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.
Autumn Spice Smoothie
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
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Thank you for reading! If you make this recipe, be sure to post it to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter notify me @vanillaandbean and tag #vanillaandbean! I’d love to see what you’ve made! Follow me on Pinterest, too, for even more deliciousness!
