The other day one of my Twitter Buddies, Julie tweeted that she was craving my Protein hot Chocolate Smoothie (a recipe I had all but forgotten). It then dawned on me that much of the rest of the country and the world was still experiencing cold temperatures. So I decided to pull an oldie-but-goodie from my not-yet-published recipe file and share it. Perhaps you'll enjoy it if the holidays didn't put you off pumpkin for the next 11 months.
All you do is mix the following four ingredients together in a blender and heat in the microwave. Or if you happen to have a Vitamix, just add all the ingredients and 'cook it' in the blender (Set to "high" for 5 minutes). Eat it with a spoon from a bowl. In front of a roaring fire. Preferably with a pet on your lap:
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| Only Four Ingredients. Love. |
- Pumpkin- 3/4 cup
- Stevia or other sweetener- to taste
- 1 Scoop Protein Powder- vanilla is nice.
- Milk of your choice- just enough to make the consistency creamy-perhaps 1/4-1/2 cup
Total calories are about 200 if you use unsweetened almond milk. A bit higher for regular milk.
Top with any thing you like:
- Cereal or cacao nibs for crunch
- Cooked wheat, rye or spelt berries for chew
- greek yogurt for creamy goodness
- nut butters for good fats and yum
- You can include spices as well: cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom (yum), nutmeg
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| Kitty cameo |
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| Protein Pumpkin Mousse with Greek yogurt and a dollop of almond butter. |
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| Sprinkled with freshly grated nutmeg |
So, if you are wondering why I have been a bit out of touch, you can take a quiz. Is it because:
A) I'm self-absorbed
B) I'm helping to clean out the entire garage, the entire house, finishing the year-long garden project, restocking old emergency kits that might have contained very old Clif bars that I might have eaten during the cleanout; planning the last of the house renovations and hoping that we finish by Christmas. Of this year.
C) I'm trying on clothes I saved from the 90's in which most of the jeans are powder blue and come up to my boobs.
D) I've been busy catching up with friends and family all over the place.
E) I've been dabbling in Wordpress (Shocker!) with my other blog.
F) All of the above.
The Answer: F, of course.
A) I'm self absorbed: yep
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| Apparently it was necessary to document the moment I began the cleanup. |
B) I'm doing a huge cleanup: YES:
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| This is a teeny fraction of it. |
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| Finally planting the foliage a year after we started the garden project...Do you spot the Spinal Tap Cactus in the back? It should be 6 feet but it's 6 inches. It's OK, we're obviously in no hurry. |
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| Ellie decided to sit on the Six Year Old Clif bar from our aging emergency kit. |
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| Then Ellie got up and bit the Clif Bar |
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| Yes, I ate half of it, and it was darned good, if a tad chewy. |
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| Atop the laundry pile from hell are these are Levi's from the late 90s that I got in the UK. I actually kept this pair (and a few in other colors) as they were the least offensive of the bunch. Plus they say high-waisted jeans are coming back? |
D) Yes, I've been visiting with many peeps:
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Expert Jump-roper, Eden:
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| This is not Carrie. This is Palm Springs. We had a couple of fun meetups in Palm Springs. I forgot to take photos. |
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| This is not Ameena. It's her chocolate chip banana bread that I was in charge of delivering to Derek. I decided to do a "poison test" on the way home, just for safety's sake. I'm a good wife. |
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| We were bundled up because this photo was taken in December in England. |
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| My wonderful family drove many miles to visit me for my birthday last month. |
E) I have another blog: Yes. And the posts take all of about 30 seconds to write and to read. How much do I love that?
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| Ellie is the best navigator for car trips. No offense, Derek. |
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| Ellie loves hanging out in the car. |
So, now I'm off to make my hubby some more of that banana bread that I was supposed to bring home for him. And this time I won't present it to him with a large bite taken out of it After all, it is Valentine's day.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Q: Do you have Valentine's plans? Are you staying warm wherever you are? Have you done a remodel? Did you have pants that went up to your boobs? Is it true that they are coming back into style?
27 comments:
Cute post and good luck with that clean-up. Ugh. Are you still headed to Tokyo soon? I'll be back in the desert in about 2 weeks, when do you think you'll be there? We'll have to plan another play date and, this time, we'll take photos of our adventures. :)
Your posts are always so much fun! :) Okay, so I'll answer your questions. Nope. No Valentine's plans, but it was fun to get the toddler's Valentines together yesterday. It was fun seeing how excited he got over a lollipop or a Hershey's kiss... :)
Have we done a remodel? Oh yes, we have. Actually, hubby decided to completely tear our house apart (with the help of a contractor) when the toddler was a few months old... It was a nightmare!!!! But when it was all done, I didn't complain anymore... :)
Did I have pants that came up to my boobs? Yes, I'm old enough to have had many, many pairs of them... Will they come back in style? I really, really hope not! And even if they do, please promise you won't wear them!!! :)
I love hearing this. Its called having a life! And that you do! I love all the poeple you've got to be with. Wish I could be there.
You ate the cliff bar!! YES< I was hoping you'd eat the bar.
;)
Carrie- Tokyo is a bit iff-y at the moment as we just hours ago found out that Derek's mum isn't doing well at all. It's possible we'll go to England instead. Won't be back to the desert til March unfortunately. We'll get together then for sure!
Andrea- Oh yay, you've been thru remodel hell (misery loves company) AND you've worn boob-high jeans. I promise I won't wear boob-high pants, but the ones in the photo go to my waist and I usually wear very low cut jeans. So we'll see if I actually wear them or just keep them for another decade or two.
Lindsay- I wish you could be here too! You KNEW I'd eat the bar. How could I not eat the bar. I am probably far too lax about eat-by and sell-by dates. I always figure it boosts my immunity somehow :-)
Pumpkin mousse looks right up my alley. I'm going to try it asap. I love me some pumpkin.
Ellie is so cute! I love cats. Too bad I'm allergic. ugh.
I wish I could rock a pair of high-waisted pants. one day.
Ali dragged me to see "No Strings Attached." That movie was so terrible I'm considering having a huge fight with him. But we went to Pink Taco afterwards so I guess I've almost forgiven him.
My Valentine's Day night plans include listening to a webinar and working. Best Valentine's Day ever!
Glad you liked the banana bread!! I will make you a ton more the next time you come over. Which better be soon!
honey i would have totally eaten that ass old protein bar too. wish i could've broken banana bread with you ladies
Amanda- oh no! You're allergic to kitties! :-( And I'm not sure you really want to rock the high-waisters. I think they are over rated.
Ameena- funny that you considered getting in a fight with Ali over the bad movie, rather than just getting into one- you're a smart woman who thinks before she speaks (or yells).
Lynn- not gonna lie- I enjoyed eating it. Even if it was partially for the thrill-factor ;-)
You're the best Valentine!
I put an ancient mini Clif bar (chocolate brownie) in Chris' lunch bag today. Thought you'd be proud.
Weather is super crapola here so instead of getting real drive-thru burgers (ie not Mickey D's), I ordered Domino's instead. We exchanged super sappy cards so there's that. Maybe I picked a bad day to not shower but I am seeing the merits of my dry shampoo. We'll be going out plenty when Chris' sister gets here on Thursday so I don't feel so bad for staying in tonight.
I had no idea you were going to go to Tokyo. We've been meaning to go for 7 years now (aka our "real" honeymoon) but something always comes up. Best wishes for Derek's mum.
Clif bar with cat ass...I love it. And I love that you ate it. Every day I'm eating my dish of fruit at work and my husband has lovingly included a couple of cat hairs...for fiber, I'm sure.
Have I worn jeans up to my boobs? I'm onto you...I know you are asking this to out our ages. That's okay, I've already been outed on this blog...so, yes indeed, I have worn jeans up to my boobs and I'll bet I still have a pair or two shoved in a drawer...just in case.
Yes, did a massive remodel of our basement last summer. I still haven't moved all the basement crap back down there...
Valentine's Day - I don't usually do anything but was feeling guilty yesterday as they reported on the news that the average couple spends like $180 on V day. So I went out and got a card and a little giftie. Husband said the cards were "stupid" at the CVS so I got a goose egg. That's okay...we were both fueled by news-induced guilt. (that's pretty stupid too..news induced guilt. Gah. Further evidence I am, gulp, middle aged!)
Yay..something to do with my huge can o' Libby's! And yeah...it's cold in my parts though yesterday we had a weird 70 degree day and the ice cream truck did a drive by. Go figure...
V-day: Nada except for a long walk in the strangely warm weather (see above)and a rose from the gas station attendant for being one of the first 200 women during their $.50 off/gallon Customer appreciation day gas sale.
Remodel? Nope. I tend to "live" out of my car and I've rented everywhere so I just get to move furniture around for a change.
And just like Clif Bars, high-waisted pants should have no expiration date and I'm sticking to that. Plus sweat pants are always in.
So good to hear from you! Glad the Clif bar was still delish - they're better when they're chewy;) I'm totally jealous of all your bloggie meet-ups but I'm really jealous of your powder blue boob pants. Okay, not really but where are the pic of those?? Love you!
Yum that pumpkin mousse looks awesome!
And how neat is that that you get to meet a bunch of other bloggers??
Oh, and I'm pretty bad about being sanitary with food. I don't really care much about expiration dates and I kinda push things to the last day. Only time I won't eat it is if I can see mold or it really stinks! LOL
Houndstooth coat!
I love you, thanks for the update. My Vita doesn't have speed settings. I wonder if it still heats things up? Doubt it.
Dude! I can't wait to be in a photo with you. :)
Rawr, I am in the UK, the land of "pumpkin purée? Who sells that?" But they do sell pre-cubed butternut squash. Haha, I might have to sub...except I don't have any protein powder! Rawr! This is the first time I've been protein-less in...dang, 2 years?
Anyway, I love cleaning out old rooms. I feel so productive, even if it took up my whole day.
Tiff-I really really wanted pizza last night too- they had one with truffles on it but sadly I got the safer seafood option. This means that I will definitely get the truffle pizza next time. And yeah, I think Japan is still a go, but the UK may also be in the works quite soon.
Christine- honestly I'm not trying to out everyone's age! Remember, high waisted pants are supposed to be in now!!
McIntosh- I always have an open can of Libby's for my protein muffins that are a staple in my diet. :-)
Charlotte- I tossed the powder blue ones without even trying them on. No photo op there :-)
April- oh goodie, another food risk-taker!
Janetha- soon, very very soon.
Damn15- You can use any winter squash- just nuke it and measure as per above. Does Julian Graves sell protein powder? I've seen protein powder in Boots!
you've been SO busy!! i love you self absorbedness which is so not that at all haha it's just you living your life like normal person haha
not to mention you've met AMAZING people! come to new york please
Julie! How did I not know you're in New York?? Crazy. Yes, when I come there I want to see you and Beeks (beekeats). And the busy-ness is about to get ramped up something fierce- sadly I'm gonna be awol on-and-off for the next weeks. I miss reading my fave blogs! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take another photo of myself ;-)
I love that picture of Ellie on the Cliff bar!!! Ha ha ha!!!
I have "The Braxtons" which I never actually wear but will not give away. Once of my friends commented that if they where any higher I wouldn't have to wear a top. :-)
That picture makes me want to go to Palm Springs.
Are high waisted pants really making a come back? Thank goodness b/c I've got some love handles that need camouflaging.
That pumpkin mousse with the Greek yogurt looks really good. I never did get sick of pumpkin this fall. Still love it. Love you too Deb, even if you are self absorbed. ;)
Jenn- Love your braxtons. One day, let's both wear our high waisted jeans together k? And you're welcome to PS any time.
Heabs! I'm not sick of pumpkin either. Love you too. Now I need to go take more photos of myself.
I did nothing special just worked! The pumpkin looks delicious I have tin so this may have to be made.....
Love the kitty blog! x x x
How did i miss this post!? living under a rock obviously!!!
i miss you deb! are you back yet! I want to have a pumpkin, doughnut, ice cream, crystal light party! With jump roping to burn off the access calories. And bring derek!
Tamzin- thanks, I love the kitty blog too, but I'm biased ;-)
Eden- I'm still awol, but not for long- we'll def. have a jump rope date (isn't that what adults do?)
Hey...I actually have pumpkin I need to use up and greek yogurt (not milk though). Think I could swap the milk for the yogurt. Any idea of amount I'll need? Hoping for a spoonable 32 ouncer (to keep on hand of course!)
McIntosh- I'm sure that the greek yogurt would be DELISH! (I'm pretty sure that I only used the almond milk because it was what I had on hand). Not sure on amounts- you can just do a couple of tablespoons at a time until you get the consistency you'd like. Bet it will be rich and creamy!
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