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! 



                    

happy halloween: the pumpkin carving post

i decided that i didn't want a bunch of traditional orange pumpkins this year, so while i was out shopping the other day, i came across two perfect shaped pumpkins in green and a yellowish color...plus they were actually cheaper. i win!

we totally waited last minute this year, but last night we had fun carving our pumpkins and making pumpkin seeds. phoenix and tyler were huge helpers separating the seeds for the pumpkin guts, but elijah wanted nothing to do with the pumpkins at all. he basically thought it was the grossest thing ever. even afterwards, i had to bribe him to taste a pumpkin seed, even though i am pretty sure he has eaten them in the past. but, when he finally tried one, i couldn't get him to stop. he loved them!

i hope everyone has a safe and happy halloween. i look forward to everyone's halloween posts that will be showing up for the rest of the week after today. what are you and your children going as for halloween?

linking up with the paper mama, angry julie monday, and sarah halstead for wordless wednesday. 

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

pumpkinless pumpkin cream cheese

i have literally pinned a dozen and a half recipes that have pumpkin in them on pinterest recently, only to discover that pumpkin is like nonexistent in our area right now.

i went to 6 different places looking for pumpkin in a can with no luck. i have made several things with fresh pumpkin in the past, but i really haven't had any success with the right consistency when it comes to certain recipes, so i just decided to stick to the canned version.

i decided i was going to knock out one of the easier recipes, the pumpkin cream cheese, but never got that chance since hurricane irene has basically ruined fall for us. the story on the news is that irene has wiped out many of the pumpkin crops and causing a serious shortage of pumpkins this year. perhaps not even as many as usual for pumpkin carving.

boo to that!  halloween is my favorite!

so, i took the recipe i found on pinterest (follow me here if you want) and tweeked it a bit, but if you are lucky enough to find canned pumpkin in your area i have included that too.


pumpkin cream cheese

8 oz. of cream cheese
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbs. brown sugar
dash of salt

mix all ingredients well and enjoy (on a bagel in my case!)

pumpkinless pumpkin cream cheese

8 oz. of cream cheese
1/4 cup (maybe more maybe less) international delights pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbs. brown sugar
dash of salt

mix all ingredients well and enjoy (on an "everything" bagel in my case!)

the only difference is that i replaced the pumpkin with coffee creamer. weird? maybe! i was desperate!

and just so you know, it is awesome! maybe not as awesome as if i had some flippin' pumpkin, but i wouldn't know!

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