Every year I see ladies posting in my Facebook support group desperately craving Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but these sweet Halloween drinks are packed with carbs (sugar), making them a risky choice for anyone with diabetes.
Here are the total carbs in a short (small) Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte:
Short skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, 27.6g – almost 7 tsp of sugar!
Short whole milk, 27.0g – 6 ¾ tsp of sugar
Short coconut milk, 24.8g – just over 6 tsp of sugar
Short soy milk, 24.3g – 6 tsp of sugar
Make your own GD friendly pumpkin spice latte instead, it is so easy!
Did you know that there isn’t actually pumpkin in a pumpkin spice latte? It is a mixture of spices and sugar that creates the taste of pumpkin pie from which pumpkin spice was developed.
Pumpkin spice is harder to find in the UK and can be expensive, but you could just make your own instead which will last you all Autumn just with a few store cupboard spices: ½ tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground mace and ¼ tsp ground allspice.
Make a coffee with whole, unsweetened almond, soy or coconut milk, whip up plenty of fresh cream (or Elmlea plant-based cream) and add some of this pumpkin pie spice, along with some sweetener if you wish! Yummy!
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Spice (note: this recipe will make enough pumpkin spice for a few lattes)
- ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ground mace (optional)
- 1 tsp xylitol or erythritol sweetener (optional)
For the latte
- 150 ml milk hot (whole, unsweetened soya, almond or coconut)
- 50 ml cream warmed (double, coconut, or Elmlea plant-based)
- 1 shot espresso coffee or 1 tsp of coffee granules
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Combine all the spices and sweetener, mix well and pour into an airtight jar
- Make a latte with the hot milk and cream of your choice and coffee
- Pour the latte into a mug and sprinkle liberally with the pumpkin spice