Hi! My name is Kennedy, and in addition to being known as Seton Hall’s resident caffeine addict, I’m also known for being pumpkin-obsessed.
Inspired by the good people of the Trader Joe’s production team, who attend a top-secret tasting panel months prior to my annual enjoyment of their frozen Pumpkin Waffles, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and embark on a full-fledged pumpkin-palooza.
I ate nothing but pumpkin products for 48 hours, and lived to tell the spooky tale.
1. The product must be pumpkin or pumpkin spice flavored — no maple or apple cider here, folks.
2. While the product doesn’t have to include actual pumpkin, it does need to (at bare minimum) include pumpkin spice, aka the classic fall mix of nutmeg, allspice, clove, cinnamon, and occasionally ginger.
3. While pumpkin beverages are encouraged, they aren’t required
Still relishing in the fact that I had my first Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew of 2021 the day before, I woke up ready to take on a full day of classes, extracurriculars, and of course, pumpkin products.
Coffee: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Benton’s Pumpkin Spice Crème Filled Wafer Rolls
The highlight of my morning is waking up and doing the crossword with a hot cup of coffee. I would be remiss not to mention TJs Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cups (thanks for the care package, Mom!), especially since they are a staple in my morning routine, and will be until December.
To complement my cup of pumpkin joe, I snacked on ALDI-brand Benton’s Pumpkin Spice Crème Filled Wafer Rolls, the perfect light bite to wake me up. Though it was a little sweeter than I would have preferred for 6:30 in the morning, the texture was perfectly crisp — bonus points for staying intact after being dipped in piping-hot coffee.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Breakfast: Nothing Bundt Pumpkin Spice Cake with SToK Pumpkin Cold Brew
You know what they say, go big or go home. Since I brought my pumpkin breakfast to the office, I had no choice but to go big and have cake for my morning meal: enter Nothing Bundt Cakes’ seasonal flavor, pumpkin spice. Luckily, my colleagues and supervisors were down for Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake before 9am, and what a great decision that was.
Nothing Bundt Cakes’ pumpkin spice offering is, I’ll say it, absolute perfection. It’s a moist bundt cake that’s not overwhelmingly pumpkin-flavored, and delicately spiced with seasonal favorites like clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon that makes each slice taste like fall. My supervisor described her slice as “to die for.”
Also, I could bathe in the cream cheese icing. While it complemented the spiced cake, it was just as good (if not better) on its own.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
To wash down the cake, I had a glass of SToK’s Pumpkin Creamed Cold Brew Coffee. Back by popular demand, STōK Pumpkin is a straight-up take on pumpkin-flavored cold brew that puts high-quality coffee at the forefront with a toasty signature spice blend for a bold, not-too-sweet pumpkin taste.
As a black coffee drinker, I LOVED the emphasis on coffee in SToK’s cold brew, which was nicely complemented (but not overwhelmed) by the coffee notes. To everyone who tells me that black cold brew is synonymous with motor oil: now it’s pumpkin-flavored, and better than ever.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Lunch: Pumpkin Pie Perfect Bar & Salad with Pepitas
For lunch, I opted for a protein-packed Pumpkin Pie Perfect Bar, which boasts 19g of healthy fats, 14g of protein, and 4g of fiber. In both taste and texture, Pumpkin Pie Perfect Bars are one of the most on-point tributes to the fall dessert staple taste-wise, but were a little less than perfect as a protein bar. Regardless of the texture not being my fave, the festive flavor was reminiscent of my favorite seasonal dessert.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/5
I also wanted some color (that wasn’t orange) on my plate, so I had a mixed greens salad with balsamic dressing and threw some pepitas on top to stick with the theme. Very grateful that pumpkin-spiced salad dressing doesn’t exist (Paul Newman, if you’re reading this…please don’t).
Snack: Pumpkin-Spiced Caramel Almond Kind Bar
For snack, I opted for something that wasn’t super pumpkin forward, and went with a Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice KIND Bar.
With crunchy almonds, smooth caramel, and a kick of pumpkin spice, this bar screams fall, but it ultimately falls short in terms of pumpkin flavor — and that’s coming from someone who’s consumed nothing but pumpkin products for eight hours.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/5
A Pumpkin Spice Oatmilk Draft Latte from La Colombe (my third cup of pumpkin coffee, if you’re counting) was a much-needed pick-me-up post-physics lab, and rounded out my afternoon snack.
The latte was more spice-y than pumpkin-y IMHO, especially since it wasn’t super creamy. While my intestines thanked me for the lack of lactose, I’d choose an Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte from Dunkin’ instead.
Rating: 🎃🎃/5
Dinner: Halloween Pasta with Pumpkin Butternut Squash Chipotle Sauce
Call me childish, but I’m a sucker for a shaped noodle — which is why I was instantly excited to try Reggano’s Halloween Pasta from ALDI, which was shaped like pumpkins, bats, skulls, spiders, and ghosts.
To top it off, I added Pumpkin Butternut Squash Chipotle Pasta Sauce, which was a cozy topping for my creepy carbs. While it wasn’t your traditional red sauce, it was a slightly-spicy (both chipotle spice and pumpkin spice), hearty, and warm sauce that made for a great pumpkin dinner.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Dessert: Nestle Toll House Pumpkin Cookies
If you know me, you’ll know that a gooey, fresh-from-the-oven cookie is one of my favorite foods. I finished off Day One with the pumpkin edition of my go-to dessert, and Nestle Toll House lived up to all my expectations.
The dough was reminiscent of a pumpkin Snickerdoodle — sweet and spicy without being too overpowering. The white chocolate morsels mixed into the dough made Nestle’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Dough the perfect pumpkin nightcap.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Day One Recap:
Somehow, I still LOVE pumpkin spice at the end of Day One. I’m not counting my pumpkins before they’re carved, though…we still have a full day of fall-themed eats to go.
By some small miracle, I did not turn into a pumpkin when the clock struck midnight. Instead, I woke up to crisp fall air (yay for below 50, finally!), somewhat concerned about the state of my intestines and definitely craving some salt. Nevertheless…clear eyes, full day of pumpkin eats, can’t lose.
Coffee: Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Latte
For my first cup of the day (fourth of the pumpkin-palooza), I opted for Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Brew Coffee with Almond Milk.
I LOVED this cold take on the PSL: it was refreshing, creamy (despite being dairy-free!), and not too pumpkin-y for 7am. It was a little sweet for my black-coffee-loving self, but overall, I can’t complain.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Breakfast: Ellenos Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt
You guys. If you like Greek yogurt, stop what you’re doing and RUN, don’t walk, to buy Ellenos.
Not only is this some of the best Greek yogurt I’ve ever tasted, it was also one of my favorite pumpkin products. The top layer was rich (but weirdly light? I’ll take it), not-too-tangy Greek yogurt, and the bottom layer was a pumpkin pie-like filling that mixed so well into the yogurt.
Bonus points for including delicious, crunchy, cinnamon-y granola.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Lunch (Part I): Pumpkin Pie Lärabar
I also had this pumpkin lunch at work, which meant that I got to share this part of the pumpkin party with my coworkers. Unlike the bundt cake, though, the Pumpkin Pie Lärabar was described by my coworker as “a pumpkin punch to the face.”
While it gets bonus points for minimally-processed ingredients, great texture, and snack-ability (it kept me energized without giving me that yucky protein bar feeling), it was a little too pumpkin-y for my 36th hour of fall-flavored eats.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/5
Lunch (Part II): purely elizabeth. Pumpkin Cinnamon Granola with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Oat Beverage
This part of lunch was definitely the closest I got to “too much pumpkin” — while I’m a huge fan of each, together it was just a little overwhelming. The granola was crunchy and seasonally spice-y with a touch of pumpkin, while the non-dairy oat beverage was definitely pumpkin-flavored.
I appreciated how nutritionally dense the purely elizabeth. Pumpkin Cinnamon Ancient Grain Granola was; I didn’t have a ton and was still satisfied & energized. It was a great balance of salty, sweet, spicy, and pumpkin-y.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
As for the TJ’s Pumpkin Oat Beverage, it was…definitely pumpkin flavored. I’m pretty sure this is the closest someone could come to drinking a pumpkin. I’m glad it was non-dairy, but I don’t think I could stomach a whole glass of this alone.
Rating: 🎃🎃/5
Next time, I’d enjoy the purely elizabeth. granola with plain milk or yogurt, and the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Oat Beverage would be a fun addition to coffee or oatmeal.
Snack: My/Mochi Pumpkin Spice Mochi
Before I get into my review, let me provide a disclaimer: I don’t like mochi, and I never have, yet was still compelled to try My/Mochi after rave reviews from my Spoon colleague.
Y’all….I am a Mochi Ice Cream convert. My/Mochi’s seasonal Pumpkin Spice was perfectly spice-y and perfectly pumpkin-y; it was a great mid-afternoon pumpkin-flavored pick-me-up.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
After my snack, I decided to ~freshen up~ with Simply Pumpkin Spice Gum.
While I love Simply’s effort to create a gum that is plastic-free, pumpkin spice is not the flavor I want in my gum, nor do I want to feel like I’m chewing on a rubber eraser.
Rating: 🎃/5
Dinner: Pumpkin Brioche Toast with Oui Dairy Free Pumpkin Caramel Yogurt
I channeled my inner @justine_snacks for this one, and tried to have a fun little toast ~moment~ for dinner — emphasis on the word tried. My goal was to make Pumpkin Brioche toast topped with Oui Dairy Free Pumpkin Caramel Yogurt, but I neglected to factor in the caramel flavor, so my savory toast quickly turned sweet with an added touch of cinnamon.
Regardless, the Oui yogurt was delicious. Although it was a bit too sweet for my liking because of the caramel, it was perfectly pumpkin-y. Plus, I almost forgot the yogurt was dairy-free; the texture was satisfying without being heavy, and was complemented by the crunchy pumpkin brioche.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/5
Dessert: Jeni’s Splendid Pumpkin Cake Roll Ice Cream
You know what they say…save the best for last. While “the best” is a toss-up, Jeni’s fall flavor was not only one of my favorite pumpkin products, but favorite ice creams, period.
I am by no means an ice cream purist, and I was LIVING for the smooth, velvety, pumpkin ice cream with chunks of cream cheese and pumpkin cake roll mixed in. Every bite of Jeni’s Splendid Pumpkin Cake Roll Ice Cream was incredible, whether it was purely pumpkin or filled with gobs of cake roll. I’ll eat this ice cream year-round, pls & thanks.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Would I be okay if I never had another bite of pumpkin? No, no I would not.
While I was ready for something that was not a root vegetable or tasted like the smell of my roommate’s candle, I still absolutely love pumpkin.
I’m already counting down the days until I can enjoy Nothing Bundt Pumpkin Spice Cake, Ellenos Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt, SToK Pumpkin Creamed Cold Brew Coffee, and Jeni’s Pumpkin Cake Roll Ice Cream again next season
But for now, I’ll be resuming my status as a full-time #BasicWitch and eating ALL the pumpkin things until Halloween…just maybe not all at once.