Fat Butt Friday | Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

To convince you how easy it can be to enjoy good healthy food, I decided to share a few of the recipes I use over the next few weeks...healthier alternatives to some of my favorite foods. This week, I thought I would start out with a simple recipe for a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte. I have seen this recipe in so many versions, but have yet to find one the way I prepare it.

I would love to know what some of your favorite foods are that you would like to see a healthier version of as well, so be sure to let me know in the comments below.   

Here is my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Lattes that you can enjoy at home!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

 You will need:

• 1 cup (8 oz.) brewed Pumpkin Spice Coffee (or regular coffee)
• 2 Tbsp. Canned Pumpkin Puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 cup (8 oz.) Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 20-30 drops Liquid Vanilla Stevia (I prefer NuNaturals liquid stevia best)
• 1/4 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of  unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, and 20-30 drops of liquid vanilla stevia until steaming, but not boiling. Stirring occasionally with a whisk. Remove from heat once milk begins to steam and add vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice, and whisk together until slightly frothy. Brew coffee in your mug and add the frothy pumpkin/milk mixture on top and stir. Enjoy!

The amount of coffee to "creamer" can always be adjusted to your liking!

I never count calories because that just isn't a convenient way to live for me, but I can promise you that you can enjoy this coffee drink without the fear of "drinking your calories" and at half the price of those drinks at the coffee shop... even though I have to admit, they are my favorite! 

I would love to hear if you try this recipe and what you think, so be sure to stop back by if you do!

*Don't forget to enter the Diamond Candles giveaway HERE, still going on. Just a few more days left! 



                    

iced chai latte

with the hot days here again, i still want to enjoy my coffee and tea, but some mornings i just can't enjoy a hot cup when i am already sweating at 6 in the morning. for years i drank nothing but coffee... hot coffee, cold coffee, frozen coffee, you name it! 

last year, i really got into drinking tea. not just any tea but chai tea. oh my word, i didn't think it was possible to love anything better than coffee! but now that summer is practically here, i still want to enjoy it, even on the hottest of days. iced chai tea is no secret, but i wanted to share my personal recipe with you, a trick i've learned, and some products i love.

so, first things first... brewing your tea.

i am not up to speed on the BEST way to brew tea, however, i have found a way that is quick and simple for me, and still tastes great... I USE MY KEURIG! that's right, i actually put the tea packet in my keurig. now, some of you may say, "well, they sell chai tea in k-cups", and you are right, but i'm a frugal mama, so i save a ton of money buying the tea bags.

 

i usually brew two bags separately on the smallest cup size to get the strongest version of my tea, then place it in the fridge to cool. this is a great thing to do the night before so that it is ready first thing in the morning!

once your tea is cold, simply add your favoritest ingredients, pour over ice, and... boom! done! like i said, not that hard! so, here is my little "recipe" that i usually go with for a delicious cup of iced chai latte that is still stays true to my new lifestyle change and weightloss plan.

1/4 cup almond milk
20 drops of vanilla liquid stevia (my favorite brand is nunaturals)
1/8 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
cinnamon to your liking

add these items to your cold chai tea brew and stir, then pour over ice and enjoy!

i used the twinnings brand of chai tea because it was all i had left, but tazo is my favorite so far. 

i like to live a clean eating (and drinking) lifestyle, but i NEVER judge anyone who decides otherwise. i always encourage others to eat clean as well, but i don't push my own opinions and beliefs on anyone. i choose to eat clean because it has been the only thing my body can handle in the success of my weight loss.

in saying that, one of my absolute favorite things to add to my coffee and tea used to be the torani line of syrups. if you haven't tried them, then you are seriously missing out! a lot of coffee shops use them or similar products, and i am telling you, you will love them. they come in a huge variety of flavors and last a super long time. just trade out the vanilla extract for this stuff and you are set. buy a few of them and you could enjoy a different coffee or tea every day!

and of course, you can also exchange the items above with any type of milk or sweetener for a similar drink.


prefer iced coffee? check this out!

♥ ♥ joni - sixcherriesontop(at)gmail(dot)com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram | bloglovin' ♥ ♥

carnation® breakfast essentials™ frozen coffee drink

this is my new favorite thing to drink for breakfast and it has two of my favorite things...chocolate and coffee. it takes less than 5 minutes to whip up in the blender, is a less expensive alternative to starbucks, and so good you will crave them. plus, carnation® breakfast essentials™ is a great way to still get in those healthy vitamins and minerals.

here's what you need to make this drink:

 

• 1 package of carnation breakfast essentials (the powdered kind) in any of their chocolate flavors (check out the variety of flavors)
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk. i use unsweetened vanilla almond milk because it tastes good and has WAY fewer calories than even 1% milk.
• 1 package of starbucks via in blonde or breakfast blend
• 2 cups of ice
• stevia or any other kind of sweetener (optional)

you can use regular milk, other starbucks via flavors that have added calories, and even regular sugar, but my intentions here are to make a healthy breakfast alternative with very few calories using the ingredients i have listed above. i promise, that even if you are not a fan of almond milk, you can not tell a difference.

in a blender, add one cup of unsweetened almond milk. (in the photo above, i actually used unsweetened coconut almond milk, but i wasn't fond of it, so i will be sticking to unsweetened almond milk from now on.)

 

i found these ice cube trays at my grocery store that are perfect for blenders.

add all other ingredients, plus 2 cups of ice, and then blend until the ice is completely crushed. if you prefer, you can choose not to add the ice to the blender and make this an iced coffee drink by adding the ice after you have blended the ingredients.

total calories (using the exact ingredients i have listed): 170 

total weight watchers points: 4

i drink this every morning and it keeps me full all the way up until lunch.

try it and let me know what you think.


i was not compensated to mention any of these products. they are products i actually use on a regular basis and love!

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

thirsty?

for the most part, i try not to drink anything other than water and coffee, but occasionally i will slip in a beer or a soda (especially my favorite...diet dr. pepper). here are the drinks i have been enjoying recently.



sassy water

this water is actually supposed to be to help boost weight loss. when i looked it up, i found that it was part of some kind of fad diet or something, but i wanted to try it anyway. not for it's "weight loss" benefits, but just because it is always so difficult for me to drink water if it isn't flavored with something. 

all this drink consists of is 2 liters of water, fresh ginger (a little. i just guessed on how much to add) 1 lemon, 1 medium cucumber, and about 15 spearmint leaves. put it all together in a pitcher and let sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to blend.

i think it is delicious.

supposedly, if you are using it to boost weight loss, you need to drink the entire pitcher in one day for 4 days. what it claims is to rid your body of excess water. i honestly don't know, so if you are interested in reading more on that, you can google sassy water.

..........

blue moon harvest pumpkin ale

i don't drink alcohol a lot, but i saw this is in the store and just had to try it. i am not a huge lover of ale beers either, but this stuff is actually pretty tasty. i could taste a hint of pumpkin spice flavor to it. it is a seasonal thing and i don't know how long it will last in stores, so be sure to check it out before it is gone.

find it at your local grocery store. 

..........

green mountain pumpkin spice coffee

i tried this coffee without anything but one packet of stevia and it was so good. it has a natural sweetness to it already so i didn't need to use much. and i don't really do the creamer flavors, but  i do want to try the international delights pumpkin pie spice with it. i bet it would taste awesome with my iced coffee too.

i bought this for my keurig, but i am not sure if they sell it for regular coffee makers. if you are interested, you can buy it here now.


i am not affiliated with any of the companies or products mentioned in this post.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry