Pumpkin Smoothie
I really enjoy this pumpkin smoothie, made with soymilk:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup “milk” of some sort, I use unsweetened soymilk
1 Tbs. blackstrap molasses (1/2 Tbs. if you want it less ironific)
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie seasoning (1/2 tsp. if you want it less “spicy”)
sweetener (if “milk” isn’t already sweetened; I use 4 drops stevia)
On my allergy-free month I tried it with oat milk instead of my normal unsweetened soymilk. It didn’t come out very well. It was just too sweet and not rich/thick enough. I wonder if an unsweetened, homemade nut milk would work better than the sweetened oak milk I used, which was incredibly thin, almost just like sweet water. I remember having a thicker oat milk before, but don’t remember what brand it was. Anyone have a recommendation?
Update May 5, 2006: I tried making almond milk this morning for my smoothie. I soaked 1 ounce almonds overnight, then threw them and the soaking water in the blender for a while, then added my pumpkin, molasses, spices and more water for the smoothie. The texture came out surprisingly smooth, not very gritty at all. The pumpkin smoothie is better than when I tried it with oat milk, but it still doesn’t taste right though~the flavors are kind of muddy rather than bright and pumpkin-y. Maybe a soy-less, dairy-less pumpkin smoothie is just impossible?
I tried another version with 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk + 1/2 cup water. It had a nice texture but the flavor was still off.
Rating: B for regular verision, C for modified versions
Today I tried some extra pumpkin puree mixed with vanilla nonfat yogurt. Blech. Disgusting. I added some pumpkin pie spice and molasses. Still pretty nasty. Drinkable, but not pleasant.
The captious vegetarian 
Katrina said,
May 13, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Pumpkin smoothie sounds good to me! What’s your usual recipe, for those of us not eating allergy-free? =)
My favorite “smoothie” recipe is just frozen bananas and soy milk in the blender. Occasionally I’ll add other fruit or some ground almonds or something strange, but mostly I’m happy with the magic of my two-ingredient smoothie… then again, nobody else who has ever tried it has liked it much.
sylvia wilson said,
May 8, 2009 at 8:27 am
Have you ever tried rice milk? It’s made from brown rice and has a natural sweetness
captious said,
May 10, 2009 at 5:46 am
Yes I’ve tried it. I don’t like it very much, however, and the protein content is very low. In a smoothie the fruit adds plenty of carbs, so I like the milk to add some protein to balance things out.
Britt said,
July 8, 2009 at 8:05 am
These recipes are very good ideas. I cannot use dairy in anything I eat or drink so still being able to enjoy a smoothie is nice. Thanks sooooo much!!!