I Love Fall, but Don’t Love Pumpkin Spice

I love Fall, but don’t love pumpkin spice

There I said it.  I also like candy corn.

These are apparently two very divisive opinions to hold this time of year.  Pumpkin Spice Latte ads are everywhere and I was at the grocery store over the weekend and basically saw almost everything flavored pumpkin spice.  Manufacturers are really trying to cash in on people’s obsessions. 

Looking quickly around, I saw pumpkin spice flavored:

·         Almonds

·         Coffee creamer

·         Muffins

·         Donuts

·         Pies

·         Oreos

·         Coffee

You get the picture.  It appears that pumpkin spice has taken over not only the coffee, but also the grocery store and apparently people are buying this stuff up.  Not me.  I won’t even eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving – crazy right?  Maybe pumpkin spice muffins, but that’s about it. Instead, I go for the pecan pie.  Yum every time.

My boy’s joke about the quintessential suburban teenage girl in the fall wearing her Ugg boots, leggings, and carrying her Dunkin or Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte or “PSL”.  It’s so popular it even has an abbreviation!  There are so many memes about PSL’s.  It’s a stereotype for a reason.  And it clearly applies to adults as well. Not me.  I will happily continue to order my plain (or maybe mocha if I’m feeling spicy) coffee.

Pumpkin spice has even taken over all the candles and air fresheners at the store.  You can’t go anywhere without smelling the cinnamon, nutmeg, clover, and ginger combo.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do love the smell but not everywhere I go and not every day.  I like the sweet and spicy smell when I’m baking or making cinnamon raisin apples.

Fall to me is more the smell of leaves and the crispness in the air.  And seeing the pumpkins and gourds decorating the front steps of houses with bright orange and yellow.

And maybe also candy corn.

 This is also a totally divisive food, but I do get why people don’t like it.  They are very sweet, brightly colored, and do contain wax. 

But there is nothing like eating candy corn color by color, starting with the small white top (the way real aficionados do). 

Although it appears there was actually a study done that shows a higher percentage of people like to throw the whole candy corn in their mouth at one time, I still believe color by color is the correct way.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Another true benefit of candy corn is that you can only eat a small amount before the sweetness is overwhelming, so they naturally curb your intake.  Perfect!

I hope you enjoy whatever makes fall a special time of year for you, even if you are one of those people buying pumpkin spice marshmallows, PSL’s whenever you can, and turning your nose up at candy corn.  We all have our preferences.

But maybe we can trade, you can have all my pumpkin spice in exchange for your candy corn.

 Seems like a fair trade to me.