Blue Hubbard Squash Smoothie

This will serve 2:

In blender put 1 cup (or more) cooked blue hubbard
Throw in 8-20 roasted almonds (amount to your liking)
Blend to break up almonds
Add one banana, cut into pieces (frozen is best)
Add 1/2 cup vanilla hemp protein powder (I prefer hemp but you can use any powder)
Throw in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of raw cacaco powder
Give a few whirls in blender and add 1 to 1/2 cups of raw spinach.
Add 2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk
Add your liking of cinnamon (I use from 1 to 1/2 teaspoons)
Add your version of 'a pinch'  of freshly grated nutmeg
Add 8-10 ice cubes if  not using frozen ingredients and if squash is not really cold.
Blend until ice dissolves.
Pour and enjoy!

A smoothie is supposed to be smoothy, right? I like mine more 'frosty' and those tiny bits of ice crystals give it an extra added bonus. If you don't like ice you can leave out ice cubes.

When I first started making smoothies I would scour the Internet for recipes. I quickly learned they were a dime a dozen, many sites using the same professional photo and recipes, and filled with ads and  mazes that made you click your way to the recipes.  Now, I pretty much make up my own. If you are serious about smoothies (we have five or six a week), you will soon learn to keep staple ingredients on hand and can throw together a nutritious meal in a flash. Read some of my tips of at the end of this post.

You can use any sweet squash. I love blue hubbard for its sweetness and mildness and I buy about a dozen of them in the fall to cook and freeze. They are also long-keepers so you don't have to cook them all at once.

I just took out the last of my blue hubbard from last fall and thought I would share this recipe. I was going to break out a Nikon and special lens to take a photo but that sounded like work, and I am retired. So I opted for my iPhone. Sure, a professional photo would look better, but the proof is in the taste.

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Ingredients:
Blue hubbard squash or sweet squash
Roasted almonds
Banana
Cacaco powder
Vanilla hemp or other protein powder
Raw spinach
Unsweetened almond milk
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ice cubes

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Tips:

Freeze leftover lettuce and spinach or just buy a big container and stuff into baggie and throw in freezer. Hitting baggie lightly on counter a few times will break it up.

Freeze bananas in baggies for smoothies - one banana to a bag. They break up easily.

Freeze grapes and other fruits (oranges, grapefruits) that you think could go bad in a few days - this will keep you from wasting food. It is cheaper to buy fruits and veggies on sale and freeze, if you have room, than buying the pre-frozen packages at store.

Make a fruit cocktail in a baggie and it will be ready to throw in blender. Sometimes I add a bag with oranges, grapes, strawberries, pineapple, and bananas. Just add your choice of protein flavoring and almond milk. We always use almond or coconut milk because we are vegetarians.

Don't overlook veggies like left over broccoli and asparagus - freeze them. They go great in sweet smoothies; kids will never know if you don't tell.

Take frozen squash or other congealed veggies and fruits out of freezer the night before and let them sit in frig. They will still be icy cold the next day.

Sometimes hubby is not ready for a smoothie when I am and sometimes, in an experimental stage, I keep adding ingredients until I have enough for 3 or 4 people so I put the extra in a Yetti cup. Most of the time the smoothie still has ice crystals the next day. They make great leftovers for a breakfast. Do drink within 24 hours of making and always stir before serving.

More tips next time. If you need some suggestions for your next smoothie, email me.