Welcome to the inaugural blog post of Holiday Recipe Remix! A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your favorite unhealthy holiday recipes so Elle, the MyFitnessPal Registered Dietitian, could ‘remix’ them into more nutritious versions of their former selves.
The first recipe Elle tacked was the ubiquitous coffee shop Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Pumpkin spice lattes are everywhere this time of year. It’s hard not to walk into a coffee shop that doesn’t make their own version of this popular holiday drink. What you may not know though is that those coffee shops usually lace them with loads of artificially flavored pumpkin syrup, whole milk and whipped cream. Some baristas even drizzle caramel syrup on top – as if they’re not sweet enough with 4 pumps of simple syrup.
Elle got her hands on the recipe for a popular coffee shop Pumpkin Spice Latte and remixed it into this delicious Spicy, Not Sinful, Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The key ingredient in Elle’s latte is her homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup, which contains only real ingredients–100% pumpkin puree, brown sugar, water, and a few spices. Elle swapped out the whole milk for 1% low-fat milk, which seriously cut the fat without losing any of the amazing flavor.
The end result? An all-natural, spicy-but-not-sinful pumpkin spice latte. Compared to that popular coffee shop’s latte, this healthier morning mug has:
- 182 fewer calories
- 13 fewer grams of fat
- 15 fewer grams of sugar
- 34% of your daily Vitamin A – because it contains real pumpkin!
Here, Elle explains how she remixed the recipe and shows you how you can make this drink at home, without a fancy espresso machine. Watch the video below:
You can also watch it on our YouTube channel.
If you’re a pumpkin spice anything fan, we highly recommend you make this Spicy, Not Sinful, Pumpkin Spice Latte. Just be sure to log it in MyFitnessPal! To find this lightened up drink, search MyFitnessPal Holiday Recipe Remix in the food database. There you’ll find the full nutrition info and be able add it to your food diary.
If you don’t yet have MyFitnessPal account, you can sign up on the web, or through downloading the free app for your iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows mobile devices.
Recipes for both the Pumpkin Spice Syrup and lightened-up latte are below!
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups water
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 dashes cloves
Directions
Combine water and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and reduce heat to low. Add spices and pumpkin puree, stirring until well combined. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks–just be sure to give the syrup a good shake as it will separate while sitting in the fridge.
Spicy, Not Sinful Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
- 16 ounces 1% milk
- 2 ounces espresso, freshly brewed
- 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Spice Syrup (see recipe above)
- Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie spice for garnish
Directions
Steam milk, or warm in the microwave for about 1 minute, until very warm. Froth using a milk frother or a wire whisk. In a coffee mug, combine freshly brewed espresso and pumpkin spice syrup. Pour steamed or frothed milk into the mug and sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
Check back next week for another Recipe Remix, and if you make this recipe let us know how you like it in the comments below, or over on Facebook.
Healthfully,
The MyFtnessPal Team
Photos by Elle Penner | MyFitnessPal
