Pumpkin Lover

I love anything pumpkin.  Muffins, bread, pie, pasta.  You name it.  I love it.  Pumpkin martinis, you say?  As soon as the clock strikes noon, I'm shaking up one for myself.  

Pumpkin is very healthy, and a great source of vital antioxidants, and vitamins. Pumpkin is a low calorie vegetable that contains vitamin A, flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin, and carotenes.  What I'm trying to say is you should eat pumpkin.  

Unfortunately, my absolute favorite, pumpkin spice lattes, do not contain any of the above nutrients.  

I've been on a mission to find a recipe for a pumpkin smoothie and I finally found one that I love and want to share.  

Pumpkin Pie Cider Smoothie

• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, unsweetened
• 1 cup apple cider (not apple juice)
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional spice add-in: cayenne for spiciness)
• 1 1/4 cups frozen banana slices
• 1/4 cup soy creamer – (I substituted with 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk)
• 1/4 cup ice

Optional topping from the original recipe: vanilla bean coconut whip made from full fat coconut milk, a pinch of crushed vanilla bean and 2 tsp powdered sugar.  

1.  Add all ingredients in blender and blend.

2.  Add optional topping.  I added some pre-made whipped topping that was in my fridge, left by a guest this past weekend.  I also sprinkled on some pumpkin pie spice.

Sore Throat Remedy

It's cold and rainy and my boy minis have sore throats.  It's nothing like strep throat, more like a "I wanted to stay home from school until my mom told me I would miss my basketball game so I decided to go to school" sort of sore throat.  

I wanted to give my minis something to soothe their throats this morning before I shipped them off to school. So I did what I usually do when I need answers in my life, I did a quick pinterest search.  And what I learned was shocking.  And life changing.  

Marshmallows soothe sore throats.

It's as easy as that.  Got a sore throat?  Pop a marshmallow.

And I actually had marshmallows in the house leftover from one night when I caved and we had s'mores.

My minis swore they felt better after only 3 marshmallows each.  Who knew?!?!  But, being the dedicated mother I am, I decided to also brew the some sore throat soothing tea.  

Sore Throat Soothing Tea

• chamomile tea bag
• 1 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 lemon slices
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• boiling water

1.  Place all the ingredients in a mug and pour in boiling water.

2.  Let steep for 5 minutes.

If you are super cool, you would put this in a travel mug and drink it on your way to school.

And, yes, I let my minis watch a movie on the way to school today.  I justify it by saying it is the movie, The Lorax.  So, technically it's educational.  And I needed time to think about what the appropriate after-school snack on a cold, rainy day would be.

Pumpkin Muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1.5-2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted slightly)
• 1 cup honey

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
2.  In a bowl mix flours, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
3.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, oil, applesauce, coconut oil, and honey.
4.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well.  Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed.  DO NOT OVERMIX.  
5.  Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

And, since my mini looked so cute drinking his hot tea on his way to school, I decided to make our favorite tea to enjoy with our pumpkin muffins.

Chai Tea Latte

• 20 bags of chai tea (or 1/2 cup loose-leaf tea) (I used Tazo Organic Chai)
• 3/4 cup sugar (you can use more or less, depending on how sweet you prefer)
• 3 cups of water

1.  Put all ingredients into a pan.
2.  Heat to just boiling.
3.  Reduce to simmer and stir for about minute to make sure all sugar is dissolved.
4.  Cover and remove from heat.
5.  Let steep for 15-20 minutes.
6.  Strain the tea leaves.

This is to show you, use loose tea leaves.

I filtered with cheesecloth.

This is your chai tea concentrate, the equivilent to this that you would buy in the store.  Do not drink the concentrate, you need to dilute it with warmed milk.  Dilute it to your preference.  This drink is seriously tasty and cozy.

I am certain our tea and muffins will be served with a side of marshmallows this afternoon.  For sore throats, of course!