With the arrival of the fall weather, pumpkin flavored everything is now available. There was a time when I liked pumpkin spice lattes, until I learned more about nutrition… and that they could be 700 calories. On top of that, I noticed that when I had them, I would get an upset stomach. So now avoid them. You ever notice certain foods just don’t get along with you, but you like them anyway? That’s another topic, but to get my pumpkin fix other than pumpkin pie or beer, here is a recipe I made this morning in the form of a super shake.
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie mix (1 fist)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/8 cup walnuts (1 thumb)
- 1 scoop vanilla whey protein of your choice (I suggest one that has at least 20g of protein per serving and not much sugar or fat)
- 1/2 banana (cupped hand)
- pumpkin pie spice to taste
- 4-6 ice cubes
I use the fist, cupped hand, and thumb in reference to the hand method for portion control. You can learn more about that here: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide-infographic
Take all ingredients in a magic bullet type blender, turn it on. Once it’s smoothly blended, enjoy!
Estimated nutrition facts:
371 calories, 15g fat, 29g protein, 30g carbohydrate (15g sugar)
So as you can see, this has calories equivalent to a small meal, so this is not a “free” meal in your daily routine. Think of this as a meal replacement. This is great if you want something different for breakfast or if you’re crunched for time.
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of the Precision Nutrition “super shake” template. I followed that template to make this shake. You can find that here: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/super-shake-creation
If you are interested in more nutrition knowledge, I now offer nutrition coaching. I am Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified.
Fitness & Nutrition Coach 