Don’t Ditch Your Holiday Drinks… Make Them Even Better
If you’re anything like me, the approaching holiday season has me ready for sweaters, blankets, good books, and warm holiday-drinks. After nearly a year of eating a mainly plant-based diet while limiting added sugars, I was afraid that the Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Peppermint Hot Cocoas would not be part of my celebration this year. This way of thinking simply made me want to give up eating plant-based for the holiday season, so I could enjoy my lattes and cold-weather, as one should! This is where the mindset change comes in. Eating clean does not mean having a restrictive diet, but instead choosing foods that are going to taste great while nourishing our bodies.
Let’s talk about the drinks I used to buy:
A Starbucks Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte has:
- 390 Calories
- 14g of fat
- 50g of sugar
- 14g of protein
A Starbucks Grande Hot Chocolate has:
- 370 Calories
- 16g of fat
- 37g of sugar
- 14g of protein
I would change these drinks by switching the whole milk for soy, which would decrease the calories but may even increase the sugar content, because most coffee shops are not buying unsweetened plant milks. These drinks are high in calories, high in fat, and high in sugar (for reference, 50g of sugar is about 4 tablespoons worth!).
After looking at these nutrition labels, I knew if I wanted to still enjoy my holiday drinks, while working toward my nutrition goals, we were going to have to be creative! So, with research and experimentation, I created coffee at home that I actually prefer to buying! See below for a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, with these nutrition facts:
At-Home Pumpkin Spice Latte:
- 100 calories
- 4g of fat
- 6g of sugar (0g artificial!)
- 8g of protein
Enjoy creating your holiday drinks at home this year, you may even find you like them better (and save money too)!
At-Home Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
- 8 oz Unsweetened Soy Milk
- 1 Tbsp Pure Pumpkin Puree
- 2 oz Espresso
- 1/2 tsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan on medium heat.
- Stir until pumpkin puree and honey are completely dissolved and milk begins to simmer.
- Pour in a mug, and enjoy!
- (If you have an electric milk frother, add all the ingredients to frother cup, and simply turn it on!!)
Here is a kid-friendly version for the whole family to enjoy!
At-Home Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
- 8 oz Unsweetened soy milk
- 1 Tbsp Pure Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Tbsp Organic Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Dena DePiazza is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach and is certified as a Certified Pain Management Coach. She is your personal advocate for living an energized and passionate life. She works with clients to help them create healthy lives in a way that is flexible, fun, and free of denial and unsustainable discipline. By working together, you can discover lifestyle choices that best support you. Dena helps you learn to make gradual, lifelong changes that will enable you to reach your current and future health goals.
with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences. She is a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
Nadia enjoys providing the guidance and support people need to achieve good health and considers herself their biggest cheerleader when they decide to make their health a priority. As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Nadia works with clients one on one to help them optimize their health through holistic health practices. She helps reduce the symptoms of chronic illness through nutrition and lifestyle practices, but is not limited to helping anyone who wants to learn how to make better choices. She teaches clients basic kitchen skills, how to read labels and will even do grocery tours. As a personal trainer, Nadia works with clients of all levels, ages and in various settings. She has taught group fitness classes and worked with clients one on one. She emphasizes the importance of staying injury free and building strength to move about their day without pain.
Karissa originally attended Westmont College in beautiful Santa Barbara, and began her B.S. in Psychology, then transferred to Montreat College, in the Appalachian hills of North Carolina, graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in Music Therapy, and a double minor in Psychology and Music Business.
