Yumpkin Milkshakes

Sometimes, you're feeling all fallish, and yet it's still 80 degrees outside.  Sometimes, you might yearn for that PSL from SB, but with a chill on it.  And sometimes, you just need a good milkshake.

Milkshakes have a bad rap.  Fast food milkshakes have all kids of scary stuff in them, and most of the time, they taste pretty meh.  But (here comes the control freak in me again), when you control the ingredients, a milkshake once in a while can make for a pretty awesome treat or afterschool snack.  I love milkshakes and smoothies as a vehicle for getting extra fruits and veggies in my kids, and pumpkin is one of those things I always tend to sneak in there, because I usually have plenty on hand, frozen.

Today, I decided not to sneak it in.  No sneaking at all.  I went full out and made a pumpkin pie malted milkshake!



Started off with a cup of frozen pumpkin (you can use canned) and 4 good scoops of vanilla ice cream (This was for 4 of us!) in my blender, then added a cup or so of milk, about a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and some vanilla extract.  If you're non-lactose, fill in with the dairy sub of your choice, just be sure to check the sweetness of the final product.

Then I decided to embellish and added a couple spoonfuls of malted milk powder and some flax seeds.  Hey, since we've already got brown specks in there, why not add some more goodness in?

Blended it all together, breaking up the pumpkin iceberg as I went...which I should have done before I started, but oh well.

That's it!  Poured it into glasses, popped in straws, and served it with a side of graham crackers.  Eldest child spread spoonfuls of the shake on her grahams, middle child crumbled the crackers on top of the shake and mixed them in, and my little guy dipped his.  It was enjoyed by all.

Side note: A long time ago, I remember seeing a TV talk show with these anorexic twins, and one of them said she only allowed herself to eat pumpkin straight from the can, a spoonful each time she felt hungry.  It made an impression on me, for sure.  I knew right then that I loved food far too much to ever become anorexic.  A spoonful of pumpkin is not an indulgence to me.  This pumpkin milkshake?  Well, that's another story.  Delicious, delicious indulgence.  That I should be getting back to, before it melts...