Pumpkin Pie Shake

PUMPKIN RECIPE #1

Here's a quickie recipe I whipped up the other night.

I have fond memories of fall-time in my college years sipping on very large Jamba Juice pumpkin pie shakes (pre-vegan days) to get me through long readings of Faulkner & Hardy.

If I haven't mentioned this yet, I LOVE pumpkin anything (I can eat it straight out of the can), especially any kind of pumpkin pieish dish. While it's been years since I have partaken of that glorious pumpkin pie shake, I had a craving for it the other night. And the Jamba version is so not vegan (loaded with dairy, sugar, and calories). Using a little creativity I created my own, vegan-style.

Here's a non-dairy, lighter in calories version, you can feel good about. Is this a dessert, a snack or a breakfast food? It can be all of the above--sweet, yet packed with a nutritional punch, this shake is definitely not just "empty calories."

NOTE: I used my Blendtec, which does an AWESOME job of creating that restaurant style blend (no ice chunks) that make this shake really creamy and smooth.
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PUMPKIN PIE SHAKE.

1 cup unsweetened original or vanilla low-cal almond milk (40 calories per cup)
3/4-1 c. canned/pureed cooked pumpkin
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4-1 c. ice cubes
1/2 tsp. powdered green leaf stevia
1/2-1 TBS. agave nectar (or other sweetener, like maple syrup)

If you don't have green leaf stevia, increase sweetener to taste.

Combine all ingredients in a powerful blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy (I did 2 cycles on smoothie in my Blendtec).

Makes 1, 2 1/2 c. serving.

Nutrition Info: (based on 1/2 TBS. agave & 1 c. pumpkin) Per serving: 155 calories, 3.5 g fat, 4 g protein, 8 g fiber, 17 g sugar, 26% DV calcium, 21% DV iron, 772% vitamin A, 17% DV vitamin C, 62% vitamin E, 48% DV vitamin K.
Nutrition info calculated using CRON-o-meter software.