The dish on holiday drinks at Starbucks!

The weather is starting to get cooler and crisp outside – especially in the early morning on your ride into work.  Still a little drowsy, a warm cup of coffee might sound like perfect way to get your day started.  You walk in to Starbucks – the holiday specialty drinks are in!!  Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice Latte… which one to choose?  They all sound good.. but are they all created equal?

The answer.. is NO.  One of the above drinks made with nonfat milk, no whip, and a size grande is still 430 calories, 77g of sugar with 7g of fat.  Change it to 2% milk with whip – it is now 540 calories with 19g of fat.

Which one is the culprit?

It’s the Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha.  Every calorie counts when trying to get in shape and those 500 calories aren’t giving you any nutritional value for your day!

Here are a few tips to save on calories and fat – but still enjoy your cup of joe:

1.  Just say no to the whip!  You can save 60-110 calories and 6-11g of fat depending on the size of the drink.
2. Order with non-fat instead of 2% or whole milk.  This will also save you up to 120 calories at 14g of fat depending on the drink size.
3. Eliminate pumps of syrup.  Each pump of syrup is 20 calories and 5g of sugar.  If you go with the sugar-free, these have artificial sweeteners, which will make you crave sweet foods later in the day.
4. Ask for Tall instead of Grande or Venti.
5. Visit the Starbucks website for nutritional value on all Starbucks drinks.  You can choose the size, type of milk, and whip option and see the nutritional content on all of their food and drink items.

 My Favorite Starbucks Drinks

• Brewed Tazo Tea – I love the Refresh tea!
• Shaken Cold Tazo Iced Passion Tea (Unsweetened)
• Iced Green Tea
• Brewed coffee
• Tazo Chai Tea Latte (nonfat milk)

Treat yourself to a specialty drink as a reward for hitting a goal. It will make the drink taste even sweeter.

Looking for new drink recipes that you can make at home?  Receive your FREE copy of my top 33 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks!!

Committed to you and your success,

Laura