“Pumpkin flavored everything stay in my life forever.”

One of my buds wrote this on his Facebook status. Yes, it’s the time of year again when we all get our pumpkin mojo on. Who doesn’t love pumpkin spice flavor?

People freak out for the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. It’s their most popular seasonal drink. But, did you know 51 grams of sugar and 14 grams of fat are in a 16 oz. grande? The PSL (as it’s known on social media) doesn’t contain real pumpkin.

The distinction between real pumpkin and pumpkin spice.

Real pumpkin is bland in itself. The first time I tasted it (from a can), I spit it out. It tasted like wallpaper paste; nothing like pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, etc. Thank pumpkin spice. It doesn’t have an ounce of pumpkin. It’s just a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.

The Pumpkin Conspiracy

People think they’re eating real pumpkin when they eat Pumpkin Spice. But, would anyone crave real pumpkin?

Real pumpkin is good for you.

It’s packed with fiber and other important vitamins. One cup of pumpkin puree has 7.1 grams of dietary fiber. It’s an ideal fruit for the fall season when everyone is getting sick because it protects your immunity system with iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin E.

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law came to visit, and was going to make a pumpkin pie but never got around to it. After a workout one day, I cracked open the pumpkin pie can that was sitting on the kitchen table and happened to make an amazing post workout protein smoothie.

Are you a pumpkin addict?

I have the right recipe for you. It’s a recipe combining real pumpkin with some pumpkin spice…much healthier than the other pumpkin spice alternatives.

Making a Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake is easy.

All you need is the following:

7-10 ice cubes

8 oz. (1 cup) Unsweetened Almond Milk or Skim Milk

3 teaspoons of 100% pure pumpkin

50 g of Integrity Nutrition Pumpkin Spice Latte Protein

Bonus:

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

The nutrition facts are surprisingly good: 3.5 grams fat, 0 g sugar, 51 g protein. Way better and way healthier than that Starbucks wannabe.

Go ahead and live it up this holiday season. This pumpkin spice protein smoothie is quick, easy, healthy, and amazingly good.