We all know that smoothies can be a healthy breakfast or meal replacement, but they are also a great way to use up fruits and vegetables that are approaching their “best if used by” date. Most of my weekly smoothies are a combination of greek yogurt, almond milk, vanilla protein powder and whatever I have in my vegetable drawer.
This week, I had quite a bit of roasted butternut squash hanging out in my refrigerator and although I had some for lunch a few days in a row, I still had some left over, so like many leftovers in my kitchen, it became a smoothie…
Butternut squash has a natural sweetness, it is low in calories and full of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It contains a high amount of potassium, which can help to keep our blood pressure in check. This is important for both our heart health and in preventing headaches.
As fall flavors start influencing our cooking and baking this time of year, why not our smoothies too?
Let’s get started…
To make 2 meal sized smoothies, combine 2 cups of diced and roasted butternut squash (or about 1 cup of purée), 1 large frozen banana, 1/2 cup of vanilla Greek yogurt (or plain, if preferred), 2 tablespoons of ground flax, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger and cardamom in your blender.
Note: If you do not have roasted butternut squash available, you can often find it frozen in your local grocery store and this will work great too!
If you are wondering what a “pinch” of the spices should be, start with a little and once your smoothie is blended up, do a quick taste test and add more if you want more spice. The flavors are flexible. If you aren’t a fan of nutmeg, leave it out! If you love cloves, add a big pinch. It’s your smoothie, make it exactly how you want it.
Add a splash of almond milk (I use unsweetened vanilla, but your favorite almond milk will work great here) and blend until smoothie.
Add additional almond milk until you achieve the consistency that you prefer and all there is left to do is to enjoy…
My husband thinks this smoothie tastes like pumpkin pie filling, which I love, because there is really no sugar added to this smoothie. Full disclosure, I did originally roast my butternut squash with a little bit of brown sugar, bananas are naturally sweet and there could be some sweeteners in the vanilla greek yogurt, but we are not adding sugar or any sweeteners to this smoothie and I love that.
I have made this smoothie with plain greek yogurt and it was fantastic, so feel free to use what you have on hand.
If you are looking for some fall inspired smoothies to start your day off right then I would love for you to give this chai butternut smoothie a try! I also have a fabulous caramel pumpkin smoothie recipe that you may love too.
Cheers!
Chai Butternut Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups of diced and roasted butternut squash (about 1 cup of puree)
- 1 large banana, frozen
- 1/2 cup of greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
- 2 tablespoon of ground flax
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger and cardamom
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)
Instructions
- Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth
- Do a quick taste test and add additional spices, if desired, and additional almond milk to thin, if necessary
