It’s fall!! My favorite time of year to cozy up with blankets, watch Gilmore Girls, shop the Amazon Early Access sale, and drink a warm latte that helps my skin glow (yes, all at the same time). Wait, what?! Surely I meant to say “Pumpkin Spiced Latte” (or PSL, as it’s affectionately referred to by avid fans).
Well actually, I did mean that! Did you know that with the right ingredients, your favorite flavored coffee could help your skin build collagen?! Mind blown. Here’s what you need to know, followed by a recipe that you can adapt to your preferences.
But wait – you might be thinking: “Can’t I just apply a collagen cream and not worry about what I eat?” No. Collagen is too big for our skin to absorb. Don’t buy the expensive creams – they won’t work (stay tuned for my next post where I’ll go into more detail). But we CAN help our bodies produce more collagen, so here are some of these collagen-building ingredients:
Hyaluronic Acid:
Found in foods that are rich in amino acids, one of which is soy milk.
Antioxidants:
These are important for all kinds of things, including helping our skin glow. Two sources? Coffee, and cinnamon.
Carotenoids:
Our bodies turn this into Vitamin A; think all things yellow and orange, so therefore: pumpkin.
No caffeine:
Make it a decaf. Or don’t. You’re doing so much for your skin already.
Gelatin:
To boost your daily coffee even further, add collagen peptides. Totally flavorless and doesn’t change the texture at all. There is some skepticism about whether this really helps our skin, or if it’s just a marketing ploy. I’m still working on my conclusion, but it doesn’t hurt to add good-quality supplements as long as we know not to depend on them (and we might be wasting our money)..
So there you have it, the star ingredients to a PSL that you not only love, but will love you back. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as going down to your corner coffee shop – you want these ingredients to be REAL. No fake syrups allowed. But thankfully, mixing your own from real food ingredients is easy. And you can find every recipe variation imaginable for pumpkin spice syrup, creamer, or lattes with a quick search on Pinterest. Here’s how I adapted my favorite creamer recipe into an easy latte (affiliate links included in case you need to up your at-home latte game and not break the bank):
Recipe for Collagen Boosting Pumpkin Spice Latte
1/2 cup Pumpkin
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1.5 quarts Soy Milk (can use more or less depending on consistency desired. Personally, I would rather use half + half (for creamer) or whole milk (for lattes), and get my hyaluronic acid here)
To make base: Mix pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and spices until combined. Then gently whisk in soy milk and pour into a container to refrigerate. You can either use this as creamer for your coffee, or as the base for your latte (highly recommend).
To make latte: Pour 1 cup base into frother (like this. Also makes amazing hot chocolate, fyi. Not currently on Prime Early Access sale, but this cutie is). Turn on and froth either hot or cold. Make espresso in mug of choice (I love my Aeropress – all flavor, no bitterness, and way cheaper than an espresso machine. Also on sale – high five!). Pour base into espresso and enjoy!
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