Pumpkin Spice Soy Smoothie

Last weekend I posted a recipe for my Strawberry Soy Smoothie, which took many weeks of experimentation to finally get right.  Sadly, strawberries are no longer in season, so I wanted to make a version of my breakfast smoothie that would incorporate more fresh fall flavors.  So, I learned to puree pumpkins and started experimenting again!  Luckily, it turns out that once you have the smoothie base down, it's easy to switch up the ingredients.

In fact, I think the Pumpkin Spice Soy Smoothie really rocks, if I may say so myself!  And low calorie, too!

Pumpkin Spice Soy Smoothie

Ingredients

Pumpkin puree, 1.5 cups (see below for directions)
Pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp
Cinnamon, 1 tsp
Nutmeg, 1 tsp
Bananas, frozen, 2 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)
Grapes, red seedless, frozen, 2 cups
Tofu, soft, 320 grams
Milk, skim, 1.5 cups (or 3 cups if making a non-caffeinated version)
Tea, brewed, 12 fl oz (or skip or making a non-caffeinated version)
Flax seed, ground, 4 tbsp (or ground nuts)
Stevia, to taste (I use about 1.5 tsp)

Directions

For pumpkin puree: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place the whole pie pumpkin in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Once cool, remove the stem and cut pumpkin in half, vertically.  (The pre-roasting should make this step a lot easier than cutting a raw pumpkin.)
3. Remove seeds and save for another use (such as roasting them).  Remove the fibers using kitchen scissors.
4. Place the halved pumpkins, flesh side down, on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 25 minutes or until soft.  Let cool completely.
5. Scoop up the roasted flesh and place in food processor.  Process until smooth.

For smoothie:

N.B.: If you have a standard size blender or food processor, it may be necessary to split the ingredients in half and complete the procedure twice.

1. Blend ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Enjoy!

Serving Size: 4 (16 oz) servings

Other Notes:

I prefer to freeze fresh fruits when they are sufficiently ripe and then use them later when I need them to make smoothies, and this eliminates the need for added ice that might dilute the flavor.  However, it is certainly feasible to use the unfrozen version of the fruits and just add a bit of ice to make it cold.

Number of Servings: 4 (16 oz) servings

Printable versions of the recipe: Caffeinated and non-caffeinated.