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| This is right off the stove. You can still see the steam! |
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT TODAY'S POST!!!! Prepare to be amazed and get really excited!
As Autumn nears this little foodie starts dreaming of all things pumpkin.
One of those pumpkin dreams is about the pumpkin spice latte that Starbucks puts out.
We all know their holiday lattes are major calorie bombs but let's take a closer look.
Check this out...
The Smart Points for a tall with non-fat milk and no whip is 9.
If you get 2% milk and whipped cream it's 15 pts!
With whole milk and whipped cream it's 20 Smart Points!!!!
That's almost a whole day's points for ONE drink and it's not even a venti!
Good grief!
No way I'd personally choose to drink my day's points.
We all know their holiday lattes are major calorie bombs but let's take a closer look.
Check this out...
The Smart Points for a tall with non-fat milk and no whip is 9.
If you get 2% milk and whipped cream it's 15 pts!
With whole milk and whipped cream it's 20 Smart Points!!!!
That's almost a whole day's points for ONE drink and it's not even a venti!
Good grief!
No way I'd personally choose to drink my day's points.
Fortunately I found some slimmed down versions that I decided to try.
This is a taste off!
This is a taste off!
May the best recipe win!
Of course in addition to taste I'll also be looking at total Smart Points, creativity and work/time required.
The first recipe is from Hungry Girl. This slimmed down version has just 3 Smart Points(by my calculations using the WW recipe builder).
The second is from Skinny Kitchen. This one is 3 Smart Points. The difference here is the first uses light vanilla soy milk and this one uses skim milk.
The third recipe is from Skinny Taste. This is also 3 Smart Points. This is based on using her homemade pumpkin butter which is 1 pt vs the kind at the store that's 5 pts. So this recipe requires a lot more work but hey, maybe you'd want the pumpkin butter around to put on toast or some such.
The fourth is regular coffee with fat free half and half & part skim milk with Pumpkin Spice flavored stevia drops.
The fourth is regular coffee with fat free half and half & part skim milk with Pumpkin Spice flavored stevia drops.
The last recipe comes from Laaloosh. This is the best point value coming in at just 2 Smart Points per serving!
I also have extra yummy coffee to add to each of these because my husband actually roasts his own coffee!
Yep, I'm married to an official coffee snob. Funny thing is that he was drinking Folgers instant coffee when we got married.
My brother's gift to us at the wedding was our very first espresso machine along with personal training on how to make all the frou frou drinks.
My brother is the one who got me started on coffee. Love you Chris! ;)
Okay, back to those lattes.
And the winner is...
#1 The Skinny Taste Pumpkin Spice Latte!
This was absolutely AMAZING! I am freaking out about how good this is!
I promise you I could NOT tell this was low fat or lower calorie. It was that good!
I had my husband sample this too and he couldn't believe it was low in points!
The downside is that this one required the most work. Sometimes that's just how it goes.
Really it's just that you have to make her recipe for pumpkin butter ahead of time. I made it a couple days in advance.
The pumpkin butter is so good and I know I'll use it on toast and other things.
Here is how I made it as a serving for one:
3/4 cup skim milk= 2 pts
1 Tbsp(1/2 serving) of her homemade pumpkin butter= 1 pt
1 tsp Truvia= 0 pt
1 tsp vanilla extract= 0 pt
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice= 0 pt
1/4 cup espresso= 0 pt
That's 3 pts without the Light Redi Whip which is an additional 1 pt.
The second runner up is...
#2 The Skinny Kitchen Pumpkin Spiced Latte
This one was good but seemed a bit thin and lacked the depth of flavor that I tasted in the Skinny Taste recipe.
Still, this was awesome for the point value and much less work given that you don't have to make the pumpkin butter ahead of time.
#3 The Hungry Girl Pumpkin Spice Latte
This had a pretty good taste. It wasn't great but it was good. I personally felt like I could taste the artificial sweetener here.
I usually stick with stevia for my sugar substitute so I'm a little biased against the taste of other substitutes.
If you're not you may really like this. The plus side is that this was didn't require any stovetop work.
# 4 Coffee with added Nature's Way Pumpkin Spice stevia drops
This was a very mild, subtle flavor. It wasn't very sweet. I typically use the chocolate flavored stevia drops in my coffee every morning and I had to use twice the amount of drops I would usually use with the pumpkin flavor.
Overall it was pretty good and certainly very easy to use.
#5 Laaloosh Pumpkin Spice Latte
This was my least favorite. This just fell flat for me.
My husband even commented on this when he tasted it.
Obviously everyone's taste buds are different so you may rate these differently.
I also have extra yummy coffee to add to each of these because my husband actually roasts his own coffee!
Yep, I'm married to an official coffee snob. Funny thing is that he was drinking Folgers instant coffee when we got married.
My brother's gift to us at the wedding was our very first espresso machine along with personal training on how to make all the frou frou drinks.
My brother is the one who got me started on coffee. Love you Chris! ;)
Okay, back to those lattes.
And the winner is...
#1 The Skinny Taste Pumpkin Spice Latte!
This was absolutely AMAZING! I am freaking out about how good this is!
I promise you I could NOT tell this was low fat or lower calorie. It was that good!
I had my husband sample this too and he couldn't believe it was low in points!
The downside is that this one required the most work. Sometimes that's just how it goes.
Really it's just that you have to make her recipe for pumpkin butter ahead of time. I made it a couple days in advance.
The pumpkin butter is so good and I know I'll use it on toast and other things.
Here is how I made it as a serving for one:
3/4 cup skim milk= 2 pts
1 Tbsp(1/2 serving) of her homemade pumpkin butter= 1 pt
1 tsp Truvia= 0 pt
1 tsp vanilla extract= 0 pt
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice= 0 pt
1/4 cup espresso= 0 pt
That's 3 pts without the Light Redi Whip which is an additional 1 pt.
The second runner up is...
#2 The Skinny Kitchen Pumpkin Spiced Latte
This one was good but seemed a bit thin and lacked the depth of flavor that I tasted in the Skinny Taste recipe.
Still, this was awesome for the point value and much less work given that you don't have to make the pumpkin butter ahead of time.
#3 The Hungry Girl Pumpkin Spice Latte
This had a pretty good taste. It wasn't great but it was good. I personally felt like I could taste the artificial sweetener here.
I usually stick with stevia for my sugar substitute so I'm a little biased against the taste of other substitutes.
If you're not you may really like this. The plus side is that this was didn't require any stovetop work.
# 4 Coffee with added Nature's Way Pumpkin Spice stevia drops
This was a very mild, subtle flavor. It wasn't very sweet. I typically use the chocolate flavored stevia drops in my coffee every morning and I had to use twice the amount of drops I would usually use with the pumpkin flavor.
Overall it was pretty good and certainly very easy to use.
#5 Laaloosh Pumpkin Spice Latte
This was my least favorite. This just fell flat for me.
My husband even commented on this when he tasted it.
Obviously everyone's taste buds are different so you may rate these differently.
The take home message here is that there are some amazingly delicious lower calorie recipes for this fantastic fall favorite.
Spending 3 pts instead of 20 for one drink that tastes just as good? That's a win!
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