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:
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.