Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Happy Fall Y’all! I LOVE Fall because pumpkin flavors are everywhere.  We all know they taste amazing, but did you know they are amazing for you too? I came up with a healthy pumpkin spiced latte to share with you guys because we all know those store bought kinds are full of sugar and junk! Just turn it over and read the label…whew!

Below i’ve broken down why REAL pumpkin is good for you, so this fall season try out some new ways to use real pumpkin in your cooking. Not only are they cheap to buy, but they are everywhere right now! If you aren’t sure how to peel, seed and carve a pumpkin for cooking, check out this tutorial to get you started.

Here are 5 interesting health facts about pumpkins:

1. Pumpkins are great for your eyesight; 1 cup has more than 200% of your RDA for vitamin A
2. Pumpkins help you feel fuller: Pumpkin seeds pack about 1.7 grams of dietary fiber per ounce, while mashed pumpkin has only 50 calories per cup and 3 grams of fiber
3. Pumpkin seed oil is full of phytoestrogens, which research shows are beneficial for preventing hypertension
4. Pumpkin is also a great source of B vitamins, which help with cell growth and help to support a healthy metabolism.
5. Pumpkins have a light diuretic effect.  This helps with flushing out toxins and other waste from your body, giving you more energy, and leaving you feeling refreshed.

Pumpkins are incredibly versatile. They are good in everything from breakfast to dinner (and dessert, but all the sugar there probably takes away from most of the health benefits). For a healthier way to add pumpkin into your diet try:

• Add pumpkin chunks to a roasted vegetable medley or puree into soup
• Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of your salad
• Use pumpkin puree in place of nut butters as a spread
• Add pumpkin puree to waffle or pancake mix to spice up your breakfast 
• Add pumpkin puree to your smoothies (try to blend a high-quality protein powder with coconut milk, chia seeds, pureed pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice).

Ok, hold on….don’t get all glossy eyed on me,  thinking pumpkin flavored everything it good for you.  Most of the time “pumpkin flavor” has no pumpkin at all….cough, cough… most major brand pumpkin flavored coffee and coffee creamers.  I’ve been trying to avoid all “fake” flavoring for a while now but I LOOOOVE pumpkin coffee so it’s particularly difficult this time of year.  This year I played around with some clean eating, healthier pumpkin spice coffee creamers and found this recipe to work best for me.  I’ll note that I don’t avoid dairy (which according to some rule books isn’t clean eating) so I suggest a few non-dairy options here too.  Enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Latte

• 1 1/4 cups half and half (almond milk and coconut milk are also an option)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (you can leave out the sweetener here and sweeten to taste with Stevia)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend. Store in an airtight container. Shake well before each use.

1 tbs = 33 calories, 4.5 g fat, 5.5 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 1.5 g protein (with maple syrup)

1 tbs = 26 calories, 4.5 g fat, 2 g carbs, 1.5 g sugar, 1.5 g protein (no sweetener)

Now go!  Drink your healthy pumpkin spiced latte before it gets cold!