The PSL Cleaned Up

It's that time of year...everybody is heading to Starbucks for their PSL Pumpkin Spice Latte...because FALL! And now this year Starbucks has added real pumpkin to their pumpkin syrup for all of those who were flabbergasted and appalled last year that the PSL had no real pumpkin in it. (I'm still trying to figure out why people ever thought there should be real, actual pumpkin in their coffee but...whatever.) It now has like 0.001% real pumpkin. Everybody wins!

Let's get serious now. The PSL is loaded with SUGAR! That's what makes it divinely delicious! Sugar, whipped cream, steamy, frothy milk...yum! If you like that PSL you can definitely find ways to build it into your weekly nutrition intake with moderation. I certainly wouldn't recommend having one every day but certainly treating yourself once a week would be just fine. If, however, you are like me and prefer to eat your calories but want to indulge in a tasty drink that's going to allow you to leave room for the pizza or M&Ms later (because life is all about choices) then read on for my tricks.

This is my favorite "make at home" version of the PSL:

1 cup Starbucks coffee from my Keurig (I usually do the small cup setting so it's stronger)

1/2 cup MuscleEgg Pumpkin Spice Eggwhites OR 1 scoop NDS Nutrition AmplifyXL Vanilla Flex

1Tbsp sugar free Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Now, some days I want it to be a little creamier in which case I add 1 cup of steamed So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk. Coconut milk is pretty thick so this makes the drink really rich. You could do unsweetened almond milk as well. This drink will give you 12g of protein and 0-2g carbs if you use the coconut milk. And we're talking less than 80 calories! 

Here's a quick breakdown of the Starbucks PSL of just a few examples (this information is direct from Starbucks)

At best: short, nonfat, no whip = 130 calories, 0 fat, 25g carbs (24g of which are SUGAR!), 7g protein

A grande, nonfat, no whip = 260 calories, 51g carbs (49g of sugar), 14g protein

At the very worst: venti nonfat with whip = 400 calories, 4.5g fat, 66g carbs (64g sugar), 18g protein (it could be a good post workout drink if you are a powerlifter or elite bodybuilder)

You can find more information on the Starbucks website under their nutrition section. I went off a spreadsheet they gave me that gave details for each drink but I'm obviously only listing a few here for you. 

As I said earlier, it is absolutely NOT a problem if you want to build the PSL into your nutrition plan as a treat. You just want to make sure that it's not something you do with great frequency. It's easy to overlook the calories we drink but the fact is, they can make a huge difference in our progress when we're trying to maintain or achieve a healthy weight. 

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