Fall is here. The kids are back in school and the stores are selling Halloween decorations.
Best of all, your favorite coffee store is back to selling pumpkin spice. Yum, right? Actually – no.
As much as you may love those Pumpkin Spice Lattes, you need to take a closer look. The truth is that these drinks are terrible for you.
A few of them may actually have pumpkin in them, but all of them are loaded with sugar and fat.
How much sugar and fat?
According to Starbucks’ website, a 16 oz. Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte is 40% saturated fat and has 50 grams of sugar.
Panera’s version has 12 grams of fat and 51 grams of sugar.
And neither of them have any fiber at all. How can that be true of a pumpkin drink?!
Though the company did take a few steps to make their drinks healthier (they stopped using high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring), those changes did not go far enough.
The coffee that they use is not organic and is likely sprayed with pesticides. Their milk isn’t organic either. That poses very real health concerns.
So what’s a pumpkin lover to do?
You can make your own version – and it is even more delicious.
First things first. Start with healthy ingredients.
The Coffee: Choose a coffee that's better for you. And yes, coffee can have health benefits but non-organic coffee is one of the most chemically treated foods out there. Coffee crops are sprayed with pesticides, fertilizers and more.
When you use organic coffee, you give yourself the benefit of better taste, more antioxidants, and less exposure to toxins.
TweetThe Milk: Then you want to choose a milk that tastes good and is better for you too. Coconut milk is creamy and lactose free. It contains lauric acid, a fat that the body uses for energy and can lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
The Pumpkin Spice Flavor: Now comes the taste difference. Instead of using artificial flavorings, use real pumpkin, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice to give your latte the taste that you love.
You can sweeten it using stevia, which also has been shown to lower high blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
**Recipe Note** When you make this recipe, it’s best if you use your organic coffee to make a shot of espresso. But if you don’t have an espresso maker, you can make regular coffee and then boil it down a bit to make it more concentrated.
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. Please share this with your Pumpkin Spice Latte loving friends and I love hearing from you in the comments below.
