It's fall, and that means it is officially pumpkin spice season.
Warm coffees, chewy cookies, and cold treats ... yum! It seems like any drink, cereal, cookie, cake, snack, or treat you can imagine can be found with seasonal flavoring. But do not be fooled by this deliciousness! Often, these pumpkin spice items are loaded with sugar, so even the most innocent-sounding items are more of a treat than you might have intended.
If you want to enjoy the season's No. 1 flavor, be an informed consumer (read labels!) or, better yet, make pumpkin-spiced items yourself.
Here are two healthier pumpkin-spice drinks. Each of these pumpkin-spiced drinks — a smoothie and coffee — offers warm and sweet deliciousness without all of the added sugar.
At Macaroni KID, we skip the fluff and get straight to the good stuff.
No need to scroll through pages of unnecessary content — our recipes are easy to find. Now let's get cooking!
 Julija Dmitrijeva | Canva |
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Serves one
This is NOT a sweet drink. It's creamy, pumpkin-y, and has all of the right flavors. It's also full of healthy fats, protein, and pumpkin, and it's dairy-free!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp coconut butter
- 2 Tbsp raw cashews
- 3 oz tofu
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or to your liking)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup ice cubes (optional)
- Optional bonus: Add 2 Tbsp cocoa powder for a chocolate punch!
Directions:
Blend all ingredients together well, top with cinnamon, and enjoy!
 Roxiller | Canva |
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Hack
I'm a huge fan of pumpkin spice coffee but, unfortunately for me, it's hard to find in decaf form.
Enter my hack!
Just add a small amount of pumpkin pie spice (1/4 tsp for 1 cup of coffee) to the coffee grounds in your brew basket, and voila! You've got pumpkin spice coffee!
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Want to get the family out for an educational and unique coffee/breakfast experience?
Visit Richards Coffee Shop in Mooresville for their Saturday AM Music Jam and visit the adjacent Military Museum.
This FREE event happens each Saturday from 9am to 12pm. It's a blast and the vets are very welcoming! https://www.welcomevets.com/events
