When it comes to Fall (or Pumpkin Spice Latte Season), I can be as “Basic” as the cool kids. I’ll put on my Ugg boots, I’ll eat an odd smore and enjoy my Fall Smoky Beer Battered Cauliflower but you won’t find me drinking too many of those Pumpkin S*!storm Lattes (PSL) from Starbucks.
For me Coffee is a must-have – and remember – it’s good for you (see my blog on that here)
Here’s Why…
Until recently Starbucks have been very mysterious about exactly what you can find in all of their drinks – but particularly the PSL.
Unsurprisingly it was revealed that it formerly contained High Fructose Corn Syrup – not something Starbucks would want to shout TOO loud about.
Good news is:
#1 started to be a lot more transparent about the ingredients in all of their products (You can see the ingredients for your PSL here.
#2 it looks like there is no longer High Fructose Corn Syrup in their deliciously named “Pumpkin Spice Sauce”.
#3 it now actually contains Pumpkin which it didn’t before!! (Why wouldn’t it – Pumpkin is good for you!! See a great post on the benefits of Pumpkin here)
But the story doesn’t end there… Condensed milk is typically made up of two ingredients, Milk and you guessed it SUGAR.
So let’s take a look at the ingredients list for a PSL, remember:
On a product label, the ingredients are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts. (Source: FDA)
Milk, Pumpkin Spice Sauce [Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk, Pumpkin Puree, Contains 2% Or Less Of Fruit And Vegetable Juice For Color, Natural Flavors, Annatto, Salt, Potassium Sorbate], Brewed Espresso.
So let's Break that down:
Milk (which contains Lactose also known as Sugar),
Pumpkin Sauce (Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk (Sugar, Pumpkin Puree which may or may not even contain see here), Annatto (To make it Orange) , Salt, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).
And finally Brewed Espresso (that’s right – coffee is the ingredient that makes up the least amount in your Pumpkin Spice Latte).
Of course, it would be easy to say it isn’t that bad…but at 270 Calories, and a whopping 37g of sugar in a Tall (7 teaspoons of sugar!) and that’s without the whipped cream – this will be a very limited autumnal treat for me.
Here’s how I’ll be drinking my coffee this fall, either my favorite way… https://michelepark.com/my-favorite-coffee/
Or by making this low sugar high fat natural pumpkin spice latte –courtesy of Chalene’s 131 program https://blog.131method.com/pumpkin-spice-latte/)
Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Yield: 1 serving
Serving Size: full recipe
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 5 min
Ingredients:
- 8oz brewed coffee*
- ¾ cup nondairy milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 10 vanilla stevia drops (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chilled coconut cream (optional)**
Method:
1. Add coffee through stevia to a small pot and whisk until very warm (about 3 minutes).
2. Add to a small blender, and process until frothy, if desired, or pour straight into a mug.
3. Top with coconut cream and sprinkle with additional cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
