I ran out of my beloved Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter yesterday. I definitely needed more, but rather than rushing out to the store I decided to make my own using a recipe I found on Kath’s blog.
Maria’s Homemade Microwave Pumpkin Butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon clove
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups (15 oz) canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling mix)
- Combine everything except pumpkin in microwave-safe bowl. Mix well, and microwave on high for three minutes.
- Remove from microwave (Carefully!) and stir really well.
- Stir in pumpkin well, and microwave on high 5 minutes.
- Remove from microwave (Even more carefully!), stir, and let cool.
This recipe was super easy and turned out great. I was pumped because it tastes very similar to the TJ’s version, just has a bit thicker consistency. If you’ve been trying to find pumpkin butter I strongly suggest stopping the search and trying the above recipe. It won’t disappoint!
I incorporated the P butter into breakfast with a slice of toast.
And because I can’t find the Stonyfield Pumpkin Pie yogurt anywhere here in Richmond, VA (not even Whole Foods) I decided to create my own Oikos Pumpkin Parfait.
Pumpkin Parfait
1/4 cup Ezekiel golden flax cereal
1 container (5.3 oz) plain Oikos Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon pumpkin butter (homemade or store bought)
1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
Layer all ingredients in the order they are listed into a parfait glass or bowl. If you’re feeling fancy you can use a wine glass. Stir all ingredients together and enjoy! Super simple, yet super tasty as well.
The pumpkin parfait recipe is my entry into the Oikos Na-MOO-ste Giveaway for bloggers.
It’s easy to enter and the prize package is an all expenses paid weekend trip for two to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, MA.
There are three ways to enter and you only need to choose one:
A) Share a brief story about why you need to relax and say “Ohm.”
B) Share a recipe you create or tip using Oikos yogurt – it can be as simple as a holiday dip or dessert or breakfast idea.
C) Post a photo of you doing yoga in a toga (Oikos is Greek yogurt after all!).
All entries (your post is your entry) must include a link to the Facebook fan page, and be emailed to oikos@360publicrelations.com by November 30, 2009 – and you’ll be entered to win! The winner will be selected at random and notified by 12/15/09.
The rest of my day was leisure based- Isaac was at a frisbee tournament so Olive and I were on our own. I made a special stop by Whole Food’s for a few items and decided to grab lunch. I got the norm- salad greens with sesame tofu and a bunch of other salads on top. Lots of wheatberries and curried things. It was scrumptious, but who would expect less?
It was absolutely beautiful in Richmond today so a friend an I took advantage of the weather and went for a long walk around the city with miss Olive. It was such a treat to enjoy the sunshine and colorful leaves after 3 days of dreadful rain. We then came home and turned my living room into a yoga studio. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon!
I love yoga but often fall out of the habit of doing it. I guess there are several reasons. 1- the yoga studio near by house is expensive 2- I suck at working out at home- I get distracted and I am simply more motivated once I’m at the gym 3- I am more enticed to do my own cardio and strength training stuff at the gym rather than to attend a yoga class. The thing is – whenever I do yoga I always feel so relaxed afterwards, plus the more intense practices like power or core are great for strength training and I’m typically sore after those. Long story short I’m excited because I’m slowly but surely getting back into my yoga groove- I actually did it twice this weekend and feel wonderful. Now I just have to keep it up.
Do you like yoga? Why or why not? What’s keeps you motivated to do it?
- Brittany
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Why I need to relax = please check out my latest blog post to find out why:
http://veggiegirlvegan.blogspot.com/2009/11/whenever-i-am-feeling-it-will-all-be.html
I love yoga – it grounds me and is just enough activity, since I am trying to move LESS and rest MORE.
Your version looks good of the parfait. Sadly, I haven’t located the pumpkin yogurt either. Still keeping a close eye out though.
pumpkin butter sounds delish! ive never had it-and i wish there was a whole foods near me! id be there all the time!
Gah that pumpkin parfait! I hope you win, it looks unbelievable!!
Yummy parfait, love! Did you see that Oikos was 10/$10 at Kroger too… hello deal?! The weather today was fantastic, agreed, don’t think I’ve seen the sun since Monday and it felt great
As for yoga, I adore doing it at home (ExTV has some great ones, Maura Barclay and Elise Gulan are my faves) and I tend to stick with the sessions that are more for sculpting & toning and that even include cardio… they have changed my body is so many great ways, it’s awesome!
I love yoga and pumpkin butter! I stay motivated because I feel so much stronger when I do it. It is expensive though luckily our cheap gym has great instructors.
great job w/ the pumpkin butter! i def plan on making that for my parents when i get home!
That pumpkin butter looks yummy! I haven’t bought any yet to try, but I may just make some instead – I already have the ingredients!
I’m excited to pick up some Oikos this week at the grocery store – I love the filling meal that a cup of greek yogurt mixed with granola and almond butter makes – soooo good!
This is a recipe that sounds extremely easy. I have everything except the pumpkin. I like anything with brown sugar. I’ll let you know how it goes!!!
Ooh, homemade pumpkin butter! What a great fall weekend project!!
Looks quite tasty – esp on that toast!
Pumpkin, GoLean, and Oikos all in the same dish? Too good to be true.
I’m not sure how far you are from Sycamore Square but Solid Ground Yoga is awesome and far cheaper than yoga source. Besides the price, the atmosphere is awesome.
As for me an yoga, well, I love it and it changed my life. I’m training to be a teacher and hope to help others change their lives as well. Yoga is about so much more than the physical body, to me, the sweating and strengthening is just a perk.
LOVE yoga. I’ve noticed a huge difference in the way my body looks and feels since I started practicing regularly about a month and a half ago. It’s wonderful.
oh my am I happy to see this. I am on my last jar of pumpkin butter from trader joes, I use it in my oatmeal just about every morning, and was hoping to find a recipe to make some homemade since we don’t have a trader joes here where I live. Awesome. Thanks for sharing!!
I love the pumpkin creations! I have a can open in my refrigerator that needs to be used up and both combinations sound fantastic.
I like yoga! When we used to do it as a part of our training program for my sport, we used to get massages at the end. That was my favorite part
I love that you put your yogurt parfait in a wine glass. Wine glasses make everything feel fancier, don’t they?!
I have some leftover pumpkin that needs to be used and now I have the perfect way to use it! I do yoga, but probably only once a week, I am trying to fit it in more though because I do feel great afterwards!
ooh, that pumpkin butter looks awesome!
I love yoga, too – it’s like, once I start doing it, that’s all I want to do, but it’s hard to get back in the routine if it’s been a while.
Bet that pumpkin butter is a heck of a lot cheaper than Williams Sonoma’s! Yeesh – it’s like $10 for a small jar! I will try this recipe out instead!
I have never tried yoga before but I really want to. I’m thinking about signing up for a four week session at the gym next month.
mmm pumpkin butter, greek yogurt, and yoga… all things I love! I have to say I’m a yoga slacker, I totally get into modes of going at the gym… and then fall out of it because I don’t have enough time and I choose spinning over it
fyi photobooth pics up!
http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2009/11/3-hour-eating-marathon.html
I love yoga but like you, I have a hard time focusing at home.
Wasn’t Richmond just perfect today? I wish every fall day could be a repeat of this!
Ohh, I’m entering the oikos contest. Can’t wait to post about it. Yoga for me- it’s something I crave, when I keep up with consistently. If I get in a rut and forget about it for a few weeks- its obvious that its missing. The trick is keeping it consistent without burning out/over training.
i love that you made your own pumpkin butter! when i run out, im doing that immediately
MMMMMM!
Me thinks I might just have to make some pumpkin butter, since we don’t have TJ’s here, and I haven’t ever seen pumpkin butter in any stores. Looks simple enough, and I have all the ingredients around the house.