Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte

Let’s just chat for a minute about Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Before we chat, though, I need to tell you that I am in fact one of those annoying people who are absolutely OBSESSED in a non-socially-acceptable-way with Pumpkin Spice Lattes… #sorryimnotsorry #pumpkinspiceforever.

So. Chat. Pumpkin Spice Lattes. They are one of the most exciting parts of fall. The sweet, pumpkin-y, spicy, foamy, hot cup of pure fall comfort. They make me so happy ???.

I have received four – not one…not two…not three….BUT FOUR – PSLs from my students since fall began. I love my job.

Not only four PSLs, but also two pumpkin spice muffins. Did I mention that I love my job? And my students? They are just the best.

I think the amount of pumpkin treats I have received should clue you in on how much I mention my obsession with them in class.

There was one morning that I had just finished my cup of regular, boring, non-pumpkin-spicy-goodness when a student walked in with a beautiful PSL for me, and RIGHT when I finished that cup, a second student walked in with ANOTHER one. It was the best day of work in the history of work days EVER. Period. The end. Nothing can beat it.

So…the only problem with these beautiful cups of pumpkin, fall-y goodness? They are quite horrendous for you. Not healthy in the least. The smallest Pumpkin Spice Latte you can get at Starbucks has 330 calories and 15 grams of fat…YIKES! Not to mention many, many non-real-food ingredients, including pumpkin spice flavored syrup (sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and several other sketchy ingredients).

Oh Pumpkin Spice Latte…why must you be a such a guilty pleasure?

My love for PSLs + my realization of how bad they really are for you = this homemade Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte. Aka heaven in a cup.

This version of my beloved PSL is so much healthier for you, includes real pumpkin, no scary chemicals or artificial ingredients, and is super simple and easy to make! It has a little over 150 calories and just 3 grams of fat – way better than Starbucks’ 330 calorie PSL with 15 grams of fat!

WIN x 1,000,000,000.

It took me a few attempts to get the proportions of pumpkin spice, pumpkin, and sweetness right, but I think the end result is yummy yummy ?.

So I realized last week that I never told you guys about Seth and I’s birthday camping excursion last weekend.

My birthday was on October 3rd, and Seth planned a camping trip to celebrate. I have never been before! Can you believe that? Cray cray.

It was super fun! We did run into a few camping-fails, though ?.

First camping fail= firewood. We got to the campground at around six to six thirty and began scavenging for firewood. We gathered wood for about forty five minutes (hello eight million spiders that I saw while scavenging…) and headed back to our camping area to build the fire. We got the fire going (by we I mean Seth while I provided moral support from my chair) and proceeded to burn through half of our wood within fifteen minutes.

Whoops.

By that point it was almost dark outside, and there was NO way we were going to be able to gather enough wood for the entire night before the sun completely set. So I decided to drive out and buy a few bundles so we didn’t have to worry about it.

Sounds like a good plan, right?

Nope. Apparently October 3rd is national go-buy-all-the-bundles-of-firewood-available-at-every-store-so-they-are-all-sold-out day. Lucky us!! I drove all over town and visited several different places before I found a gas station that had three precious bundles of firewood left.

After having no luck at the first few places, I had texted Seth telling him that everywhere seemed to be out. I got a text back when I was near the campground again saying “I have a solution if you can’t find any fire wood. I found a tree. A big one.”

I pull up to our camping area and see that Seth has dragged a HUGE dead tree over to the fire and just plopped it on top. It looked absolutely hilarious.

This picture totally doesn’t do it justice…it looked so much bigger in person. You can see my three bundles of firewood in the background. Thank God we found a few, or else our night would have ended way earlier.

Camping fail #2 = breakfast. We couldn’t figure out the portable oven-stove-camping-thing that my awesome co-worker lent us, but we really wanted bacon. So we had to figure out a way to place our cast iron skillet over the fire.

Seth went over and chopped off this big branch from a tree that kind of formed a “V,” and we dragged that baby over the fire to be a little makeshift “stand” that our skillet could rest on.

This might sound simple…but it wasn’t. It was a thirty minute process. The end result looked ridiculous, but it worked!

Kind of…

It definitely wasn’t safe. And because I was flipping the bacon over a large open flame, I have no hair on certain areas of my arm…

Totally worth it. Best bacon ever.

Aaannnyway, enough about camping. Pumpkin Spice Lattes!! Make this! You will love it ☕️. And your body will be much happier ingesting this lighter, less chemical filled version!!

Happy Monday ?!

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*This recipe is gluten free*

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy pumpkin-packed recipes? Check these out:

Pumpkin, Maple Pancakes with Brown Sugar Spiced Walnuts

Potato Pumpkin Soup with Bacon

Pumpkin Barley Risotto with Roasted Sweet Potatoes