Apple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Recipe for Day One of FALL!

It's Fall! Not that the calendar day does much for our weather here in Houston, but I can now embrace all things Fall without shame! I might as well...our neighbors already put out a light-up wreath and Christmas tree on their balcony. No joke.

Since the weather has been just a tad bit nicer - it's in the mid 80s instead of mid 90s - Ryan and I have spent some time hiking and trail running! Last weekend, we found a nice 7 mile trail in Sam Houston State Park.

Get outside of your four gym walls and enjoy the trees and dirt! Being in nature has been shown to have many health benefits, and you can read more here if you'd like :)

SMOOTHIE TIME

To kick off the Fall season, I made an Apple Pumpkin Pie smoothie! This smoothie has lots of veggies, fruit, protein, and fat. Its definitely a meal smoothie, not a snack!

Lots of yummy ingredients!

Most of my smoothies have the same base: avocado, banana, spinach, and almond milk. The rest of the ingredients vary depending on the flavor and the meal size I'm aiming for.

For this smoothie I started with the aforementioned ingredients, and then I added pumpkin, yogurt (skip if you're pure paleo), almond butter, and baked apples.

These baked apples were a guiltless solution to a dessert craving!
Click for recipe!

The picture above shows my baked apples 'sweet solution' for a chocolate craving, but we won't use all the extra stuff for this recipe! To add baked apples to this recipe, slice them, cover them with a drizzle of honey and cinnamon, and microwave for two minutes. Put them in the refrigerator to cool.

Once the baked apples have cooled, add them to a blender along with banana, avocado, almond butter, yogurt, and almond milk. Finally, add frozen spinach, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Blend well with an immersion blender or food processor. Enjoy!

Here's a more compact recipe:

Ingredients:

1 apple, sliced

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 small banana, sliced

2 cups frozen spinach

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (exclude for pure paleo, or replace with coconut milk)

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 cup almond milk

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place sliced apples, honey, and cinnamon in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for two minutes. Set in fridge or freezer and let cool. Place remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until mixed well. Remove apples from fridge and slice into bite-sized pieces. Add apples into smoothie and blend well. Enjoy!

Question to Readers: What is your favorite part of the Fall season? I love the colors, the weather change (even though it's hardly noticeable near the Gulf), and adding chili back into my recipe rotation!

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