Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake

It's the first day of October! And since I'm the most basic girl of them all, I made a delicious pumpkin spice protein shake to celebrate!

October is probably my favorite month of the year, for all the obvious reasons: cooler temperatures, fall festivals, weenie roasts by the fire, pumpkin patches, and my little twinsies have a birthday! Of course, I also love it because of all the yummy pumpkin spice treats you can find at the store. So far I've found pumpkin spice covered pretzels (amazing!), pumpkin spice cream cheese (didn't buy it), pumpkin spice whipped cream (which I don't eat), pumpkin spice sweet potato chips (sounds gross), pumpkin spice Twinkies (I'd have to be desperate), pumpkin spice froyo (is there even a question?!), New York cheesecake pumpkin pie ice cream (again, no question), and all the cookies and bakery desserts I have yet to try. The problem is, none of these treats are healthy. And why should you have to ruin your meal plan just to enjoy a seasonal favorite??

I recently found this raw vegan protein powder made by Sunwarrior. It's soy free, dairy free, gluten free, and non gmo. Is it the most delicious protein I've ever had? No. But it is the cleanest, so I'm willing to make the sacrifice. I should clarify, it's not bad. It just doesn't have the creamy texture and flavor that I'm used to in a protein powder. It tastes very earthy, if that makes sense. But, like I said, the fact that it's completely clean with no chemicals makes it worth it to me, especially with a baby on board.

So on to the shake. I just grabbed some stuff I had on hand and whipped this baby up.

Ingredients
4 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 oz heavy whipping cream
1 scoop protein powder
1 capful pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
lots of cinnamon

Just put all the ingredients into a blender, blend together, and you're done! It should have the consistency of a pudding almost. If you prefer a thinner shake, you can always substitute more almond milk for the whipping cream. You really can't go wrong with this one. If you like a sweeter taste, add a little honey or pure maple syrup to sweeten it up. If you're low carb, use a teaspoon of xylitol or erythritol to sweeten.

What's your favorite season? Are you living a pumpkin spice life? Do you have a favorite protein powder? Leave a comment!