Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

With pumpkin season in full swing, my foodie feeds are overflowing with sweet pumpkin recipes. And I can’t get enough. I bookmark one recipe after another, promising myself to try every one. But truth be told, I’ve been too busy developing pumpkin recipes of my own. I’ve got pumpkin ricotta pancakes with cranberry maple syrup in the works. And then there’s a mouthwatering pumpkin pot pie that’s coming up.

All my pumpkin playing left me with some extra canned pumpkin that I refused to throw away, so I decided to whip it up into a delicious pumpkin pie smoothie. It came out even better than expected – with the taste of a milkshake, but the calories of a healthy smoothie. For all the pumpkin lovers out there – it doesn’t get better, quicker, or easier than this!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 medium frozen banana
6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c pumpkin purée
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp maple syrup
pecans, for garnish

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Garnish with pecans.

 

Other BIB pumpkin recipes:

pumpkin whoopie pies 
pumpkin cake
pumpkin crisp
pumpkin banana bread
baked pumpkin oatmeal

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Lentil Soup

There’s nothing like a healthy and hearty soup when the weather starts turning cold. I love the texture that lentils lend to soup. They add a wonderful thickness, but they still kind of melt on your tongue. Leftover lentil soup is great mixed with pasta for lunch the next day.

As a mom, I have to say that my favorite part of serving soups is being able to hide veggies in there. My older ones are starting to catch on to my sneaky tactics but sometimes I get lucky and they’ll down some veggies. Not an easy feat in my house!

Hearty Lentil Soup

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt & pepper, to taste
optional add-ins: chickpeas, baby spinach

Method:

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the carrots and celery and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue to saute until the vegetables are coated and the paste begins to caramelize. Add lentils, broth, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.

Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes until lentils are soft. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Other Hearty Soup Recipes:

crockpot mushroom barley stoup
minestrone soup
fire roasted tomato rice stoup
bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken
Asian bigger bowl soup

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Chewy Date Granola Bars


I love a good snack. One that’s sweet and chewy and wrapped in bakery twine. I’ve wanted to develop a recipe for homemade granola bars for the longest time, but I also wanted them to be somewhat healthy. My latest infatuation with coconut oil helped me bring all the components together (quite literally) – for a sweet and tasty bite. Wrap these chewy guys up in parchment paper, and throw them in your bag for the perfect healthy snack on the go.

Chewy Date Granola Bars

3/4 c white whole wheat flour
3/4 c oats
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/3 c ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 tbsp pure maple syrup
3/4 c brown sugar
4 tbsp solidified coconut oil
1/2 c sliced almonds
8 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands to form a dough. Grease an 8″x8″ baking dish with coconut oil and add the mixture, pressing down on it to condense. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until browned around the edges. Cool and cut into bars. For a crunchier texture, bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

VARIATION: For no-bake, raw granola bars, you may substitute 3/4 cup oat flour for the whole wheat (just add oats to the food processor and blend until flour consistency).  Toast the nuts and oats in the oven at 350 degrees and set aside to cool. Press ingredients into the baking dish and slice. No baking required.

1 year ago: roasted chickpeas
2 years ago: healthy baked pumpkin oatmeal

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Butternut Squash Fries

I think you’ll agree that the very best recipes are the ones that you just came up with on the spot. They’re usually not recipes at all. Just a little of this and a little of that. Am I right?

These addictive healthy baked butternut squash fries are a great example. I whipped them up in no time, and they were gone in minutes! They’re the perfect side for a healthy burger or light dinner of grilled chicken.

What are some of your favorite last minute “no-recipe” dishes? Share them with me in the comments below!

Healthy Baked Butternut Squash Fries

1 butternut squash, cut into sticks*
extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder
chili powder
smoked paprika (use regular paprika if you don’t have)
kosher salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the butternut squash sticks into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, chili, smoked paprika and salt. Mix the squash until well-coated with spices and oil. Place the fries on a rack set over a baking sheet (if you don’t have a rack, place directly on baking sheet).  Bake until crispy and tender, about 30 minutes.

*To cut sticks out of your butternut squash, look for a squash with a long “neck” or top portion. Separate the top from the bulb (set the bulb aside for soup or cut into wedges and bake with the fries). Cut the top off of your squash and stand it up on your cutting board. Cut the sides off the squash to create a square shape. Slice the square into slices and cut each slice into sticks.

TIP: To get the best crunch out of baked fries, place them on a rack set over a baking sheet. This allows the heat to circulate around the fries, so that they get nice and crunchy.

DOUBLE TIP: When baking fries, make sure not to overcrowd the pan. This creates “steam” and the fries will come out soggy.

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Speculoos Puppy Chow


It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my (not so) little obsession with speculoos. I first made Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting and then I moved on to speculoos pancakes. As the speculoos obsession began to die down, I nearly forgot about the fantastic spiced cookies, until my brother brought me back a few samples that he got on the plane to Israel. One bite and I was transported back to speculoos heaven. So…I decided to transport you all as well, with this amazing speculoos Chex party mix that I made back during my Lotus-cookie-addiction-days.

If you’re not familiar with speculoos, it’s a spiced shortcrust biscuit, or what Lotus (a popular manufacturer of speculoos cookies) calls, “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.” Speculoos cookies have been a popular treat in Belgium for years, and are sometimes referred to as Lotus or Biscoff cookies. Their popularity reached new heights, when a few years ago, a woman won a television contest for inventing a sweet spread made from the cookies. Speculoos spread went viral, with many companies, like Trader Joes, selling their own versions.

Have you ever had Chex Muddy Buddies (also known as puppy chow)? You know, that addictive cereal snack with chocolate and peanut butter that’s covered in powdered sugar? Well, I decided to create a speculoos-flavored version, coating the cereal in toffee and dusting it in ground up Lotus cookie powder. I don’t even have to tell you that it tastes even better than it sounds, because you can practically see for yourself.

If you’re drooling over the screen wondering, “How on earth does she expect me to make these if I can’t get my hands on kosher Lotus cookies?” I’ll tell you how. Because I feel for all you speculoos-deprived people, I asked my cousin in The Netherlands to send me over some kosher-certified speculoos goodies (thanks Chaya!) and I’m going to generously share them with you in my SPECULOOS GIVEAWAY!

You will win:

1 jar speculoos cookie butter
1 package Lotus cookies
1 jar speculoos spice mix

To enter:

1. Like Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook.
2. Leave a comment letting me know your favorite BIB recipe.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on October 18th, 2013.


Speculoos Puppy Chow

3 cups corn Chex
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
15 lotus cookies

Method:

In a large pot, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, whisking the mixture so that it combines into a caramel . Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for approximately 3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the cereal into the pot and stir gently with a spatula to coat. Spread cereal out on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the lotus cookies until crumby. Pour into a large Ziploc bag. Add caramel-coating Chex to Ziploc and shake to coat the cereal.

VARIATION: You may also use rice, wheat or multi-bran Chex varieties.

OPTIONAL ADD-INS: candied pecans, roasted almonds, pretzels, chocolate chips.

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