Love Of Oats

A blog dedicated to balancing a healthy and fun life… with oats!

Monthly Archives: October 2011

Pumpkin Brew

Good Afternoon :)   It’s pumpkin season and I have officially found my new favorite pumpkin treat:  Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee…I recently received samples from Godiva as part of the Foodbuzz Featured Tastemakers program and was waiting until it officially felt like Fall to try them out.  I received Caramel Pecan Bark, which was yummy, but honestly, it doesn’t come close to the Pumpkin Spice…  it is super spicy and warms up your entire body with just a sip – plus it is a bit bolder than I am used to, which has helped me get going in the morning ;)

I typically set up our coffee the night before and it goes off when we are getting up in the morning – major time saver… Well, I have been waking up in such a good mood because our entire house smells like pumpkin bread :)   I did first enjoy this coffee like how I enjoy all other coffee – with a splash of 1% milk; however on weekends, I have been splurging and using a pumpkin creamer that my grocery store sells – and it is AMAZING!

I have been drinking it faithfully every morning and I’m sad to say it’s all gone already… I am going to finish up the Caramel Pecan Bark, but I will be looking forward to opening up a fresh new bag of the Pumpkin Spice because I spotted it in stores yesterday!

First Of Fall

Being that both my wedding anniversary and birthday occur in September, I typically don’t really associate the Fall season with September, even though it officially starts on Sept 22… When October hits, however, I completely forget all about summer and go full force with all things Autumn!

To me, October represents…

  • Baseball Playoffs (go Phils!)
  • Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Apples & Squash
  • Fake Uggs, Leggings, & Lightweight Hoodies & Sweaters
  • Leaves Changing, Sunshine & Breezy Weather
  • Halloween Decorations & Costumes

So while I’m still procrastinating with getting my Halloween / Fall decorations out, I decided that today should be about all things Fall… Baseball playoffs do start today for the NL and although I’m not sure if I will be able to get away with putting on my Fake Uggs or a sweater today, I decided to create an awesome smoothie…

I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a juice fast because, well let’s be honest, I’ve been eating like crap lately… Baby E is teething and has been up A LOT lately, work has been crazy, and although I am making excuses, this makes me want to eat junk!  I’ve been researching about “juicing” with a Vita-Mix and learned that you could just toss a whole apple in there and grind away (yes I am probably the last person on Earth to realize this)… so that along with pumpkin sparked my delish new creation…

Pumpkin Meets Apple Smoothie

(makes 1 16 ounce smoothie)
  • 1 C pumpkin puree
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1 T ground flax
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 small Gala apple (if not using a Vita-Mix, then core & slice apple into chunks)
  • 4 ounce Chobani Champions Honey-Nana Greek Yogurt
  • 5 ice cubes

Toss 5 ice cubes, pumpkin, spices, apple, ground flaxseed and yogurt into Vita-Mix / blender, and puree.  On the Vita-Mix, I used the variable speed on low for 30 seconds and then went all the way up until 10, until everything was well combined and turning into a thick liquid.