Stevia Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe

Try this Vanilla Pumpkin Pie Stevia Protein Smoothie Recipe NOW!

During the autumn months, I delight in the overload of pumpkin goods introduced in every form at every store, restaurant, coffee shop and café. Seasonal smoothies, seasonal lattes and baked goods are high on my list of must-haves. Pumpkin is a super healthy ingredient full of excellent vitamins and is also low in calories and low in fat. However, most of these delicious pumpkin treats that you find don’t fit into that low calorie low fat category.

I have tried all sorts of pumpkin treats, the Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash is delicious but is pretty loaded with sugar. You can find recipes to make the pumpkin smash at home all over the Internet and you’ll notice that besides the pumpkin, the other major ingredient is vanilla frozen yogurt of some sort. You could of course use a low cal and low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt but most likely that will contain splenda or aspartame, which are both very unhealthy and detrimental to our bodies so I try to avoid those at all costs. I’d rather have the real sugar as calorie loaded as it is than have aspartame or splenda poisons. Stevia is an excellent completely natural substitute for these artificial sweeteners. On a side note, don't use TrueVia or PureVia thinking they are stevia- they do have stevia in them but have been re-engineered by major corporations to be patentable and are not pure and all natural like stevia is.

There are tons of baked goods that have pumpkin too. Again, most of the pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pies or pumpkin cakes that you will get out at a coffee shop or restaurant will have tons of sugar and possibly other ingredients that you don’t want or know about.

I thought there had to be a substitute pumpkin smoothie that I could make at home that satisfied that pumpkin and sweet craving. Even if you aren’t dieting, having a sweet treat that doesn’t have sugar is fantastic. Sugar is aging – it ages your skin, it doesn’t digest well, and of course leads to weight gain because the calorie energy is used up quickly with no real benefits.

I looked online and found a few stevia pumpkin smoothie recipes. What I ended up doing is modifying one to make it a pumpkin pie protein smoothie. It is so delicious. I used Energy First Vanilla whey protein mix. It is made with stevia and is packed with nutrients, low in calories and free of artificial junk. It is also very high in usable protein. I hope you enjoy this

Stevia Pumpkin Pie Vanilla Protein Shake

½ c coconut milk (I used full fat and it was so creamy and delicious but I think it would be terrific with a low fat coconut milk too)

1 c pumpkin cubes cooked (I sprayed a pan lightly with organic olive oil spray and baked fresh organic pumpkin that I had cut into cubes for about 40 minutes at 375-400 degrees, turning once or twice)

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger powder (more or less to taste)

½ tsp mace or nutmeg (more or less to taste)

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp cloves

1 tsp stevia

1 tsp Mexican vanilla (use regular vanilla if you like)

3/4 scoop of Energy First Vanilla Protein Powder

¼ c cold water

approx 3/4 c crushed ice cubes or 8-10 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a blender – add more liquid, spices or ice to your desired taste and consistency.

I think this is dreamy and tastes so much like a creamy pumpkin pie. It has no sugar – it’s an all stevia and protein smoothie that works as a meal replacement or as a dessert.
This amount makes a pretty large amount - easily could be shared between two people or if you feel the need for an extra large smoothie, this will do the trick.

The original recipe can be found here. Thank you to Smoothie Handbook for a great pumpkin smoothie recipe. Optional - I also add Micro Plant Powder to my seasonal smoothies for extra health benefits.

Enjoy the pumpkin pie stevia protein smoothie and if you have any great no sugar pumpkin recipes, please let us know in the comments!

Stevia Cookies Recipe

Treats made with stevia – good or just good for you?

I’ve always been a big believer in eating real treats. I don’t want “weight watchers” cookies, no interest in 100-calorie snack packs, no nutrasweet for me. I’d rather just have a small portion of something with real sugar, real fat, real flavor. Ice cream, cookies - something quality and worth the calories please. 

However, when I read that sugar is a “wrinkle fertilizer” – I decided it might be a good idea to cut out some of the sugar and replace it with another sweetener. High fructose corn syrup is the absolute worst wrinkle fertilizer. It really makes a good effort of breaking down the cells and collagen and doesn’t help the cell regeneration. Sugar is a close second it seems. Aspartame (nutrasweet) and Splenda have been shown to cause all sorts of health problems from fatigue, headaches, dizziness, aches and pains to blindness and cancers after long term cumulative use so those are out. That leaves us with a few natural choices. If you can combine real ingredients in a way that is delicious and sweet and happens to be low calorie or healthier - I will give that a try. I found that this Stevia cookie recipe for stevia chocolate chip cookies did that - it is healthier without feeling like health food and isn't trying to be a "regular" chocolate chip oatmeal cookie -these are hearty, sweet and especially good fresh out of the oven, like most chocolate chip cookie recipes. 

I have tried “Just Like Sugar”, Erythritol in the form of “Zsweet”, Xylitol, “Sweet and Slender” which uses a highly concentrated super sweet Chinese fruit mixed with fructose, honey, agave nectar and stevia.

Some of these have calories, some change blood sugar levels while others do not. Some work well in baking – others are iffy.  Other posts will go into the benefits and negatives of each but for now, let’s discuss Stevia. For more info on Stevia, see my post Stevia vs other sweeteners"

In effort to NOT fertilize my wrinkles, I have recently attempted treats with Stevia. For those watching carb intake for dieting purposes, for those who are diabetic, or those who simply want to avoid the extra calories or other negative side effects of sugar, stevia can seem to be an excellent but baffling substitute.

It is easy to add to drinks like coffee and tea and to sprinkle on oatmeal or fruit for sweetness. A little bit goes a long way as its sweetness is much more concentrated than sugar or most substitute sweeteners.

However, when it comes to baking with Stevia – because it has a different texture and because of its concentration – baking seems to be a bit of a challenge. You can’t get the right bulk and texture but there are successful treats that can be made with stevia.

First buy some stevia. Something on this page would be nice – remember a little goes a long way and you can use it almost anywhere you’d normally use sugar and definitely anywhere you have in the past used the toxic artificial sweeteners like aspartame or splenda (basically just poison to your body – read the reports online – shocking!)

Next, try this easy recipe. I found the basic recipe on Sara's Herb Website but I made several small modifications that for me made it better so I’m including my version here – but feel free to try both and choose what you like best. If you have any great recipe ideas for baking with stevia – feel free to let us know in the comments. I also include a link to a fantastic pumpkin pie pudding made with stevia in my post Stevia vs Other Sweeteners

Now the recipe:

Stevia Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat to 375

Ingredients:

½ real butter (I recommend Kerrygold) softened to room temp

¼+1/8 tsp stevia 25 grams Pure Leaf Stevia

1 Tbsp agave nectar

½ Tbsp organic honey

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

½ c all purpose flour

½ c whole wheat flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 c oats

¼ c nuts – I used crumbs from the bottom of mixed nuts cans that I save – it contains cashews, brazil nuts, almonds and a few others

½ c  chocolate or carob chips – (remember: chocolate chips have sugar !)

Mix the first 6 ingredients on high speed until well mixed and a bit fluffy. Add everything else except the chocolate chips and blend well. Last, add the chips and scoop onto a baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 mins at 375

These are definitely best warm and fresh – they aren’t super sweet – play with the amounts of honey, stevia and agave to your taste. They tend to stay puffed up like a scone rather than a flat cookie texture when I make them so consider adding cranberries or raisins for a good breakfast treat.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try the stevia cookie recipe and what you do with stevia too! Buy Stevia online Navitas Naturals Organic Natural Herbal Stevia Powder ~ Large Resealable 8 oz Bag for baking and for smoothies and more.
What are your favorite stevia cookie recipes?