As I mentioned, I had a pretty major checkup yesterday. Glucose/iron screening for gestational diabetes and anemia (for which I was supposed to fast for 2 hours, but ended up fasting for closer to 4.5 because apparently I can’t read), TDAP vaccine (so I was pretty much pricked with needles for an hour… and I hate needles), and a kind of intense ultrasound to see if my placenta moved up to where it was supposed to be (it was low; it is no longer low… yay!). Like I told Tim yesterday, it’s not that this stuff made me nervous or anything; it’s just that I had to be emotionally, physically, and mentally present through it all. Plus, I didn’t eat much, which really threw me off.
I’m really hoping everything turns out well with the blood test, and I’m so happy my placenta is behaving the way it should. But, I’m pretty exhausted today. And I’m running out of creativity. And it’s cloudy. And school starts in two days.
Top all that off with the fact that we haven’t been grocery shopping in well over a week. I sent Tim a list this morning of stuff we need, and that list was long. LONG long. This also means we are pretty much out of whatever I need to make cool and creative smoothies.
I really want to try a blueberry cucumber lemon smoothie, but we have no cucumbers. So, that will have to wait until tomorrow, because, hopefully, someone gets to the store today.
So, I woke up and opened the fridge and pantry to see what we had. Leftover pumpkin from my pumpkin peanut butter smoothie (YUM), some bananas, some coconut milk, and spices in the cabinet. Seriously, that’s about it.
Considering my pumpkin smoothie and my banana bread smoothie were so delicious, I figured, why not combine the two and take the sweetness down a notch to make a hybrid, banana pumpkin bread recipe.
I have to say, I was not disappointed. This one pretty much tasted like the banana bread one, but with a hint of pumpkin (and some more nutrients!).
If I were to do this again, I might try adding a green apple, just to get the trifecta of fall flavors and add some brightness to an otherwise thick and creamy smoothie. Maybe I’ll add that to my list of smoothies to try in the next few days as this project comes to a close.
Banana Pumpkin Bread Smoothie
Makes two 16-oz smoothies
Ingredients:
-2 cups coconut milk
-2 ripe bananas
-1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts (however much you want)
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-2 tablespoons coconut oil
-1 tablespoon brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon ginger
-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
-ice cubes
Directions:
Blend until everything is pureed, including walnuts. Enjoy!