This smoothie tastes like fall in a glass–creamy, protein-packed smoothie blended with pumpkin puree, banana, cottage cheese, nut butter and classic pumpkin pie spices. It’s a liquid pumpkin pie that is good for you!
The two main ingredients in this smoothie, pumpkin and cottage cheese, are packed with good nutrition. Just half a cup of pumpkin puree in this smoothie provides 100 percent of the daily value of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, an antioxidant important for immunity, eye health and skin health. Cottage cheese is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. (Even if you don’t like cottage cheese you won’t even notice it in this recipe!).
Pumpkin nutrition
One cup of canned pumpkin provides:
Calories: 137
Protein: 3 grams
Fat: 7 grams
Carbs: 19 grams
Fiber: 7 grams
Vitamin A: 209% of the Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin K: 37% of the DV
Copper: 28% of the DV
Vitamin E: 22% of the DV
Cottage cheese nutrition
The nutritional profile of cottage cheese varies depending on the level of milk fat used, and the amount of sodium added.
A half-cup serving of low fat (1% milk fat) cottage cheese provides the following nutrients:
Calories: 81
Protein: 14 g
Carbs: 3 g
Fat: 1 g
Vitamin B12: 29% of the Daily Value (DV)
Sodium: 20% of the DV
Ingredients
Milk – can use dairy, nut, oat, soy, etc. Dairy or soy milk will provide more protein while unsweetened nut milk such as almond milk contains less calories.
Pumpkin puree – be sure to get pumpkin puree, not pie filling which has sweeteners and other ingredients added to it.
Cottage cheese – the key ingredient to boost the protein content in this smoothie.
Frozen banana – to sweeten the smoothie and provide a creamy texture. Use a very ripe, frozen banana for peak sweetness
Almond butter – adds richness, protein and healthy fat
Vanilla and spices – can use pumpkin pie spice or a good pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice
Ice – optional, to add a frosty texture
This smoothie provides about 20 grams protein depending on the type of milk used. I used almond milk and low-fat cottage cheese which yielded total calories of about 270 for the entire (large!) smoothie.
High Protein Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients:
¾ cup milk
½ cup cottage cheese
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 frozen banana, sliced
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
Handful of ice, optional
When blending a smoothie, start with the liquid ingredients in a blender. Add the milk, cottage cheese, pumpkin puree, banana, almond butter vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Blend until smooth. Add ice if desired and blend again. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!
Forge is delighted to partner with Laura Rutledge, MA, RDN, CSO, a Registered Dietician Nutritionist who focuses on oncology nutrition for during and after cancer diagnosis and treatment. For more information and recipes from Laura check out Nourishing Plate. You can find additional blogs from Laura on Forge’s blog!