blueberry Banana Smoothie, but there was no dominating the green color of the spinach in this one!  When it was time to pour the thick, green smoothie into a glass, I decided to use one of Joe's superhero glasses..the Green Lantern.  I think I need to find a HULK glass for my green smoothies!

Peachy Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen banana, in chunks
• a couple handfuls of spinach, about a cup
• 6 pineapple chunks, about 1-2 inches each
• 8 peach slices 
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup plain fat free greek yogurt 
• 1/4 cup water (not syrup) from canned peaches (optional) 
• 2 packets Splenda or equivalent sweetener (optional) 
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 5-10 ice cubes (optional) 

Directions: 

• Blend ingredients until thick and creamy.  

Notes: 

• I like using canned peaches in my fruit salads.  I used no sugar added peaches that are packed in water.  I reserve the liquid for other recipes.  This was a great addition to this smoothie.  If you don't have it, you can omit it.  If more liquid is needed, increase the amount of milk or add just plain water.  
• In the smoothie pictured above, I didn't add ice.  The mixture was still thick and creamy.
• Also, I could have blended this just a bit longer as there were some small bits of spinach not fully blended.    
• This makes a lot!  I usually drink the entire thing since I like getting all (most) of my fruit/veggie servings into this single meal, but could easily serve two people.  

Blueberry Banana Green Smoothie

I tend to be a bit boring with my smoothies.  Making almost the same exact combination each time, maybe only making a single change here and there.  I've been wanting to try adding spinach to my smoothies for a while but honestly, I was too chicken!  I love fresh spinach in my salads or added to a pasta dish, but in my smoothie?  I don't think so!

Well, my opinion on that changed today after a friend of mine shared a Pin for a berry green smoothie that she tried.  She raved so much about how delicious it turned out, I just couldn't resist giving it a try myself!  It also helped that I had a container of blueberries and an open bag of spinach that needed using up!

I made a couple of changes based on the ingredients I had on-hand and was really pleased with the results.

Blueberry Banana Green Smoothie
          adapted from:  Berry Green Smoothie

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup spinach 
• 3/4 cup blueberries 
• 1 frozen banana cut into chunks
• 1/2 c. skim milk 
• 4 Tbs. greek yogurt, plain/fat free 
• 1 Tbs. oats, optional 
• 1/2 Tbs. ground flaxseed, optional 
• 1 packet Splenda, optional
• 1 cup ice

Directions: 

• Add all ingredients to blender pitcher and blend until smooth and creamy.  

Notes: 

• I cut back on the oats in this as more oats would add PointPlus value to the smoothie.  Also, be sure to measure out the flaxseed if using as any more than the 1/2 Tbs. will also add PointPlus value.