Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Living in Texas the weather does not cool off until the end of Octoberish but I'm so ready for Fall. It's the time of the year I can't get enough of the seasonal treats, especially pumpkin and especially pumpkin pie! I also love this time of year because it brings about the best holidays... speaking of which... I need to start decorating for Halloween and on a more exciting note Starbucks welcomes back their seasonal favorites too.

Ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is saved for special occasions since I can't bring myself to spend $5 on a coffee and with the weather still in the 90s it's hard to justify that price. Starbucks is something I rarely treat myself to so I'm grateful I have a very generous boss who often treats us to Starbucks and I can indulge without the guilt. Of course when I say indulge I mean order a grande nonfat and no whip. Still not the best nutritionally speaking.

Pumpkins are filled with complex carbohydrates, fiber, antioxidants, and Vitamin A.

Whip up this pumpkin pie smoothie and enjoy a guilt free treat for breakfast like I did or a grab and go treat. Tastes like the pumpkin pie filling without the crust. Just a heads up I did not add the 1 tsp cinnamon since I did not have it on hand and it ended up being perfectly spiced from the pumpkin pie spice and ginger. The recipe below produces a thick shake, like I'm talking stick to your ribs thick. I prefer a smoothie that I don't have to work so hard to get through a straw looking like a fish. Next time I'll thin it out by adding more almond milk. The best thing about smoothies is that they can be adapted to suit your tastes.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

PopSugar Fitness

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin, canned or freshly cooked
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 3/4 -1 cup almond milk, depending on how thick you like it.
• 1/2 scoop (approximately 2 tsp) vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• pinch of ground ginger

And Action:

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Secret Recipe Club - Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

A smoothie that is like "dessert in a cup"... I'm sold! and hooked on the blog I was assigned to for this month's Secret Recipe Club. I was assigned to Averie's blog, Love Veggies and Yoga. This was an incredible blog. Love veggies? Check. Love yoga? Check. A healthy living blog and one I am happy to start following.

This smoothie isn't really a "smoothie". It's thick, creamy, and rich. It very well could be a smoothie with more milk added in. I choose not to. I enjoyed this with a large spoon and two very eager taste testers. This was enjoyed by everyone. It is what I consider to be the best part of the pumpkin pie... the filling and whipped cream. It was suggested that this would be perfect served with some graham crackers for dipping. I can't wait to make this again and again.

I think this would even be a great dessert idea for Thanksgiving if you're not the traditional pumpkin pie kinda folks. This dessert is dressed up with a big ol' scoop of whipped cream, drizzled with caramel sauce, and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Beautiful presentation and dinner guest worthy.

Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie 

Love Veggies and Yoga

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 1/2 cup frozen pumpkin puree
• 1 medium banana, frozen, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, or to taste (optional)
• 1 tbsp caramel sauce, or to taste (optional)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar, or to taste (optional)
• 1/8 tsp pinch pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon, or to taste (optional)
• pinch of other seasonings such as nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, or to taste (optional)
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, or to taste (optional)
• splash of milk, cream, nut milk, water (optional and only use as needed if you need something to help get the blending process going if your mixture is too thick otherwise)

And Action:

Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend well. Serve immediately. Optional: Garnish with whipped cream, caramel sauce, and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.

Haven't had your fill of pumpkin yet? Check out what else Averie has:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte
• Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
• "Pumpkin" Board on Pinterest

Thank you Averie for the great recipe and for letting me have a peak into your kitchen!

Pumpkin Bisque

Forget the fact that Houston temps have hit the mid 90s. I wanted soup. In fact, I heated a bowl of chicken noodle soup up before bed just because I was craving it since our Winter and Spring doesn't last long here. Cold or rainy days aren't in sight. Thankfully, Mr. Sideline Chef prefers to keep the house at artic temperatures and that makes for the perfect climate to have soup.

I've been thinking about this Pumpkin Bisque recipe since I got my hands on my Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook. Why? It's not like there is a photo to entice me to make it but because of the word bisque. Whenever I see a bisque I immediately think back to my single girl days and how I'd run to this uppity restaurant and order their cheese bread with lobster bisque. Creamy. Perfection. Weekly indulgence.

This bisque packs almost half a day's worth of fiber into one serving. We all know fiber is key when following a Flat Belly Diet. No cream or butter in this bisque yet the texture is creamy and rich. Make a batch and enjoy the leftovers for lunches for the week. Don't forget the drizzle of balsamic vinegar for an elegant touch.

Pumpkin Bisque

Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook

Makes 4 Servings (Serving size = 2 cups)

Stars of the Show:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

And Action:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, potato, garlic, and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the broth, pumpkin, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the potato is very tender.

Transfer the soup to a food processor fitted with a metal blade (in batches, if necessary). Process until smooth.

Return the soup to the pot. If necessary, add water to thin to desired consistency. Reheat if needed.

Ladle into 4 bowls and top each with 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds. Drizzle lightly with the balsamic vinegar.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
MUFA: Pumpkin seeds
Calories: 210
Protein: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 36 g
Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 451 mg
Fiber: 10 g

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a 12 pack of Element Bars!

Mesa Grill's Pumpkin Soup

I look forward to checking out Foodbuzz's Daily Top 9. One of those days I came across this recipe for Mesa Grill's Pumpkin Soup from Kelsey's blog over at Apple A Day through Foodbuzz. Her photo of the soup was crave worthy. A scan of the ingredients list had me giddy considering the fact that all of the items were on hand and one more meal was able to be added to the roster of meals to make to eat up what we have on hand. Please check out her blog to see the beauty that is of this pumpkin soup and how it really should have turned out. A key ingredient of mine ended up being rancid and did not make it's way into the dish.

While making my Rosemary Focaccia I set to making this soup. It has been on my mind for two days now and the orange gourd sitting in the window as a decoration of the month of October and November had seen the end of it's days. I mean come on... don't pumpkin dishes kind of lose their seasonal charm after all of the Thanksgiving leftovers have been consumed?

Never having roasted a pumpkin or any other squash I had no idea how. After a quick search on the good ol' Internet and a pictorial I was on my way to fresh not from a can pumpkin puree sans food processor just elbow grease and a fork. Okay so it didn't turn out smooth but it still tasted incredible and I can look past the chunks of pumpkin.

The real issue came when it was time to add the sour cream. Just the day before my container of sour cream looked and smelt fresh. Upon opening the container lid my stomach started to turn and I threw it away. No other creams on hand I felt stiffed out of the full experience of what this dish had in store.

What I ended up with was a spicy pumpkin soup with a broth base. It was still incredibly flavorful. In a text to my mom, "but it burns so good", is how I described the soup. Nothing a glass of milk couldn't tame. Next time I'll be sure to make sure the sour cream is fresh in order to help cut the heat from the chipotle pepper. You have to see the real deal to see how this should look and be garnished with. Absolutely beautiful with it's vibrant orange color compared to my murky brown color. My color came from the fact that I used the full amount of chicken broth before making measuring out how much pumpkin puree I had.

Nonetheless this was absolutely delicious and will need a redo in my kitchen so I can get it right! Another inquiry I have to all of my fellow food bloggers who turn out incredible photography... what kind of camera should I tell Mr. Sideline Chef Santa he needs to bring me? This little Kodak point and shoot isn't doing the job of providing good enough food porn. Thank you in advance for the tips and ideas!

I'm not going to post the recipe on my blog. I would rather you head on over to Kelsey's Apple A Day Blog and get the recipe from there and check out her photography. I can't stress it enough. This is why she made Foodbuzz's Daily Top 9! Really? Why are you still on my page? Haha!