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Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

This homemade pumpkin spice latte is made with good for you ingredients, filled with warm, cozy pumpkin pie spice, actual pumpkin, and warms you from the inside out.

I’d been drinking these iced, made with cold brew, but today was CHILLY! We doubled up on soccer in the pouring rain, and definitely weren’t dressed for the weather. This homemade pumpkin spiced latte is so warm and comforting with spices that make you feel all kinds of cozy. It’s perfect for these chilly fall mornings.

Why homemade?

If you can just go to your local coffee shop, why make this yummy drink at home?

  • It’s less expensive: Seriously.. if you’re paying $4-6 a pop, these add up quickly. At home, you can make it for $1 or less.
  • Less sugar: I’ve used one teaspoon of maple syrup to sweeten, but you could easily use a completely sugar-free option such as stevia. Buying yours? You’re looking at loads moree sugar!
  • It’s much healthier: Real food ingredients! There’s actual pumpkin in there, and the whole sugar thing.. plus you can adapt it with a milk choice that works for your eating style and isn’t full of additives and even more sugar.
  • It’s flexible: You choose the type and amount of sweetener as well as the type of milk. You can even use decaf coffee/espresso.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Ingredients

This pumpkin spice latte uses a few simple ingredients that you probably already have. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Coffee – this recipe uses strong coffee (5oz) or 5oz cold brew concentrate (regular or decaf).
  • Milk – you’ll need 3oz of unsweetened oat milk or whole milk
  • Pumpkin Puree – you’ll use 1 tablespoon of pure pumpkin puree – either homemade or from a can (only ingredient is pumpkin) and…
  • Maple Syrup – … 1-3 teaspoons maple syrup, depending on how sweet you like it, or use your sweetener of choice. I used 1 teaspoon maple syrup plus 2 drops liquid stevia, and it was perfect.
  • pumpkin pie spice – just 1/4 teaspoon, and it makes all the difference. YUM.

How to make a homemade pumpkin spice latte

This drink is super easy and incredibly tasty! Here’s how you’ll make it:

  1. Brew the coffee – Brew your strong coffee – regular or decaf, or pour cold brew into a small saucepan.
  2. Heat the milk – you can either do this by heating in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling, warm in the microwave, or use a milk frother/heater like this one.
  3. Blend – add hot coffee, milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice to a blender and blend for 30 seconds, until smooth.
  4. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!

Ingredient variations and substitutions

This recipe is warm, rich and frothy as written, but feel free to play with it a bit. Here are some variations that would work well:

  • Milk: I used unsweetened vanilla oat milk. Whole milk (dairy) will also work, or you can try your favorite nut milk, however I didn’t much like the final taste with almond milk.
  • Coffee substitution: The best I’ve found is Dandy Blend. It has a deep roasted flavor similar to coffee. You would want to use about a tablespoon of the powder in 2.5oz water.
  • Omit the pumpkin: Some places are having a pumpkin shortage. If you can’t find any and can’t make your own (seriously though, it’s so easy!), then feel free to leave it out. Your latte just won’t be quite as creamy.
  • Different sweetener: I love a little bit of maple syrup and a little bit of stevia. You can also use honey, monkfruit, coconut sugar, or regular sugar.

Meal Prep Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

These overnight oats are easy to make so your morning’s a breeze. With the decadent combination of chocolate and peanut butter, your entire family will love these!

I’ve started on a big rolled oats kick lately.. Working out hard and I just wanted MORE CARBS! Plus, they’re delicious.  Overnight oats are an easy thing to meal prep 3-5 days’ worth so you can just grab them in the morning and get on with your busy day.

Rolled oats have a good amount of fibre to help slow the digestion, keep your gut happy, and lower the blood sugar spike, but I also like to add in some protein to help balance this meal and ensure I’m not starving appropriately 7 minutes later. This recipe has a double dose of protein with hemp hearts and vanilla protein powder. Next I’ve added some healthy fats in the form of Omega-3 rich chia seeds.  You can change up the flavor, but I keep going back for this chocolate peanut butter mix. I love to top it with a teaspoon of cacao nibs for some crunch.

How to make chocolate peanut butter overnight oats

  1. Measure everything other than the cacao nibs into jars: To start, you’ll measure our your ingredients into as many jars as you’d like. I recommend 3-5 servings at a time.
  2. Stir them up: Stir everything really well, until all the powders are dissolved and the peanut butter is mixed throughout.
  3. Place in the fridge overnight: Put them in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or up to 5 days.
  4. Add toppings and serve: Add a sprinkle of cacao nibs for texture, grab a spoon, and dig in

Variations

  • Oats: Choose gluten-free if you might be sensitive to gluten. Rolled oats hold up best. Quick oats get pretty mushy.
  • Sweetener: Play around with this. You can use honey, coconut sugar, stevia, erythritol, monkfruit, maple syrup. 1tsp – 1 tbsp, to taste. Some protein powders are sweeter than others, so you may not need to add any additional sweetener
  • Nut butter: Need to avoid peanuts? No problem. You can use almond butter, cashew butter or even sunflower seed or pumpkin seed butter.
  • Save time and really simplify: Not into dealing with this many ingredients? You’ll lose some of the nutritional benefits, but you can add a bit more oats and leave out the seeds. You can also opt for a chocolate protein powder and skip the cacao/cocoa

Can you make up the dry mix to use?

Yes! You can mix up the dry ingredients in little baggies or in jars to use when you’re ready. The night before you want this, just add to a jar and mix in the liquids (almond milk, liquid stevia, nut butter). This works well for people who like variety throughout the week but still want to batch prep a bunch of options. Dry mixes will keep sealed in the cupboard for a few months+

Can you eat these warm?

Yep! Just unscrew the lid and heat directly in the jar, or pour into a bowl. Microwave for about a minute (times will vary!), and stir before serving. You can also stir in a pot over low heat for a few minutes, until warmed through.

free workouts to do at home

Looking for some workouts to try at home? Beachbody has a bunch of free sample workouts to keep you busy, including a bunch for kids who may need a little home activity in their lives. Try one or all of these in the next few weeks.

10 Rounds

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Barre Blend

This program is a fun fusion of ballet, barre, pilates and cardio interval training. Moves might look easy, but trust me, you’ll feel the burn!

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Clean Week

Starting out on a new fitness jouney? This week’s worth of workouts is perfect for beginners or those trying to get back into a fitness routine.

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Morning Meltdown 100

High-intensity cardio and resistance training with a live DJ to turn up the energy. Everything is on the beat to keep you motivated.

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Transform 20

No jokes – this one from Supertrainer Shaun T is a high-intensity program! 20 minutes a day gets it done.

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LIIFT 4

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Increasingly intense workouts to get you results and build upon them.

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The Work

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Kids and Family

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Lower sugar sangria

Sangria.. ahh.. The perfectly quintessential summer drink that’s reminiscent of summer days full of sunscreen, sandy beaches, and patios.

While I don’t think alcohol is a health food, I’ve found a way to make delicious strawberry infused sangria that is a little bit less unhealthy.. No added sugar, plus some kombucha to add depth of flavour.. and a secret ingredient… Cinnamon!

Cinnamon brings a warm spiciness that ties all the flavours together, and brings along some beneficial health properties too. It’s got antioxidants such as polyphenols, and can help to lower inflammation. It can also help to lower blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. Since we don’t want loads of sugar rushing around our blood stream, this is a very good thing!

Grain-free cinnamon n’oatmeal

THIS! You’ve got to try it, especially if you’re someone who loves traditional carby breakfast foods, but hates being hungry 30 minutes later, or that full-body exhaustion blood sugar crash. That used to be me, every day of my life, since I grew up eating cereal for breakfast. Who can blame my parents? It was the easiest help-yourself thing they could give me when I’d wake up way too early.

But this oatmeal? It’s full of satisfying healthy heart and brain boosting fats – omega-3 and omega-9, lots of fiber, and cinnamon to help balance blood sugar. You need this in your life.

This recipe is for a single serving. You can make it when you’re hungry, or be really kind to your future self and make up little single serving packets.. OR make a huge 10x batch without the almond milk and scoop out 1/2 a cup at breakfast time.. Yessssss!

Top it with some homemade cashew-coconut yogurt and defrosted blueberries (they’re the best because they get all ooey-gooey juicy delicious).

Kombucha Gummies

Guilt-free gummy candies?!? YES!

This recipe saves me when I’m making kids’ lunches. I’m always struggling trying to find healthy things that they’ll actually eat. Enter these gummies! The kids view them almost as candy, but they’re made with kombucha, a bit of natural sweetener, and gelatin, which is great for the gut, hair, skin, and nails. #momwin

You can make these with any kind of kombucha. Use your favorite, or experiment with all different kinds. I like to use my homemade apple cinnamon version.

About the sweeteners.. I find the best flavor profile happens when you combine stevia with erythritol rather than using one on its own. Lakanto has an erythritol base even though it’s labeled as a monkfruit sweetener (there’s both in there). It’s usually my go-to, along with Now Foods organic liquid stevia.

Homemade Kombucha

I love the zingy taste of kombucha, but when I was spending $3-$4/bottle on it, then opened my eyes to the amount of added sugar/juice in each bottle, I decided to make it at home. It takes a bit of patience and doing things in a particular way, but is a fraction of the cost, and I think it tastes better, so win-win!

There are as many different ways to make kombucha as there are people making it. I’ll share my way, and know that there are a few things that aren’t so flexible, like the scoby doesn’t like to be very hot. You’ll kill it. Also, it likes to brew in darkness, and brewing time really varies based on the temperature of your room.

Flavored Kombucha

Ingredients:
1 batch kombucha, fully brewed
1/2 cup apple juice and 1 cinnamon stick, or 1/2 cup berries of choice

Add all ingredients to a large 1-2L jar. Top with a lid and store in a warm, dark place for 24-72 hours. Taste every 24 hours until desired taste is reached. I usually go 48 hours.
Strain into bottles and refrigerate.

Low Carb Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Buns – low carb, keto

These buns, oh my goodness.. I’ve been craving them every single day since I made the first batch. It was GOOD, but I’ve been tweaking it here and there to get things just right and ready to share.

They’re perfectly moist with a nice crumb texture, and are amazing warmed up with some butter. That cinnamon + sweet combo.. YUM! You know what they’re also great for? Topping with an egg and some bacon and cheddar cheese. Breakfast sandwhich win.

Here’s the kicker.. according to MyFitnessPal, they’ve only got 3 grams of carbs per serving. Whaaaat?! The almond flour/psyllium husk combo works wonders.

So please please make these for your Easter celebrations, or for an average Tuesday morning, and let me know how it went

Notes
Working with psyllium husk can be a bit finicky. If the dough seems really ooey gooey, you can add an extra tablespoon and let it sit another 5 minutes, but I didn’t find this necessary.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Bites – Dairy-free, gluten-free

Sometimes you need a treat that has only ingredients you’d find in  your pantry, or can easily get, and are comfortable eating.. Or maybe you’ve currently got a zillion dietary restrictions and JUST NEED SOMETHING for Halloween.. ya get me?

Cuz hey, it’s Halloween today. Happy stuff-your-face-with-candy day! (or these chocolate gems).

They’re super rich and indulgent, and I totally eat more than one at a time.

 

Crunchy Peanut Butter Bites

8oz dark chocolate, such as Lily’s stevia sweetened dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup  coconut oil
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
3 Tbsp almond meal or powdered peanut butter
4 Tbsp chopped sunflower seeds
pinch sea salt
Place chocolate and coconut oil together in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, then another 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
Stir together the rest of the ingredients until consistently mixed. Scoop into 1.5 teaspoon sized balls. Flatten slightly and set aside.
Drop a small amount of chocolate onto the bottom of mini silicon muffin pan wells (18 -20, depending on how many peanut butter balls you have).
Freeze for a few minutes until hardened, then top each one with a peanut butter ball.  spoon a bit more chocolate over each one until covered, then freeze again.
These are perfection straight out of the freezer, so I pop them out of the silicon pan and store in a freezer bag until a craving strikes.

Chicken and Yam Hash with easy Light Slaw

Recently I made a big bowl of easy cabbage and jicama slaw that I’ve been pairing with everything, like this Chicken and Yam hash.. It’s nice to have a container of veggies to add to meals throughout the week without having to think about it much, especially when I’m constantly doing things for the kids and feel like I have *no time.*

Light cabbage and jicama slaw

3 cups shredded green cabbage
3 cups shredded purple cabbage
1/2 a small to medium jicama, peeled and julienned
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice from 1/2 a fresh lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce or alternative (I used coconut aminos)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

All you do is toss everything together, then store in the fridge until needed. It keeps for about 5 days in the fridge.

 

Chicken Yam Hash

Adapted from one of my current favourite cookbooks, The Whole30 Cookbook – recipe by Melissa Joulwan of Well Fed.

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of paprika
2 cups diced cooked yams
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into 3/4″ chunks
1/3 cup toasted pecans

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the apple, onion, and salt and cook, stirring, until golden (about 8 minutes).

Stir together the other spices.

Remove the apple/onion mixture then add the other tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan. Heat up the spices for about 30 seconds, then add the yams and chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally  until browned and heated through (about 6 minutes).

Stir in the pecans, and enjoy!

 

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