Make a healthy pumpkin spice latte with way less sugar and calories
What costs five bucks, tastes like fall and has a whopping 380 calories per cup?
It’s officially pumpkin spice latte season, but too many of those Starbucks PSLs can hit not just the pocketbook, but your calorie count, too.
Clinician dietitian Maggy Doherty showed us an alternative, healthier pumpkin spice latte that’s quick and easy to make at home. “The ingredients it takes to make this one is so much less expensive, it has way less calories and way less sugar,” Doherty said.
For example, a grande pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks has 380 calories, 14 grams of fat and 52 grams of carbohydrates with 50 grams of sugar. Our DIY PSL of the same size: only 178 calories, 3 grams of fat and 15 grams of carbohydrates with 13 grams of sugar.
And don’t worry about that “health food” taste: this homemade latte is flavourful and fragrant. It has a natural pumpkin taste without the thick, sugary flavours of the mass-marketed variety.
Doherty said pumpkin spice everything has health benefits beyond trendy treats. Pumpkin is a natural source of vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium.
When making your pumpkin dishes, Doherty advises buying pure pumpkin purée, not canned pumpkin pie filling with added ingredients. “The pumpkin pie filling has lots of additives like sugar and salt. The only ingredient that should be there is just pumpkin.”
Healthy DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte
2 ounces espresso (or 4-6 ounces strong coffee) 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling) 1⁄4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1⁄8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp real maple syrup
1 cup non- or low-fat milk (or almond milk)
Blend coffee, pumpkin, spice, vanilla extract and maple syrup until smooth.
Froth the milk. If you don’t have a milk frother, warm it in the microwave and blend until frothed.
Pour pumpkin coffee mixture into a serving mug. Top with milk, reserving foam with a spoon.
Add the foam on top and dust with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Adapted from livestrong.com.