Yum Yam Smoothie ;-)

Yum Yam Smoothie! I know, it's a bit of a silly name, but the words I've used to describe this smoothie are very appropriate! I almost called it Yummy Yammy Smoothie, which would have been even sillier, wouldn't you agree? :)

My lovely friend Jenn and I had a fun "fall fest" this past weekend where we just soaked up all the amazing sights, sounds, and tastes that come with fall! We began the day with these delicious "yam" (or, sweet potato!) smoothies for which I'm about to share the recipe... Originally, we had intended to make pumpkin smoothies, but neither the store Jenn went to, nor the store I went to, had canned pumpkin! That is tragic, really. :-( I went to a different store today, and they were out too... I don't know what I'll do if I can't find canned pumpkin this fall!

But anyway, back to the delicious smoothie that we did end up making. The lack of pumpkin was actually serendipitous; if we hadn't tried this smoothie with the yams, we would have never known how yummy they can be too!

This recipe served the two of us (in big, tall glasses pictured below!):

-2 cups almond milk

-1 and 1/2 frozen bananas

-1 can (15 oz.) cut yams, drained

-3 to 4 Tbsp. (approx.) of the syrup from the canned yams

-dash of vanilla extract

-dash of cinnamon

-dash of nutmeg

-handful of ice

Blend all of the ingredients, and voila, you have yourself a tasty fall-flavored smoothie! 

This truly was amazing. I am a bit of a big dork when it comes to the fall and how excited I get about it, but really, this was so delicious. I love the light orange color. It almost fools you because it looks like a creamsicle! We put another dash of cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the smoothie before sipping too. It was so refreshing and obviously incredibly healthy too, thanks to the almond milk, sweet potatoes, and bananas! Did you know that cinnamon has some great health benefits too? Check them out here. I actually put a dash of cinnamon in my coffee each morning, which is also quite delicious...just fyi. :)

We also went to a huuuge apple orchard, Russell Orchards, about 45 minutes outside of Boston in Ipswich, MA. It was great! It was definitely the biggest orchard to which I've ever been. They also have a winery, but sadly, Jenn and I were not impressed with the wines we tasted. BUT, they had the best cider donuts I've ever had. No joke! They were absolutely delicious...they were soft, doughy, and had just the right amount of cider flavor. They weren't covered in cinnamon sugar either; they were perfect as is! See?

My next mission is going to be to make my own cider donuts at home... So stay tuned for that! I also have a few other recipes I've made in recent weeks that are just waiting on deck to share with you.

Happy almost autumn, all!