I tried something new today! I was wondering what I was going to have for lunch because we didn’t have anymore leftovers, that is when I remembered the left over butternut squash. It was one of those frozen butternut squash steamable bags, and when I made it I was in a hurry so I just threw it in the microwave and salted it. It was really bad, I hated the texture and the taste wasn’t great, but I am one that doesn’t like to throw food away. My solution was to create something new! (read tips and suggestions to see how it turned out)

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup cooked and cooled butternut squash (or leftover butternut squash)
• 1 peeled and frozen banana
• 1 cup milk of choice (I use almond milk)
• 1/4 cup apple sauce (I used homemade cinnamon apple sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

optional:

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (for flavor)
• 1/4 avocado (for a smoother and creamer texture)
• 1/2 cup spinach (for added nutrients)

DIRECTIONS: 

1. All you need to do is add all of your ingredients to a blender and pulse a few times, then blend on high for a good 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how you like your smoothies.

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS:

1. My smoothie turned out pretty good, the flavor was on point, but I wasn’t too fond of my texture. I did not use the avocado so my smoothie turned out a little like the texture of a more liquid version of apple sauce. If you are like me, and like a smoother texture, I would definitely throw in that fourth of an avocado, or even a half! I normally put half of an avocado in all my smoothies, but I did not have any ripe. I would start with a fourth, but you could definitely add half after you taste test your smoothie and decide you want an even smoother texture.
2. If you do not have pumpkin spice make your own! If you have ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice and/or cloves in your cupboard, you can absolutely make your own pumpkin spice mixture. I did, and here is my receipe (1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp allspice and/or 1/8 tsp. ground cloves). If you used cinnamon apple sauce, I would half the cinnamon in this recipe. When this is all mixed I would only use about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of this mixture, depending on your personal flavor pallet.