Madam Pomfrey’s Pumpkin Juice Smoothie (Vegan+GF)

Okay guys, nerd alert again.

Sorry, I just really wanted to slip in one more recipe themed after Harry Potter before October was gone. I also thought this would be a fun and sneaky way to get some nutrition into the kids in between all of the sugary stuff I’ve been cranking out for the blog. It’s so much easier to get them to try something if it’s from a movie or book that they love. What was awesome is that they loved this. I mean, I can always count on Brock to get excited over a smoothie but this one was even packed with some real life vegetables and he still downed it with a smile.

I don’t think pumpkin juice is actually a thing except in the wizarding world but it’s mentioned so many times in passing and I always used to wonder what it would taste like. I imagine it would be festive and spiced but still cool and refreshing like any good juice. This drink is like pumpkin pie meets fruity smoothie and it somehow goes together really well. It’s also totally vegan, refined-sugar free, and aside from the roasted pumpkin puree all the ingredients are raw.

Basically, this is about as healthy as a smoothie gets short of being juice cleanse material, or maybe this is juice cleanse material. Hey, I could do that.  The only caveat is that, because the you use some pretty hard veggies in this very orange drink, it might take your blender an extra minute or two to get it silky smooth. Just have some patience it should eventually blend fine.

So um, I’ve got some good news and some bad news for those who want to hear it, otherwise just feel free to skip to this super-duper easy recipe (the best!). I’ll start with the bad news and get that over with, you see, Paxton (pumpkin) didn’t quite make it to his life expectancy. Let’s just say he was trying to pull a dr. jekyll/mr.hyde scenario inside his own head and it was a truly scary science experiment in there. Poor thing, he also lost his perty lil’ teeth, and I had even made arrangements for him to take up permanent residency in the refrigerator, but he just couldn’t hold on…..pumpkin pie anyone? Oooops, did I say that out loud?

But onto the good news part, I’m really excited about my weekend because Saturday, a close friend of mine and my family is throwing a little party and she has asked me to make cake and hors d’oeuvres for it. I feel so flattered but also a little bit anxious. What if, please no, someone finds a hair or something, YIKES! The party happens to be on Halloween but ironically has absolutely nothing to do with the date. Aww, the downside of that is that I won’t be able to follow through with my plans to dress up like a sumo wrestler, you know, because I was totally gonna do that. Oh well, there’s always next year, right? (ROFL)

Anyway, I have lots to do before the weekend and I’m sure you probably do also, so just take a few quick minutes to make this and then you can enjoy all those weekend goodies even more knowing you’ve had some solid nutrition in your week!

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Madam Pomfrey's Pumpkin Juice Smoothie (Vegan+GF)

Only Harry Potter fans will understand........

Prep Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium carrot washed and roughly chopped
• 1 large apple peeled and cored
• 1 medium banana peeled
• 1 large orange peeled and cut into sections
• 1/2 cup cooked pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend for 3 - 5 minutes or until completely smooth. Chill if desired and serve.