Autumn Spice Smoothie

Fall’s quintessential flavors in this chilled or warm tea based smoothie. Lovely cozied up by the fire or after an afternoon tromping through the pumpkin patch. vegan + gluten free

Rob and I just returned from a trip to Monterey, California and I gotta say, it’s not feelin’ like Fall there. But I’m not complaining. It was quite gloriously mild with sunny days and flip-flops! Now I’m back to Smart Wool socks, rain and cozy sweaters. I’ll share more about our trip once I get the sand removed from my bag.

In other news: This past week was the last CSA from the farm this year and I scored two more winter luxury pumpkins!  Since the freezer is still packed with pumpkin puree, I’ll store those pumpkins until the freezer empties a bit.

In the mean time, I have a few more pumpkin recipes to share.

First up is a quick Autumn Spice Smoothie. It was inspired by our local co-op and a fabulous smoothie I had there.

Also, at a tea tasting, I sampled different varieties of tea, including Oolong, rooibos, black, white and green tea and learned a myriad of tea facts. Tea is tasted similar to how coffee and olive oil is; a symphony of slurping. As the slurping continued, I learned tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, next to water and how each tea variety requires a specific brewing temperature and time for optimal flavor.

I can’t say any one was my favorite, but I left with a much greater appreciation and awareness of the beauty and versatility of tea. I was also inspired to use tea in different culinary applications besides as a simple pleasure.

I thought it was a good time to include rooibos in this tea inspired smoothie.

Are you a tea connoisseur?

What I love most about this smoothie is that it can be enjoyed warm or chilled. It’s not as thick as one may expect a smoothie to be, so it’s easier to drink.

I use Rooibos tea and apple juice with mulling spices as the base of this smoothie. Of course apple cider may be used instead of mulling spices for ease.  Either way, this smoothie is a delicious way to enjoy Fall flavors after a workout or cozyed up next to the fire.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Autumn Spice Smoothie

Warming Fall spices, Rooibos tea, pumpkin, cider and fruit come together in this flavor packed smoothie. A perfect sipper, warm or chilled. vegan + gluten Free

Prep Time7 mins

Total Time7 mins

Servings: 3 1/2 Cups (772g)

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Traci York | Vanilla And Bean

Ingredients

• 2 C Apple Cider* (To make your own see note), 512g
• 2 Tea Bags of Rooibos Tea
• 1/2 C Pumpkin Puree' 130g
• 1 Banana
• 1 Apple cored
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8 Cinnamon ground
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

• Warm cider just to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep for 5-8 minutes. Discard the tea bags.
• In a high speed blender, add the cider-tea mixture, pumpkin, banana, apple, cinnamon and vanilla. Blend starting on low speed, then increase to high speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the blender. Blend again until smooth, about 20 more seconds. Taste to see if you prefer more cinnamon here. If so, add a 1/8 tsp more and blend for a few seconds. I added up to a total of 1/2 tsp.
• Serve right away, or chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour if serving chilled. If serving warm, gently warm it on the stove just to steaming.
• It's freshest served right away, but will keep in the fridge for at least two days.

Notes

*To steep your own apple cider, add 1 Tbs of mulling spices 2 C of apple juice. Bring apple juice just to under a boil. Steep with the tea.

If a thinner smoothie is what you prefer, add a few Tbs of apple cider to thin it further.

Nutrition is provided as an estimate (per serving) and courtesy. If this information is important to you, please verify it independently.

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 449mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 6413IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

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