What costs five bucks, tastes like fall and has a whopping 380 calories per cup?
It's officially pumpkin spice latte season, but too many of those Starbucks PSLs can hit not just the pocketbook, but your calorie count, too.
Maggy Doherty, clinical dietitian at Parkland Health and Hospital System, showed us an alternative, healthier pumpkin spice latte that's quick and easy to make at home.
"The ingredients it takes to make this one is so much less expensive, it has way less calories and way less sugar," Doherty said.
For example, a grande pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, costing $5, has 380 calories, 14 grams of fat and 52 grams of carbohydrates with 50 grams of sugar.
Our DIY PSL of the same size: Only 178 calories, 3 grams of fat and 15 grams of carbohydrates with 13 grams of sugar.
And don't worry about that "health food" taste: This homemade latte is flavorful and fragrant. It has a natural pumpkin taste without the thick, sugary flavors of the mass-marketed variety.
Doherty said pumpkin spice everything has health benefits beyond trendy treats. Pumpkin is a natural source of vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium. When making your pumpkin dishes, Doherty said to buy pure pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling with added ingredients.
"The pumpkin pie filling has lots of additives like sugar and salt," Doherty said. "The only ingredient that should be there is just pumpkin."
