Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Although I hate fall clothes (give me a sundress and sandals over jeans and a sweater any day), I LOVE fall weather (especially on LSU game days) and fall food!  Soups, soups, and more soups!

And pumpkin!  Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks used to be high on my list of fall favorites.  But now that I try to steer clear of artificial ingredients in my diet, sadly it doesn’t make the cut.

This recipe from Cook Like a Champion is the PERFECT solution!  I halved the spices (because I don’t care for overly-spiced things)…but you may not want to.  Your call!  Give it a try, you won’t be sorry!

Pumpkin Spice Syrup
adapted from Cook Like a Champion

makes 2 cups (or 32 tablespoons)

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons pumpkin purée

Combine water and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook until sugar has completely dissolved. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil. Strain syrup through cheesecloth or a FINE mesh sieve into a large glass measuring cup. Transfer to bottle of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

To make a pumpkin spice latte, simply add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of syrup to your drink…start with less – you can always add more!

Per tablespoon: 37 calories, 0 g fat, 10 g carbohydrates (10 g sugar)

Craving Coffee

A little over a month ago, a marketing rep from Community Coffee contacted me to see if I would like to sample and review some of their products...Of course!!! They must have known that I was (and still am) on a huge coffee kick! Honestly, iced coffee has worked itself into my diet every day this week!

A few days later I received this package in the mail: 3 types of ground coffee (House Blend, Pecan Praline, and Cafe Special) and a travel coffee cup...how exciting!

I hardly ever drink coffee in the morning...I'm more of an afternoon cup-of-coffee girl. But when my dad is in town, he does make a pot of coffee when he wakes up and he happened to be staying with me right after the coffee came in the mail. He decided to use the Pecan Praline, which made the kitchen smell like heaven.

It was good, but I have to be honest - I try not to do artificial flavors/colors/sweeteners/etc and this one was artificially flavored. So while I wouldn't buy it for myself, the flavor was very praline-like and my dad loved it!

Like I said, I drink coffee in the afternoon for a little pick-me-up treat. And during the summer, iced coffee is the only way to go. I've mentioned in the past that I make my own cold-brewed iced coffee. So good, and so much cheaper! Needless to say, I've made several batches (with the House Blend)...Perfection! I've posted the recipe below.

Another use for brewed coffee in my kitchen is the most FABULOUS coffee ice cream ever! The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz has not failed me yet! The recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream caught my eye because it doesn't call for heavy cream, only uses 1/2 cup of half & half, and there are no egg yolks involved...must be healthy right? I made a few changes to cut the sweetness.

Cold-Brewed Ice Coffee
adapted from smittenkitchen.com (my favorite site)

makes 4 drinks

1/3 cup ground coffee
skim milk (optional)

To a jar, add the coffee and 2 cups of water. Top with the lid and shake to combine. Let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter. Rinse the jar and lid and pour the filtered coffee back into the jar.

In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add milk (I actually mix equal parts of coffee concentrate and milk, and leave out the water).

The concentrate will keep for at least a week without losing its flavor, so feel free to double or triple the recipe!

Other additions I like: a little sweetened condensed milk (60 cals per 1 tbsp), vanilla or almond extract, a spoon or two of half & half (40 cals per 2 tbsp)

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

makes a little more than 1 quart (about 5 cups or 10 1/2-cup servings)

1 14 oz can sweetened condense milk (I used fat-free)
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso or very strongly brewed coffee*
1 cup half & half

Big pinch of finely ground dark roast coffee (optional)

Whisk together the condensed milk, coffee/espresso, half & half, and ground coffee (if using). Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

* To brew a very strong coffee use 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of ground coffee...this should yield about 1 1/2 cups of very strongly brewed coffee.

Per serving (using fat-free condensed milk) - 144 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated), 26 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein (exchanges: 1/2 dairy, 1 starch, 1/2 fat)

Notes - I didn't care for the coffee grounds in the ice cream, so next time I will probably leave them out...or substitute chopped chocolate covered espresso beans!!!

Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frosty-cino

I'm sure you have seen the commercial by now (I don't watch much TV and I've seen it several times).  Wendy's has 2 new Frosties on its menu:  Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frotsy-cino.

Boy do these look good...in fact too good!  Let's do a little nutrition research...

The Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty comes in 1 size and has:

540 calories
20 g fat (15 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
83 g carbohydrate (69 g sugar)
9 g protein

The good news (I'm being sarcastic) is that it provides 30% of the DV for calcium...so there must be some real milk in there somewhere!  FYI 69 g sugar = about 17 tsp or 6 tbsp! (But not all of that sugar is table sugar...some is milk sugar, lactose, which isn't sweet at all).

The Frosty-cino come in 2 sizes, small and large; the large has:

520 calories
12 g fat (8 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
86 g carbohydrate (72 g sugar)
9 g protein

The small would obviously be slightly better nutritionally (it has 390 calories). 

Now...lets compare this to a 1/4 lb hamburger (with mayo):

430 calories
20 g fat (7 g saturated, 1 g trans)
38 g carbohydrate (9 g sugar)
25 g protein

Hmm. The burger looks like it might be the better option...what do you think?  Personally, I consider all of these sweet coffee drinks special treats...something that you have occasionally! If you must have coffee, drink something with less sugar and fat.  Coffee is NOT an excuse for DESSERT!

Here are some other coffee drinks for comparison:

McDonald's Iced Mocha (medium - 16 oz, with skim milk):

270 calories
8 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
43 g carbohydrate (35 g sugar)
7 g protein

McDonald's Iced Vanilla Latte (medium - 16 oz, with skim milk):

150 calories
0 g fat
33 g carbohydrate (33 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Coffee Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):

240 calories
3 g fat (2 g saturated)
48 g carbohydrate (40 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Caramel Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):

270 calories
3.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
53 g carbohydrate (45 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):

90 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
13 g carbohydrate (11 g sugar)
8 g protein

Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte with flavored syrup (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):

160 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
31 g carbohydrate (28 g sugar)
7 g protein

FYI...adding whipped cream adds about 110 calories and 11 g fat (7 g saturated) to a grande frapp at Starbucks...don't get it!

JazzyBird Coffee

I love coffee!  But I'm not very good at making it...I could blame it on my cheap, 4 cup coffee maker, but honestly I think it's my fault.  I never seem to get the coffee to water ratio right and I don't make it very much so I don't get alot of practice.  

Or maybe that's just an excuse, and I really just like buying my coffee.  My two birthday coffee gift cards are almost used up, and since it has been warm lately I've been making my favorite cold brewed  iced coffee.  Until yesterday that is...

When I was at Whole Foods this week, there was a vendor,JazzyBird Coffee, set up sampling their espresso.  Their niche in the coffee market is one I haven't seen before...frozen espresso shots that you can defrost and turn into either a hot or an iced drink.  And they are so good!  You know I love short ingredients lists...theirs?  Ingredients:  100% Arabica coffee, water.  They are a local company (Gonzales, LA), which I like too.

  

A box of 8 shots sells for $5.99, but they gave me a $1-off coupon...$4.99 for 8 lattes (plus the cost of milk and sugar).  At Starbucks I pay 4 something for one grande...I'm saving so much money (except now I might have one everyday, whereas with Starbucks, I only go once or twice a week).

You can only find these in certain areas in Louisiana (and 2 places in Mississippi), but you can order a case online.

Give it a try!

Lagniappe...

Happy Mother's Day...here is an old post that I originally wrote on Mother's day last year when I was in Houston and then re-used this past November on the anniversary of my mom's death.  Happy Mother's day mom...I miss and love you!