Firey leaves, cozy sweaters, hot apple cider, and ALL THINGS PUMPKIN.  That time of year is just around the corner.  Normally, I would wait until at least September to post my recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer, but an excellent article published on Food Babe yesterday, combined with a couple other factors, has me breaking out my favorite recipe early this year.

Fall is my very favorite season.  I could wax poetic for pages about the tangible magic I feel in the air throughout the autumn season (but I won’t!  I promise; no need to click away).

I will be the first to admit that I still feel some lingering trauma from the Polar Vortex that turned a glittering Michigan winter into a flesh cracking Jack Frost  Hell dragging its icy talons across the midwest all the way into MAY.  I am still joyously embracing every moment of muggy heat and asphalt fumes this August, and I refuse to openly admit that I enjoy a feeling of anticipation on the intermittent Fall-like days.  I still cringe at every buzzword mention of the Polar Vortex, whilst battling flashbacks to the 90’s and the most overused weather buzzword of all time:

And yet, even while fighting every inkling that there is yet another winter just around the corner, it didn’t take much to push me into Fall mode several weeks early.  And that little push was this incredibly well researched, and fairly disturbing, article on what actually goes into a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

It is completely unethical for Starbucks, or any other business for that matter, to attempt to cover up their use of unsavory ingredients just to preserve profits.  Either come up with better ingredients, or accept the fact that a lot of us don’t want that garbage in our bodies.  Especially when making something just as delicious and MUCH more nutritious is so easy.

Similar to the Starbucks confection, most grocery store coffee creamers are full of all sorts of yucky stuff: hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and worst of all (in my opinion) factory farmed milk. The way those cows are treated is enough to make me wretch. And I can’t even bear to think about what they do to all those little baby calves.  Not to mention the stomach-turning health detriments caused by dairy.

Any way you slice it, whether it’s health concerns, sugar issues, fat issues, lactose issues, ethical, or humane issues, I just couldn’t continue buying those creamers. Your purchases say something! Not just about you, but about where you stand on various issues. I try very hard to keep my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

So here it is, my most popular recipe, which also happens to be on of my easiest, Vegan Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer:

Special Holiday Note: This creamer makes a wonderful and ethical gift.  Pour it into a clean, reused glass jar, maybe paint or glue some used wrapping paper on the cap, use strips of re-used wrapping paper to create a ribbon or bow, and pop on a gift tag made from old holiday cards or wrapping paper, and Voila!  An affordable, easy holiday gift sure to please!

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups of creamer
2 cups Almond Milk*
2 tbsp mashed pumpkin (canned is fine, but make sure it’s just pumpkin and not pumpkin pie)
2 tbsp maple syrup**
1 tsp cinnamon***
¼ – ½ tsp nutmeg***
¼ – ½ tsp ground cloves***
¼ – ½ tsp ground ginger***
½ tsp vanilla extract*

* If you use Vanilla Almond Milk, you may not need to add any additional vanilla. You can also use Soy Milk, Rice Milk, Flax Milk, or Hemp Milk. Do not use animal milk – it will separate, go spoil quickly, and taste off.

** Adjust to taste and desired sweetness. If you use sweetened Almond Milk, you won’t need as much sweetener. Fair Trade/Equal Exchange brown or white sugar or agave nectar can be substituted for the maple syrup. The Maple just Falls up the flavor that much more.

*** Adjust spices to taste. You can also substitute pre-mixed “pumpkin pie spice.”

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients, except vanilla if you’re planning to add some, together in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Ensure all pumpkin is completely mixed in.

2. Heat until steaming, but not boiling.

3. Whisk in vanilla.

4. Pour into a jar for storage.

It’s that easy!

Shake before using, as the spices may settle.

This stuff makes my morning!

In addition to being a great gift, substituting this creamer for milk in any recipe is a great way to fulfill all your pumpkin spice desires:
Cookies,
Cakes,
Cupcakes,
Oatmeal,
Pancakes,
Chia Seed Pudding, …

What flavor would you like to see me try out next?  

What do you put in your coffee?

And as a final Fall themed bonus, I would like to share the following link in memory of my brother, Boo.  I spend days cracking up every time I read it, and I can see and hear him reading it in my head.  Fair warning, it is heavily peppered with rather “colorful” language:

It’s Decorative Gourd Season Mother******s.

You’re welcome.

The post Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and Why to Avoid the Starbucks Version appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a quintessential flavor of Fall. But if you, like me, live way too far from the nearest Starbucks, or if you just don’t like to dish out $4.25 every time you want that quintessential flavor, perhaps you should try out this simple, but utterly delicious, Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer recipe.

Part of the reason I love Fall so much is because of the flavors. Hot, spicy drinks. Pumpkin, squashes, and other roasted Fall veggies. Cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger! Wonderful. And, thankfully, all things I can use to get my Fall fix even on those odd days when there are no beautiful Fall colors, crisp breezes, or hayrides and when the only sweaters I’m wearing have short sleeves.

Even though I am a complete coffee house addict, I’m still not the type to be spitting up almost $5 a pop on a regular basis for fancy coffee drinks. MacGyver and I hit up coffee houses as a treat. One of our favorite impromptu dates is always to grab coffee down by the waterfront then go for a long walk. Those rare treats don’t even come close to filling my Pumpkin Spice coffee requirements for the season, though.

Enter, Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamers. My absolute thrill at discovering these fancy holiday creamers in the grocery store was short lived. Most grocery store coffee creamers are full of all sorts of yucky stuff: hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and worst of all (in my opinion) factory farmed milk. The way those cows are treated is enough to make me wretch. And I can’t even bear to think about what they do to all those little baby calves.  Not to mention the stomach-turning health detriments caused by dairy.

Any way you slice it, whether it’s health concerns, sugar issues, fat issues, lactose issues, ethical, or humane issues, I just couldn’t continue buying those creamers. Your purchases say something! Not just about you, but about where you stand on various issues. I try very hard to keep my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

So, while I was sitting around pouting about the fact that the nearest coffee house where I could get a soy Pumpkin Spice Latte, was 40 minutes away, it occurred to me that there really isn’t all that much to coffee creamers. I mean, really, it’s just sweetened, flavored milk, right? So why not try to make my very own Urban Earthworm Ethical, Vegan, Healthier Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer? And, that night, that is just what I did.

I kept the recipe simple (mostly because I was trying to do this before making dinner ;-)), and was surprised by what a breeze this was to make. And, like most of my recipes, it’s pretty easily customized based on what you have on hand.

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups of creamer
2 cups Almond Milk*
2 tbsp mashed pumpkin (canned is fine, but make sure it’s just pumpkin and not pumpkin pie)
2 tbsp maple syrup**
1 tsp cinnamon***
¼ – ½ tsp nutmeg***
¼ – ½ tsp ground cloves***
¼ – ½ tsp ground ginger***
½ tsp vanilla extract*

* If you use Vanilla Almond Milk, you may not need to add any additional vanilla. You can also use Soy Milk, Rice Milk, Flax Milk, or Hemp Milk. Do not use animal milk – it will separate, go spoil quickly, and taste off.

** Adjust to taste and desired sweetness. If you use sweetened Almond Milk, you won’t need as much sweetener. Fair Trade/Equal Exchange brown or white sugar or agave nectar can be substituted for the maple syrup. The Maple just Falls up the flavor that much more.

*** Adjust spices to taste. You can also substitute pre-mixed “pumpkin pie spice.”

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients, except vanilla if you’re planning to add some, together in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.

2. Heat until steaming, but not boiling.

3. Whisk in vanilla.

4. Pour into a jar for storage.

It’s that easy!

Shake before using, as the spices may settle.

This stuff makes my morning!

What flavor would you like to see me try out next?  My co-workers have requested eggnog.

What do you put in your coffee?

The post Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer (Vegan) appeared first on Urban Earthworm.