You know it is officially fall when everything is all about pumpkins, pumpkin pie and especially the PSL (pumpkin spice latte)
Personally, I don’t see this as a bad thing ! Pumpkins are delicious and what is referred to as pumpkin spice is made up of some of my favourite spices (cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg!)
Pumpkins are a really great source of nutrients, antioxidants, vitamin C and loads of gut friendly fibre. The spices are equally as good for you with cinnamon being helpful for regulating blood sugar and ginger has anti-inflammatory benefits.
However, most of the pumpkin spiced goodies we get this time of year contain way too much added sugar (as much as 50 grams of sugar in a 16oz pumpkin spice beverage - that is a lot!)
We figured we would help you out with your pumpkin spice addiction and give you a healthy, cleaned up version of the traditional pumpkin spice latte (trust me, you won’t want to go back!)
Check it out and let us know if you give it a try!
CLEANED UP PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
Yields: 1 serving
Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic coffee
2tbsp pumpkin puree (organic if canned OR homemade - see instructions below) *
1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice **
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk ***
Directions:
Brew coffee and set aside
in a sauce pan over med. heat, combine pumpkin puree, spice, and maple syrup. Once combined, add in almond milk and simmer until heated.
Transfer to a blender, pulse until frothy (you can use a hand held blender also)
Add milk mixture to hot coffee. Use a spoon to hold back froth then top latte with froth.
Optional - top with whipped cream or coconut whip, sprinkle with additional pumpkin spice
Enjoy!
NOTES
* Homemade Pumpkin Puree - cut 1 small pumpkin into large chunks - bake in baking dish with lid on and 1/4” water in bottom of dish in oven at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until tender. Blend/puree in food processor until smooth. Using fresh pumpkin will provide more nutrients and also taste better!
** DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice - 1/4 cup ground cinnamon, 4 tsp ground ginger, 1Tbsp allspice - when buying spices try to purchase organic, these have gone through less processing and are much more fresh than highly processed versions.
*** No almond milk ? use coconut milk (or any milk of your liking!)
-caffeine free? use extra milk!
-no blender? whisk everything together in sauce pan - this will not be as frothy but will still taste delicious!
Not into pumpkin? Check out these Gingerbread inspired recipes HERE
