Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Guys, last week was a monster. I’m not quite ready to talk about it publicly yet, but there have been some big (and scary) things going on behind the scenes around here that haven’t been the most fun stuff in the world to deal with. My nails are chewed so low, there isn’t much left (and I’m not even much of a nail chewer!).

I think the end result is going to be exciting and positive, but getting there is a little bit of a bumpy road. I’m sorry to be so crypticโ€”I promise all will reveal itself in due timeโ€”but I wouldn’t have felt right typing up a happy-go-lucky post about this (awesome) smoothie when there is a good chunk of turmoil swirling around in my brain.

Mockup of the pages of the Ultimate Healthy School Lunches eBook
The Ultimate Guide to Healthy School Lunches

Weโ€™ve packed (pun intended!) all our knowledge from years ofย making school lunches into one digital master guide!

buy now
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Whenever I feel defeated or stressed or overwhelmed, my default defense mechanism is apathy. It’s like all my motivation and drive shuts down to protect myself. I have strong ostrich tendencies when the going gets rough. And, of course, it never really does me any good to bury in my head in the sand. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I always feel better when I bring a problem out into the light instead of hiding it in the shadows.

In the past, my biggest issue with this wasn’t the apathy in regards to the problem itself, it’s that I was terrible at compartmentalizing. When one arena of my life was a mess, I let that apathy infect every other part of my life. I’m a failure at this one thing. So that means I’m a failure at my business. And as a mother. And as a wife. And as a daughter. And as a friend. And as a human. And then that quickly turned into the worthy worry. Since I’m a failure at all of these things, I’m must not be worthy of love, healthy, happiness, money, etc. So why should I even get out of bed today? None of it was founded in reality or even reason (emotions so rarely are), but that didn’t make it feel any less valid at the time.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

For a big chunk of my life, I would hear myself going on this downward spiral, and just succumb to it and let it wash over me. But, in the past few years (thanks, in large part, to a regular meditation practice), I’ve learned, for the most part, how to stem the tide of this negativity spiral.

I’m about to get a little crunchy granola on you here, but a regular meditation practice has given me the skill to acknowledge a thought/feeling/emotion I have without judgement or allowing it to inform other thoughts/feelings/emotions. So instead of the failure spiral of my past, it’s now more like, I’m a failure at this one thing. Okay. Let’s move on. And that’s it. It’s not ignoring the fact that I messed up or that I need to fix it. It’s not false optimism. But it’s also not letting this one fact become the catalyst for a long line of negativity. It’s allowing myself to observe and acknowledge my emotions without giving them so much power that they infect my whole world.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

If a week like last week would have happened a few years back, I would have completely shut down. But I’m actually pretty proud of how I’ve been weathering the storm. Of course, I’ve been on-edge, but for the most part, I’ve tried to keep my troubles in perspective and tried to just get on with my life.

There is some serious power in being able to acknowledge a problem without it taking over. And I’m really glad I have that skill in the face of all of this (again, I promise you’ll know what’s going on sooner rather than later).

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

So what’s this smoothie have to do with all of this? Well, in the past, my food would have been one arena where I just shut down in the face of crisis. My apathy would take hold and I’d spend a week eating tortilla chip lunches.

But this week? That hasn’t happened. Have I been cooking gourmet? Not so much. But I’ve been still taking the time to feed myself good-quality, simple, and healthy food like this Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s amazing how much easier it is to make it through a storm when you feed your body well.

This pumpkin pie smoothie is like the best of both worldsโ€”a nourishing meal or snack *and* a nice dessert-like treat. Which is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered for me right now. Enjoy!

 
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

This nourishing Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie works well as a snack or part of a breakfast - and it tastes like dessert!

Ingredients

  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • Graham cracker, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients except the graham cracker in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with crumbled graham cracker.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 smoothie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 319mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 11gSugar: 31gProtein: 20g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 Comments

  1. Iโ€™m going to try your smoothie looks great , Iโ€™m hoping that it good , hope it will help to bring back my hair , seems to be thinning out.
    Debbie

  2. Hug hugs Cassie and hats off to you for stomping on like a champ, or more like a lady boss!!

    And this pumpkin smoothie looks so creamy, velvety!!

  3. I copied the smoothie, look forward to it when stressed or just to sit and enjoy and relax. Hope your bad week is now int he past. There is good “stuff” coming too. I am trying ty slow down and use yoga but still need to learn organization. And patient!

  4. Hi Cassie,

    Sorry you’ve hit a rough patch… Hang in there! You’ve said in your blog that better things will come from this – hang onto that!

    In the meantime, I think you need to treat yourself to a healthy smoothie!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Prayers and blessings,

    Jan

  5. Hi there
    I could not agree with you more about how mรฉditation allows us to bรฉ more objective and lets us simply acknowledge our รฉmotions/troubles and then move on. Rรฉsist feeding the negativity … Instead acknowledge it anndet it pass. Practising meditation is the greatest tool to help us deal with whatever comes along in life.
    Thank you for sharing this insightful experience.

  6. I’ve only been reading your blog for a few weeks but I already love it! Hang in there Cassie, nothing lasts forever, Sunshine is coming!

  7. Chin up! Thanks for being honest and working through how you do life on the blog with us all. It’s so helpful and inspirational. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t feel inspirational to you whilst you’re in the trenches but it really is ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m praying for you!