Comments on: Pumpkin Smoothie

By: benita michelle wheeler

benita michelle wheeler — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:53:25 +0000

give me a plate…

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:59:39 +0000

I have been trying to find the recipe for low-fat pumpkin egg nog that was on the show about a week ago. They used vanilla soy milk. I want to have this egg nog for T-giving. Please, please, does anyone have this recipe from the show.

By: Louisa

Louisa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:45:10 +0000

Thanks for your questions. Yes, you can used canned pumpkin instead of fresh in this recipe. I always try to encourage people to use fresh ingredients because they have more nutrients than processed foods, and there’s less waste because there’s no packaging to throw away. But if you’re short on time, canned pumpkin will work beautifully.

I love the idea of juicing the pumpkin, I’ve never tried it and it might result in a wonderful juice, but it would be too watery to work in this recipe. The idea here is to make a rich drink that has the consistency of a banana smoothie.

By: betsy

betsy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:24:43 +0000

Could you use a juicer instead of steaming and using a blender or will it be too watery?

By: margaret

margaret — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:42:13 +0000

Can you use canned pumpkin instead of fresh?

By: Brenda

Brenda — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:09:15 +0000

Does anyone remember a guest from last week who made a low calorie chocolate cake with canned pumpkin? What size can of pumpkin was used?

By: Louisa

Louisa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:50:08 +0000

Hi Carla, not to worry! Fair Trade organic bananas are a good choice because they aren’t sprayed with pesticides, and the workers who grow them are safe from toxins and generally fairly compensated.

The problem is that the bananas on our store shelves are all of the Cavendish variety. Because this one variety is grown throughout the world on a massive scale, it’s susceptible to disease, just like with the Irish Potato Famine - when the virus hit the potatoes there was no resistance because every single potato was genetically the same. This is the danger with growing only one variety of a fruit or vegetable. I’m trying to explore alternatives to bananas because they may not be around forever.

Also, bananas come to us from tropical climates, which means a lot of non-renewable energy sources are needed to transport them. With our climate situation reaching the breaking point, I want to highlight foods that use less resources and cause less environmental damage - like winter squash!

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:51:47 +0000

I just used pumpkin to make baby food and plan on stealing a few of those frozen cubes from my little one to use as a smoothie. This sounds fabulous!

By: Carla

Carla — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:43:21 +0000

Hi…I think this is a great recipe…we have a small “specialty smoothie-icee-soft-serve” shop in town and they make a great pumpkin-pie ice topped with vanilla soft serve! But the line is always out “the door”….so this will be a great alternative. But back to the bananas…we love them and eat them every day….is there a brand out there that is safe? I couldn’t stand the thought of giving up bananas!!!! Thanks L.!!
Carla

By: Louisa

Louisa — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:24:11 +0000

Hey Blanca, great question! I just scrub the pumpkin and cut it up without peeling. However, if you have concerns about pesticides on winter squash, by all means you should peel them or spend the extra money to buy organic. I buy produce from small farms where not a lot of pesticide is used, but it is a concern if you’re not sure where your squash was grown. I’ve often peeled butternut squash for cooking and it’s very easy if a bit time consuming. Thanks for bringing up this point!