Pumpkin NICE Latte

' Tis the season, right?  Pumpkin this, and pumpkin that.  I know, I know...it's everywhere.  And I am totally okay with it.  Seriously.  Bring it on.  I love the fall.  The smells, the coziness, the colors, the activities....yes!!

What I am not totally okay with is this image I came across recently.  Yeah, not cool.  So not cool.  I'm sorry, but it's a little scary to see what's going on in that legendary white cup.  Don't you think?

But hey, I'm not here solely to rain on your parade.  Nope.  I know there are tons of die hard Starbucks folks out there.  I come bearing a solution!  Read on to find a substitute version of this famous beverage courtesy of the wonderful site, The Gracious Pantry.  Check it out--she's got tons of fantastic CLEAN ideas. 

 

Clean Eating Pumpkin Spice Latte

(Makes 2 lattes)

What You'll Need:

• 4 tablespoons ground coffee
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk OR…2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

  What You'll Do:

1. Combine the coffee and the pumpkin spice and brew as usual with the specified amount of water.
2. Pour the maple syrup in the bottom of your cup with the vanilla extract and pour half of the hot coffee over that.
3. Add 1 cup of milk and stir.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for the second serving.

 
Bonus---you'll save money, be able to make one whenever you want, get your name spelled (and pronounced!) properly and not have to stand in a long line and stress about ordering it correctly (am I the only one who gets anxiety over whether or not I'm ordering my drink the right way?).

So cheers to fall, cheers to you and cheers to giving something new---and CLEAN---a whirl.

 

Nutritional Content:
(Data is for 1/2 the recipe)
Calories: 100
Total Fat: 3 gm
Saturated Fats: 0 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 189 mg
Carbohydrates: 17 gm
Dietary fiber: 0 gm
Sugars: 12 gm
Protein: 2 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 9

Compare to Starbucks: 
(16 oz., No Whipped Cream, Using 2% milk)
Calories: 310
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 25mg
Sodium: 210mg
Total Carbohydrate: 49g
Dietary Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 47g
Protein: 14g

Please Note: Nutritional information for my recipe (not the Starbucks data) was estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate and is subject to the availability of specific foods in their database. Where one ingredient is not listed, substitutions must be used. Therefore, you should not refer to this data as being exact. It’s more of a ballpark figure. The Gracious Pantry does not take responsibility for the inadequacies of the nutrition calculator used. This data is provided as a courtesy and general reference only. It is not exact.