Desserts are a staple of the fall season, just as much as scary movies and falling leaves. Everyone loves a variety of fall desserts, ranging from store bought to made at home by gam gam. But as far as the media is concerned, you might as well trade in gam gam to your nearest Starbucks. In nearly all mainstream advertising, focus is slowly being shifted away from county fair food and delicious apple flavored delights and towards the black hole of fall foods, the “pumpkin spice latte”. The pumpkin spice latte has been making a name for itself since its release in 2003, engraving itself to the cupholders of people the world over. Living in the digital age you’d have to be blind not to notice the death grip the drink has of the season of autumn, with Starbucks releasing the seasonal drink earlier and earlier every year. But don’t let Starbucks fool you, this seemingly pleasant fall drink is scarier than any horror film. For starters the drink itself contains no actual pumpkin until the recipe was changed in august of 2015. And yet, the drink still is horrendously flawed, as no matter how “healthy” it appears to be while containing trace amounts of actual pumpkin, one grande pumpkin spice latte has 50 grams of sugar, 100% of your daily FDA recommended added sugar intake.
However, it seems the tyrannical reign of the seasonal drink may be winding down, at least on the school scene. While interviewing several students and teachers who attend our school, 50% said they felt that the pumpkin spice latte was over-marketed to the point they had no interest in it. While the latte was definitely falling out of favor, the sentiment did not carry for pumpkin flavoring in general. 66% of people interviewed had some variation of a pumpkin dessert as their favorite fall treat, ranging from a pumpkin roll and pumpkin bread to homemade pumpkin cookies and pumpkin funnel cake. However, pumpkin is not the only fruit headlining foods this season, as apples are proving to remain a popular alternative. In fall the apple related items are often overshadowed by their pumpkin counterparts, but that didn't stop 33% of the people from recognizing an apple related dessert as their personal favorite. Ranging from apple dumplings to apple cider, apple is the only other food truly able to compete with pumpkin on the dessert tray during the fall season, so it makes sense that no other dessert even comes close.
But perhaps you’re still a big pumpkin fan, looking to have some September sweets without feeling self conscious. I can tell you, you aren’t alone. Health crazes have been sweeping the nation since the dawn of the internet, but despite this 83% of interviewed participants said they had no healthy alternative to a sugary fall treat. Fortunately, through recommendations form interviewed staff, I have compiled a top contender for a healthier alternative for a fall dessert. We will first discuss a delicious recipe for a vegan and Gluten Free batch of Pumpkin bread. The recipe itself is fairly straightforward; all ingredients are quite basic, save for flax eggs. While it may sound complex and intimidating, flax eggs are a mixture of flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) and water, serving as a gluten free substitute for egg whites. The rest of the recipe is extremely straight forward, taking only 1 hour to make and including fairly basic baking directions. The benefits are numerous, as cooking it will emit a delightful pumpkin aroma into your house, but the recipe only has 12.6 grams of sugar per serving. Should you find this scrumptious treat desirable, I’ve included a link here.
There are certainly biases when it comes to food preference this season, as there are every season. After all, our differences are what make us unique. But for this fall season, I have one humble request. Please for the love of the Bloomsburg high school panther do NOT get the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Instead I implore you to cultivate familial recipes and connections, or at least stop by a small business or two. After all, what’s the season of fall without a little bit of change?
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