Healthy Pumpkin Latte

I love pumpkin latte's in the fall -- a little bit of a comfort food on a rainy fall day like today.  But I am off sugar and prefer to use mainly Stevia. 

I just thought I'd look up the sugar content in a Starbuck's Pumpkin Latte so I could make a rational decision on how many I might want to consume this fall, if any. 

I usually get a grande size and I have to admit even I was surprised at how much sugar is in it.  Without the whipped cream it has a whopping 47 grams of sugar!

Just for a bit of perspective here, a Snickers bar has 30 grams, which is too much for me for a treat.  So you can see, I won't be having any Starbucks Pumpkin or other flavored latte's this fall.  

But, I did make one at home that was so delicious.  I used Stevia which is an all natural sweetener with no calories, or harmful effects to the body.  I actually had some freshly cooked pumpkin that I was making pumpkin soup from yesterday, so here's how I made it:

Healthy Pumpkin Latte

Make a simple sugar with Stevia:

2-3 packets of Stevia (to taste)

1 cup water

Bring it barely to a boil, simmer and stir for a minute or so.

Add:

4 TBS pumpkin puree 

2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice 

(or  just cinnamon).

Simmer for a few minutes.  Cool and refrigerate.  Should keep a week or two in fridge. This should make a few latte's.

Add 2 TBS to your steaming hot coffee and stir with a mini whisk.  Add steamed milk & stir.  I like a little foam too, but don't have a milk steamer.  I looked online and found a great way to make it in a jar, by shaking!

Steamed Milk (without a steamer)

1 cup organic half and half, put it in a jar with a lid and shake it vigorously for about a minute.  Then microwave it for about 30 seconds. lt makes the foam hold up well and heats the milk.  Pour the milk into the coffee & pumpkin mixture, holding the foam back with a spoon, then top with foam and a sprinkle of nutmeg.  

This is REALLY good.  If you don't happen to have fresh cooked pumpkin, you can open a can of organic pumpkin puree.  You can also use milk or low fat milk, but won't get quite as much foam. 

You are saving 47 grams of sugar, so enjoy, gullt-free!