It’s a smoothie kind of day.

I bought this magical cup at the grocery store down the street in the baking aisle for $2.99. Now my smoothies are mobile!

In my world, smoothies are not fad diet meal replacements as much as delicious goodness loaded with protein and healthiness consumed through a straw (always through a straw).   I drink them for breakfast.  I drink them after workouts.  And most recently, I have discovered a way to transport smoothie awesomeness to work for an afternoon pick me up, making for fewer visits to the FREE soft serve machine for employees but we will get to that in a moment.

Now, because I partake in the smoothie goodness fair frequently, I am always trying out new recipes and have acquired quite an extensive repertoire of favorites which regularly factor in the rotation.  Some I find on the interweb.  Some I create out of sheer availability of ingredients.  And still some more are born from my own creativity and cravings.  That is how this morning’s smoothie came about.

Despite the 90 degree daytime temps, the mornings are cool and have just the slightest crisp to the air.  It’s also dark when I get up now.  This means only one thing:  fall is nearly upon us.  What better way to celebrate the coming of my most favorite of all seasons than with a Pumpkin Spice Smoothie?

  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 100 g non-fat Greek yogurt (do yourself a favor and use Fage or Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 cup pure canned pumpkin
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 packet stevia (or similar)

I also added in a 3/4 scoop of my current vanilla protein powder of choice.

The instructions are of course very complicated:  Pour in blender.  Blend.  Serve and enjoy 300 calories of autumnal tastiness.

I might have taken a photo of it except it was of such a size that it required the boy’s large Chicago Cubs beverage glass and as a San Francisco Giants fan I refuse to show such blasphemy here.  I will say, however, that it was the color of pumpkin pie batter and tasted just as delicious.

While I typically only enjoy a smoothie a few days a week, one smoothie today was simply not enough.  Nope.   I enjoyed my first smoothie so much, I decided to pack a second one for work.  This one is a new favorite of mine.  I call it the Orange Dreamsicle.

  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 cup light Minute Maid Orange Juice
  • 3/4 scoop of the aforementioned protein powder

This only a slightly more complicated set of instructions:  Pour into the travel shake cup.  Close the lid.  Shake it.  Place in lunch box.  Store in the fridge at work until ready to be consumed.  Shake again then enjoy is orange vanilla-y deliciousness.

The afternoon shake is fantastic for avoiding the frozen yogurt machine in the employee cafeteria.  It isn’t that the non-fat creamy soft serve is all that high in calories.  It isn’t.  It is more that it can be topped with a wide array of syrups and edible decorations that virtually triple the calories in two seconds flat.  It is apparently beyond me at 3 pm in the afternoon to resist such temptation and thus a sweet smoothie that is loaded with hunger killing protein is a fabulous solution.  It also helps fuel my evening work out.  I like two for ones.

So there you have it.  Smoothies are good.  Very good.  They make great meals.  They fuel workouts.  They prevent unnecessary trips to the soft serve machine.  And did I mention they are super delicious?

Category : Cooking, Health and Fitness
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