A while back, I asked you all on Instagram what your favorite Starbucks drinks were. Being a former Starbucks barista, I thought it’d be fun to share how to make your order at Starbucks healthy. If it is your go-to coffee shop, like mine, you need to be cautious of what is served in your drink.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t treat yourself from time-to-time ;), this is simply to educate you and provide you options.
Pumpkin Spice Drinks
As a fellow pumpkin spice lover, I understand how challenging it can be to pass the limited time flavor up! However, the pumpkin spice at Starbucks is incredibly unhealthy. Drinking pumpkin spice latte’s every day will not do any good for your health. Even the pumpkin spice cold brew has some unnecessary calories hidden in there.
The easiest way to enjoy your PSL’s guilt free is to reduce the pumps of syrup (a grande typically has 4 pumps of syrup). You can also ask for non-fat milk and no whip! If you love the cold brew, make sure they don’t add vanilla or additional syrups. Those will take away from the delicious pumpkin flavor anyways!
Holiday Drinks
Ask for NO WHIP! This will be a trend in a lot of my drink suggestions, but the Starbucks whip cream is SO unhealthy for you. It has 8 pumps of vanilla syrup in it and is made with heavy whipping cream. Would you cook that up for yourself at home? Probably not.
Start without whip, but you can also ask for non-fat milk and half the pumps of syrup. Like I said before, a grande typically comes with 4 pumps of syrup. Be careful of the holiday drinks that have two flavors in them, such as the peppermint mocha and salted caramel mocha. When it’s all said and done, those drinks have 8 pumps of syrup in them! You can easily enjoy those drinks with a lot less sugar.
Flavored Latte
Flavored lattes taste delicious, I agree, but I also know they contain some unnecessary sugar. Ask for half the pumps of syrup (or sugar-free if you get Vanilla, Cinnamon Dolce, or Mocha). You can also swap out your milk for non-fat. I will admit the standard 2% creates a better texture for the milk. You won’t save a ton of calories by swapping the milk so don’t be afraid to enjoy a standard latte.
I suggest reducing the syrup until you can go syrup free. Then, of course, treat yourself from time-to-time!
Chai Tea Latte
A lot of you love the chai tea latte from Starbucks, and I’m no different. It is good. However, I’m sure many of you don’t know the Chai is actually like a syrup flavor. The chai tea latte is made with chai syrup, water, and steamed milk making it fall in the same bracket as most lattes. Ask for less chai and non-fat milk. You can enjoy that delicious chai flavor guilt free!
CAUTION: the lightly sweet chai has additional sweetener in it! Do not be fooled when you order that.
If you really want to cut calories here, ask for the chai tea bag in a tea latte form. No sweetener added there!
Regular Coffee / Espresso
If you’re drinking any form of regular coffee (iced, hot, cold brew, americano, etc.), then you are in good shape! Just be cautious of the syrups you add into your coffee and always opt for half the sweetener.
Top Tips
I believed I covered majority of YOUR favorite drinks, but I want to share my top tips to make your Starbucks order healthy.
- DO NOT GET WHIP CREAM (except for once in a while)
- Ask for half the syrup (2 in a grande) or sugar-free syrup
- Ask for non-fat milk
- Convert your latte to a coffee / americano
My final tip, if you made it this far, relates to number four on my top tips list. You can transform any specialty drink by ordering it in coffee / americano form. Learn what syrup is in your favorite drink (reach out if you have questions) and order a coffee with that syrup and milk. Cutting out all the milk that is served in a latte will save you a lot of calories and fat.
I hope you Starbucks lovers will appreciate this post and I hope it makes you comfortably you every day. Don’t forget to treat yourself!
XOXO,
MEGMAT
What do you think?