Oh man, I think I may have found my new favorite cold weather smoothie.
It combines the flavors of two holiday desserts–pumpkin pie and bread– and honestly, I think it might be one of my best smoothie recipes! Did I mention, it’s vegan, gluten free and packed with a ton of healthy ingredients?
Let’s talk about ginger for a minute because it’s pretty awesome!. Not only is it an immune booster (much needed in the winter months when colds and viruses are rampant), but it’s also known for providing relief for an upset stomach, helping with digestion and providing anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols to the body.
I’m also a big fan of the heat/spice it adds to things. A little goes a long way and it definitely gives this smoothie a kick.
Quick tip: I peel fresh ginger, put it in a freezer ziplock and freeze it. It lasts so much longer than in the fridge and it’s easy to grate with the microplane when frozen as well.
In addition to the ginger, I added blackstrap molasses to this smoothie. I don’t usually add additional sweeteners to my smoothies unless it’s stevia (fruit tends to make it sweet enough) but molasses is usually found in gingerbread and ginger cookies so it made sense to add it to this smoothie. Plus, blackstrap molasses, is one of the most nutritious types of molasses and it’s rich in iron, calcium and magnesium. You can find more about the benefits of blackstrap molasses here.
Of course, this smoothie has other health boosting ingredients too–from the pumpkin to the almond milk, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon and chia seeds. There’s just so much goodness in this smoothie!
But enough about the nutritional benefits, the fact of the matter is that it’s absolutely delicious. If you like ginger and pumpkin, it’s a must-make this winter. Trust me on this one.
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 11/4 cup Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (ground ginger will work too)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 3-4 cubes of ice
- roasted and unsalted pecans pieces, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender, blend until smooth. Pour into a glass, sprinkle with pecan pieces and enjoy.
YUM! I will definitely be making this…good tip with the ginger too
I just had a huge hand-slapping head moment: WHY have I never thought about freezing peeled ginger before? I hate throwing away unused, wrinkly ginger and now I don’t have to! Thank you for the tip. Also, this smoothie looks amazing. My husband likes pumpkin too, so I bet I could even get him to drink it. And I have all the ingredients on hand! All-around thankful I read this post. 🙂
★★★★★
No joke — I actually got hit by a huge craving for molasses this weekend and ended up baking some gingerbread pumpkin bars 😆 LOVE the combination of molasses and pumpkin, and your smoothie sounds like a way quicker way to get my fix 🙂
I absolutely must make this today. Looks delicious and with all good for you ingredients! Excellent snack or breakfast option!
Pumpkin and Gingerbread in a SMOOTHIE!? All of my favorite things in one!! Can’t wait to try it out!
I haven’t try mixing pumpkin and ginger in a smoothie, I’m gonna try this at home. I’m pretty sure it’s healthy delicious drink.
Thanks Mary. Let me know what you think if you try it.
YUM! I just attempted a smoothie after the gym and I wasn’t too impressed- wish I had seen this before hand!
This sounds faaaantastic! I’ll definitely be trying this out. The pumpkin/gingerbread combo is absolutely delicious.
This looks so good – and I happen to have all the ingredients all ready… One question – do you make your pumpkin puree or is it canned? There is no such thing as canned pumpkin puree here in Australia, so just wondering 🙂 I have some leftover roast pumpkin from dinner last night though thats just waiting to me made into this smoothie 🙂
You can totally use freshly roasted pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin for the recipe. Either will work great. 🙂
this looks amazing! i’ve been on a smoothie kick and have some leftover pumpkin, so i think it’s going on this week’s menu 🙂
Yum, this smoothie looks so good, I pinned it right away!
Can’t wait to try this when I’m off the candida cleanse! This smoothie looks so decadent. I love that in a smoothie this time of year 🙂
At first I thought that this is just another pumpkin recipe, but I was so wrong! SERIOUSLY…you did it!!! All my favorite things into one dish!!! These photos looked so good I wanted to lick the computer screen!!
I really need to use more ginger – there’s so many health benefits! This smoothie would be a good start.
Ooh, I could have this for breakfast every morning this fall! I love pumpkin and I loooove gingerbread!
This sounds fabulous and I can’t wait to make it for my family! Thank you for sharing it! I noticed there was an ingredient missing in the list above:
•1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
•1 teaspoon
•1 teaspoon chia seeds
Is the “1 teaspoon” supposed to be the Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, by chance?
How much almond milk?
1 1/4 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
There I go again, this looks and sounds yummy and I am going to try it. I’m wondering what the nutritional values are like fats, carbs, proteins, etc.
Looks delish and I love all those flavors! But I really want to know where you got that fancy straw!!!
Thank you! I found them on Amazon. http://amzn.to/1BJBDvP