Fall is here! I know because it took 3 tries to open the front door this morning it was so darn windy. To me, the fall means fallen leaves, warm soup, candy corn and pumpkins. Pumpkins in particular are a wonderful representation of fall because they have so many uses: picking, carving, eating, baking, toasting the seeds, and smashing once they go bad. I doubt a fall has gone by where you didn’t eat, touch or at least see a pumpkin, it’s just impossible. Washing, cutting, cleaning and roasting your own pumpkin is a laborious task, one that I leave to Libby. Canned pumpkin is miraculous but unfortunately, unless the recipe calls for the entire can, it tends to fall to the same fate as the half-full yet fully-forgotten can of condensed milk in the back of the fridge.
Now as promised, I have a few delectable pumpkin recipes up my sleeve. The main reason I developed these recipes is because I was determined to use the whole can of pumpkin puree. This is the first in a series of at least 3 pumpkin recipes I’ve got to share here at the Peanut Butter Boy, all the recipes will be fat free (other than heart-healthy peanut butter fats of course), gluten-free, and 2 out of 3 are vegan.
We start off with a pumpkin pie ice cream. The problem with making ice cream is that you generally need an ice cream maker, an appliance that I have never owned or operated. From my understanding, all that an ice cream maker does is constantly churn the mixture so that it doesn’t form ice crystals during the freezing process. It also takes a considerable amount of time to make a batch. You may recall the Fresh Peanut Butter Ice Cream from a few weeks ago. This recipe is very similar only tailored to taste like pumpkin pie. My process is quite simple and only takes about 5 minutes to prepare a fresh batch of super rich ice cream that is made only from fruit, yogurt, peanut butter and in this case, a vegetable. It’s so healthy that I’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner and so delicious that I make it about 5 times a week. Ever have dessert before dinner? Well now, dessert is dinner! Let the pumpkin craze begin!
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1 banana
1 peach or nectarine
2T peanut butter
1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt*
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2t cinnamon (5-7 shakes)
1/8t pumpkin pie spice (or a pinch of nutmeg is fine)
2-4T skim or soy milk, as needed
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
* Use flavored yogurt if you have a real sweet tooth.
Instructions:
1. Prep the fruit. Peel the banana, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until rock-solid, about 4 hours but preferably overnight. Wash peach/nectarine and remove pit, cut into at least 4 chunks and freeze in a sealed plastic bag for 4 hours or preferably overnight.
2. Break the banana into 4-6 chunks and drop into the blender. Add the yogurt, pumpkin, peanut butter, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and the protein powder, if using. Process until a smooth consistency is achieved. You may need to stop the blender several times to mix or scoop down the sides with a spoon. Add milk 1T at a time only if the mixture is too thick to process.
3. Add the peach/nectarine chunks and process until smooth. The consistency should be that of soft serve ice cream. Serve with a spoon and any desired toppings such as granola and/or raw almonds. Or, as suggested below by Margeritte, crumble graham crackers on top for an authentic pumpkin pie!
Additional Info:
You can omit the peanut butter for a fat-free version, but as the Peanut Butter Boy I cannot recommend that. I use protein powder to boost the protein for before/after a workout but it’s not necessary by any means. Keeping a stash of frozen fruit on hand will enable you to make a batch whenever the craving hits. Bananas turning brown? Peaches getting too ripe? Freeze em!
Due to my need for a powerful blender to continue making these, I’m entering the Vita-Mix Super 5200 Giveaway! Go enter!
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I was so happy to read you’ll be sharing more pumpkin recipes… I have been on such a pumpkin kick recently! I’m almost ready to give up my vitamin A supplements!
WOW – Nice work Nick. there will be a few pumpkin fanatics loving this one :). Good work.
ooh, i loved the last ice cream, so i’m sure this is another winner :)
That could be a nice breakfast with the protein powder. Ice cream for breakfast! Hmmm, now you have me thinking, not a bad idea at all ;)
dessert is dinner = music to my ears.
This sounds delicious and I happen to have all those ingredients… excuse me while I wander off to freeze some fruit… hopefully those peaches haven’t gone bad yet:)
Pumpkin and healthy!! I HAVE to make this!
Hmmm pumpkins, I love LOVE them and this is a great idea for an ice cream. We eat ice cream all year long so this recipe is already in the list.
WOWZA, what an ice cream flavor – yum!!
Hehe, I love how you bold the words “gluten-free” and “vegan” in the post – makes me smile :0)
IT IS ON. I have everything needed except the peach – so I’ll get a bag of frozen ones on the way home.
YEAH!
YEAH!
You shoudl try grounding up some fat free graham crackers and mixing it in. It would be soooooo good and really resemble pie. :)
great recipe, i´m not a big pumpkin-fan but this one i´ll definetly try …
This is an absolutely amazing recipe! It’s different AND it’s healthy! I love it. Thank you!
Nick
This looks almost too good to be true. I absolutely have to make this, since I’m craving peanut butter big time. And the fact that this is healthy too, makes it impossible to resist.
“Doc”
Katie, I’m becoming addicted to pumpkin as well!
Zesty, Yea, it was perfect timing too.
Anudivya, That’s the one meal I haven’t had it for yet, but only because it makes a lot of food and I can’t eat that much for breakfast.
Meg, Please do!
Ben, Sweet, let me know how it pans out.
Veggiegirl, Haha, I realize I have a lot of gluten-free and/or vegan readers such as yourself, so I want them to get excited too =)
Erin, Alright! Post your results!
Marg, You’re a genius, I’ve already included your input in the last step of the instructions =)
Chan, I didn’t think I was the biggest pumpkin fan either, there’s not much to it and the consistency isn’t wonderful by itself. But it adds such richness and gives you a warm cozy feeling inside.
Hillary, Doc, It is hard to believe it’s healthy. Everytime I eat it I feel guilty…really guilty. And I assure you, it is no different from eating soft serve ice cream.
okay – so you’ve brought me a recipe that combines my top 3 favorite foods ever – greek yogurt, peaches, and pumpkin flavored things – with my general food staples – peanut butter and bananas and ice cream.
How did I live before this recipe?
I am seriously making this sometime this week. And will let you know my results if I can ever stop eating it and get back to my computer.
..a little gluten free note: subsitute mi-del gluten free ginger snaps or (my favorite) cinnamon snaps for the graham crackers. yum!
What an amazing recipe! I so wish I wasn’t trying to lose weight right now!
Tks for dropping by at my blog. I had never made ice cream before. Since it is so easy and healthy, I will surely give it a try. Tks for your tips.
That looks great!
This looks so delicious, tasty and healthy! I love that you don’t need an ice cream maker. I’ve never owned one either. Now I don’t need one.
Dana, Great idea with the gingersnaps, I’ve definitely seen that brand before. Let me know how the recipe turns out and how you like it!
My Sweet & Saucy, It’s perfect to help you lose weight! Fruits, veggies, nonfat yogurt and fat-burning fats from peanut butter!
Reeni, Exactly how I feel, now there’s no need to get one!
I’m not a great fan of Pumpkin, nut this looks good Nick! I just baked a Pumpkin Pie 2 days ago, and i think i can try this one too:)
Love pumpkin ice cream! I had the most amazing Pumpkin Custard flavor today! :)
I just finished making this- and wow is it good! Super tasty. I just used half a peach so I think I’ll make some more soon and use the other half… although I don’t know that the peach is even all that necessary in it.
The peanut butter adds a really nice flavour to it too!
MY, OH, MY – this is genius, Nick!! I need this STAT, but no peaches … think I will try it without.
oh my goodness that looks delicious!!!! i love pumpkin pie… ice cream form sounds even better :)
Nice recipe for dessert. Can I use normal yogurt?
I always have frozen bananas, I have a perfect peach, some pumpkin and everything else. I’m going to try this! It sounds so good. Thanks, Nick.
Pumpkin pie ice cream with peanut butter sounds good!
I am still in awe of your simple and fat-free recipes. Gaw…you are a food genius.
Btw, do you happen to love persimmons? They are my other favorite fall fruit and I would love to see you do a recipe on it. Say hi to Elisabeth for me!
Mansi, Give it a try! I promise you’ll be impressed!
Sagan, I’m so glad you liked it!
Jen, I’m sure you could use more bananas, or try nectarines or even mango.
Heather, It’s the only way to eat it now in my eyes.
Peteformation, Absolutely! Greek yogurt just makes it creamier and higher in protein but regular yogurt is fine.
Katrina, Let me know!
Grace, Haha, thanks Grace. I have actually never eaten a persimmon…. I really must go buy some and give it a whirl because while I don’t see them in recipes very often, supposedly they are a unique piece of produce. I’ll have to work on a good recipe for it. Are you coming up for Dena’s birthday?
This ice-cream looks fantastic and it is totally suitable for me (with minor adjustments). I’m thinking pecan butter and a really ripe pear in place of the peach – peaches are totally out of season here now. Great to have more ways with pumpkin….
on the browser front – the site looks great in opera.
x x x
I left out the peach and the consistency wasn’t really like ice cream.. but it was still delicious! It was more like a pumpkin pie smoothie.
You could use ice to thicken it up instead, but it will lose some flavor, which is why I use the frozen fruit. It’s that second piece of frozen fruit that really thickens it and takes on the consistency of soft-serve ice cream, it’s delicious! ~ Nick