By Samantha Taylor
Yes, it’s time to talk about America’s most popular coffee joint, Starbucks.
While there are hundreds of options there, not knowing how to order can cause you to end up with a venti-sized drink laden with calories. Personally, I would rather eat my calories than gulp them down in a drink, so let me give you some healthy options to order at Starbucks.
First, let me highlight a few food options. I have spent a lot of time typing away on my laptop in my favorite Starbucks joint, so I know how tempting those sweets are in the glass case by the register. When you walk into Starbucks, remember to not let your guard down.
If you want to get a quick snack, try to stick to these two yummy, but low-cal offerings:
–Reduced-fat very berry coffee cake (only has 350 calories and 10 grams of fat). It’s a very tasty snack of crumble-top coffee cake that is loaded with three kinds of berries: blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. This can curb any craving for sweets that you may have. I used to get the slice of banana nut bread until I saw that had almost 500 calories and 19 grams of fat. Yikes!
–Chicken on flatbread with hummus artisan snack plate. This is a delicious, little snack of grilled chicken strips, grape tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks on wheat flatbread, with a siding of hummus. It has only 250 calories and nine grams of fat — much better than picking up fast food.
Now, let’s tread lightly as we move onto their drinks. The best thing to do is to go onto their website and invest five minutes of your time to find out the calorie content of your favorite Starbucks drink.
Since I often go to Starbucks to get some of my work done, I have learned to discipline myself and stick with hot orange tea, although I do get myself a small mocha with soy milk every once in a while. It amazes me how I get as much kick from the tea as I do from the mocha. I think it’s because most of these types of drinks are half-filled with milk, with not much coffee in them.
If you want their fancier Frappuccino blends, here are some low-calorie options:
–Caffè vanilla frappuccino light (170 calories, 0 fat)
–Coffee light frappuccino (110 calories, 0 fat)
–Mocha light ffrappuccino blended beverage (140 calories and 1g of fat)
If there’s a drink you enjoy, but it is way too fattening, order it only once in a while and never make it your main drink. You can even reduce the fat and calories in your favorite drink by saying no to whipped cream — this already saves you up to 140 calories and 12 grams of fat — and asking for sugar-free syrup. Take advantage of their healthier substitutes such as skim milk and soy milk.
