50 Calorie Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Califia Farms makes AMAZING almond milk/coffee blends - and this year they made a Pumpkin Spice Latte version! Their blends don't have quite enough coffee for my taste, and they have quite a few calories - so I like to dilute their mix with my own coffee to make a lower calorie latte

This is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan!

Recipe:
1/2 cup Califia Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mix - 50 calories
12 oz coffee (more or less to taste)

10 Calorie Pumpkin Pie Holes

I sort of just threw these together - they turned out like a cross between pumpkin pie and cinnamon sugar donut holes - and under 80 calories for the whole batch!

These are fairly easy to make, and they are gluten free, dairy free, and vegan :)

Recipe: Makes 8

1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree - 20 calories

2 tablespoons Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 12.5 calories

2 tablespoons Oat Flour - 45 calories

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

For coating:

2 tablespoons Stevia

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

                                                                                       

=77.5 total - makes 8, about 9.7 calories each

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together the flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, pumpkin, and apple sauce

3. Spoon into a greased mini muffin pan - bake for 15 minutes

4. Remove from pan and roll in the stevia and cinnamon mixture - enjoy :) store in the refrigerator

80 Calorie Apple Chips

Apple Chips were on sale at the grocery store, so my boyfriend picked out a few bags - I thought they were good but they were very sugary (and 140 calories for 12 chips!) and my boyfriend didn't think they tasted apple-y enough  -  so I decided to try making some from scratch without the added sugar

These weren't difficult to make, but they have to bake for a few hours so these are a good thing to make if you're going to be home for a few hours -  I made them while I finished watching Breaking Bad :)

All you need are Apples and Cinnamon! These are gluten free, dairy free and vegan! There are also only 80 calories in the whole batch!

Recipe:
1 Medium Honeycrisp Apple - 80 calories
Cinnamon to sprinkle on top


1. Wash and Slice up your apple into thin pieces - I did lots of differently shaped pieces, but you could make them more uniform if you are better with a knife than I am :)
2. Spread out the apple slices on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon(you could also sprinkle some Stevia on top if you want them to be sweeter)
3. Bake at 200 degrees for 3 hours - then turn off the oven and leave the apple chips in there for another hour
4. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container :)

100 Calorie Pumpkin Pancakes

I really like the pancakes you make with just a banana and an egg  - I tried them last year after I saw the recipe all over Pinterest, they are so easy to make! - But since it's fall I thought I would try making them with Pumpkin!

Pumpkin also has less sugar and calories than bananas so these are an even healthier version of pancakes :) If you are feeling extra festive you could mix some pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon into the batter or sprinkle some on top of the pancakes - 

These are also Gluten Free and Dairy Free and Paleo :)

Recipe:

1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree - 20 calories

1 egg - 70 calories

2 tablespoons Sugar Free Maple Syrup - 10 calories       

= 100 calories total

1. Mix together the pumpkin and egg in a bowl

2. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into a heated and greased skillet (medium to high heat)

3. Flip when bubbles start to pop on the top of the pancake and the edge is solid - cook until both sides are browned

4. Repeat with the rest of the batter - top with syrup :)

100 Calorie Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

For my next protein smoothie experiment I decided to make a Pumpkin Pie-inspired smoothie. My blender doesn't blend regular ice cubes very well so I made Pumpkin Puree ice cubes over night - I put about 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree into each ice cube section, they froze pretty quickly so you could probably put them in the freezer for just a few hours instead of overnight

I used the Vega Protein Powder (not the VegaOne all-in-one mix) - it tasted very similar to the VegaOne all-in-one, but it has less calories and it doesn't have all of the other added vitamins - this is the lowest calorie protein powder of the ones I bought to try - and it it is plant-based so it is Vegan :)

This Protein Smoothie has 100 Calories, and it is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Vegan!

Recipe:

1/2 Packet of Vanilla Protein Powder (a half scoop) - 40 calories
1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - 40 calories
1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree(frozen into cubes) - 20 calories
1/8 teaspoon Allspice, 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon Cloves (or sub all for Pumpkin Pie Spice)
= 100 Calories

1. Freeze Pumpkin Puree in an ice cube tray overnight - if you skip this step you will want to refrigerate your shake before drinking it, or add some ice cubes to the blender

2. Put almond milk, spices, protein powder, and pumpkin in the blender

3. Blend until smooth - enjoy cold :)

160 Calorie Maple Apple Upside Down Cake

This didn't turn out quite as pretty as I wanted it to - but it tasted AMAZING, it is probably one of my favorite recipes so far!

This looks a lot like the new Washington Apple Pound Cake dessert at Starbucks - theirs has 360 calories and looks about the same size - so mine is much healthier! I haven't tried theirs (it has gluten and dairy) but from what it looks like I would imagine it would taste pretty similar

This is only 160 calories - and it is gluten free, dairy free and vegan!

Recipe:

1/4 of a Honeycrisp apple - 25 calories

1/8 cup Sugar Free Syrup - 10 calories

1/8 cup Pumpkin Puree - 10 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 25 calories

1/4 cup Oat Flour - 90 calories

1 tablespoon Stevia                                           

= 160 calories

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Peel and slice up the apple - grease the baking dish well, line the bottom with apple slices
3. Pour the maple syrup over the apples
4. Mix the apple sauce, stevia, pumpkin, and flour together
5. Pout batter over the apples and smooth out the top
6. Bake for about 30 minutes - let cool then flip out of the pan, or eat it right out of the pan without removing

100 Calorie Pumpkin Apple Bundt

Pumpkin and Apple are two of my favorite ingredients to bake with - this recipe combines both of them into a nice little individual fall dessert :)

It isn't a true "bundt cake" per se but I made this in a mini fluted pan so it sort of looks like a bundt cake - the texture isn't really cake-like it is more like pumpkin pie or bread pudding.

This is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan!

Recipe: (makes 2 mini cakes)

1/2 of a Honeycrisp Apple - 40 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 25 calories

1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree - 40 calories

1/4 cup Oat Flour - 90 calories

1/4 cup Stevia                                                            

= 195 calories total, 97.5 per cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Peel and chop up the apple into chunks

3. Mix together the apple sauce, pumpkin, flour and stevia

4. Add the apple chunks to the batter

5. Pour into greased baking pans

6. Bake about 30 minutes or until set

60 Calorie Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks! Unfortunately their pumpkin spice syrup contains milk :( So I have to resort to making my own - stay tuned for my skinny/dairy free version of the actual latte

For now, you'll just have to settle for a Cake version of this fall treat - This really tastes like a Pumpkin Spice Latte in cake form, so if you aren't a big fan of coffee you may want to decrease the amount of coffee grounds - personally I thought the Pumpkin Spice flavored Coffee grounds smelled heavenly when I made this cake. 

Pro-tip: don't skimp on the whipped topping if you really want this to taste like a Pumpkin Spice Latte

This is under 60 Calories - Gluten free, Dairy free, and Vegan!

Recipe:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Puree - 25 calories

2 tablespoons Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 12 calories

1 tablespoon Oat Flour - 22 calories

1 tablespoon Pumpkin Spice Coffee Grounds(or regular)

1 tablespoon Stevia                                                            

= 59 calories total

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together the pumpkin, apple sauce, flour, coffee grounds, and stevia

3. Pour the batter into a small greased cake or loaf pan(I used a mini fluted cake pan)

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the middle of the exposed part of the cake is set - serve with Whipped Topping for a true Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor :)

Skinny Shoestring Apple Bake

I promised lots of Apple recipes after I went apple picking - here's another one!

I didn't really know what I wanted to make when I started chopping this apple up into small pieces - like shoestring potato chips

I thought it would be good in a crumble-type bake - so I mixed up some oat flour batter and voila! - you have the Skinny Shoestring Apple Bake!

Since this is under 200 calories for the entire recipe you can easily make the whole thing in a single container and eat the whole thing yourself without feeling guilty :)

This is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan!

Recipe: (makes 3 servings)

1/4 cup Oat Flour - 90 calories

1 small/medium Honeycrisp apple - 80 calories

1/8 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 12.5 calories

2 tablespoons Almond Milk - 5 calories

1/4 cup Stevia

Cinnamon (to taste)                                              

= 187.5 total / makes 3 servings, 62.5 per serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Chop up the apple into skinny shoestring pieces
3. Mix together the flour and almond milk - if it does not mix fully add a little bit of the apple sauce
4. Sprinkle cinnamon and stevia on the apple slices, add the apple sauce
5. Mix the apple mixture and the flour mixture together
6. Divide into 3 greased baking cups (or 2 for 2 larger servings)
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes - enjoy warm, top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired

67 Calorie Apple Tart

After I went Apple picking I had a huge supply of apples to experiment with in my baking - here is one of the recipes I came up with!

This individual-size apple tart is so low-calorie you could eat 3.5 of them for the same calories as one McDonald's personal apple pie - I think I would rather eat my low-cal and gluten free version anyways

In addition to being gluten free, this apple tart is dairy free and vegan!

Recipe:

For the crust:
2 tablespoons Oat Flour - 44 calories
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Unsweetened Almond Milk - 3 calories
1/4 teaspoon Stevia, a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt    

For the Apple topping:
1/4 of a large Honeycrisp Apple - 20 calories
1/4 teaspoon Stevia, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon  
                                                                            
= 67 calories!


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the ingredients for the crust
3. Spread the crust batter into a greased personal tart pan or quiche pan (it is very sticky but smooth it out the best you can, it will be covered by apples anyways)
4. Chop up and peel the apple, coat with stevia and cinnamon
5. Place the apple on top of the crust
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the crust is cooked - enjoy hot!

Spicy Pumpkin Maple Cookies (30 Calories Each!)

If you can't tell by now, I really like spicy food - and my Dad likes it even more than I do. I used to make Molasses Cookies with chili flakes in them that he really liked - so I thought I would try to make a skinny gluten free version of them.

He didn't think these were quite spicy enough - but for normal people I think they will definitely be spicy enough so be careful with the chili flakes!

This recipe only made 5 cookies but you could easily double or triple it!

These cookies are Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, and only 30 calories each! You could eat all five for about the same number of calories as a typical cookie!

Recipe: Makes 5 Cookies

1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree - 40 calories

1/4 cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup - 20 calories

1/4 cup Oat Flour - 90 calories

1 tablespoon Stevia

2 teaspoons Red Chili Flakes (or to taste)        

= 150 calories in whole recipe - makes 5 cookies, 30 calories per cookie

1. Mix together all ingredients
2. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
4. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheet - this is a very sticky batter but it doesn't spread much while baking so smooth out the cookies as best you can by hand before baking
5. Bake about 13-15 minutes
6. Allow cookies to cool before removing from parchment paper so they don't fall apart - they are very soft!
7. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container

33 Calorie Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies

Fall always puts me in the mood for all things Pumpkin - whether its candles, decorations, or dessert - or in this case Brownies!

These were really easy to make and I think they look more impressive than my usual loaves because of the distinct colors and layering - and they are only 33 calories each!

These are also Gluten Free and Dairy Free!

Recipe: Makes 15 Brownies

3/4 cup Oat Flour - 270 calories

1 can Pumpkin Puree(1 and 3/4 cups) - 140 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 25 calories

1 egg white - 17 calories

4 tablespoons cocoa powder - 80 calories

1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 cup Stevia                                                               

=501 Calories for whole pan - makes 15 brownies, 33.4 calories each

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together the flour, pumpkin, apple sauce, egg white, baking powder and stevia

3. Put about about 1/3 of the mixture in a separate bowl

4. Add the cocoa powder to the larger amount of batter (the 2/3 portion)

5. Pour half of the chocolate batter into a greased 9x13 pan

6. Spread the pumpkin batter on top of the chocolate layer

7. Spread the remaining chocolate batter on top

8. Bake for 35-40 minutes

9. Let cool before cutting into 15 pieces, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container

Skinny Pumpkin Butter (165 Calories for a Whole Jar!)

I picked up some Pumpkin Butter from the Apple Holler - it was soooo sweet, and 40 calories per tablespoon. I checked out the ingredients and thought to myself "Hey, I could make this"

My version didn't use any refined sugar - all you need is Stevia, Sugar Free Maple Syrup, Apple Sauce, Pumpkin and Spices!

Pumpkin Butter is great on fruit, toast, bagels, pancakes, oatmeal, or anything else you want to add a Fall twist to!

This Pumpkin Butter is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan - and it has less than 6 calories per tablespoon!

Recipe: (Makes one large jar, or about 28 tablespoons)

1 can Pumpkin - 120 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 25 calories

1/4 cup Stevia

1/4 cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup - 20 calories

Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves and Ginger to taste(or Pumpkin Pie Spice)        

= 165 Calories for entire jar - or 5.8 calories per tablespoon

1. Mix together all ingredients, add to saucepan

2. Bring mixture to a boil

3. Reduce heat, allow mixture to simmer for 35-40 minutes, cover with lid ajar, stirring occasionally

4. Remove from heat, secure lid on saucepan and let rest for 5 minutes

5. Pour into jar and allow to cool - Store in refrigerator!

200 Calorie Apple and Chicken Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

In honor of the first night of fall I decided to make a fall-inspired dinner for myself, since it was also my first night back in my apartment for school

I have half a peck of honeycrisp apples that I picked myself so I knew I wanted to include those, and I also wanted to try making acorn squash for the first time. To add some protein I decided to also add a link of Chicken Apple Sausage - you could add more but I had italian beef and sausage for lunch, and I usually don't eat very much meat so I didn't want to go into a meat overload

For this recipe you only need 3 ingredients: an acorn squash, an apple, and sausage

This recipe is Gluten free, Dairy free, and Paleo :)

Recipe:(makes 2 servings)

1 small Acorn Squash - 230 calories

1 small Honeycrisp Apple - 80 calories

2 links Applegate Farms Chicken Apple Breakfast Sausage - 80 calories    

= 390 calories total, makes 2 servings, 195 calories per serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice open the acorn squash, cutting down the middle from the stem to the pointed end

3. Scoop out the strands and seeds from the middle of the acorn squash
4. Chop up apple and sausage and fill both halves of the squash

5. Place filled squash cut side up in a baking dish(fill the baking dish with about 1/2 inch of water) and cover the dish with aluminum foil
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender
7. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating, top with cinnamon if desired