Warm drinks for cool weather

Now that it might finally start to get “cold” here in Arizona, those warm, frothy Starbucks drinks are starting to sound pretty good. If you are like me, though, you are trying your hardest to not gain 5 lbs for the holidays. While a simple latte may not sound like a diet disaster, you may be surprised at how many calories they contain. Luckily, all you have to do is make a few simple changes to your beverage to make it healthy!

• · Get the “Tall” size at Starbucks (or small anywhere else). Unless you are ordering a hot tea or coffee without anything added, a small is all you need.
• · Have skim milk in your drink. If you are making a drink at home, you can also try rice milk, almond milk, or coconut milk (just be sure to buy the unsweetened varieties).
• · If you absolutely have to have flavored syrup, get sugar free, but remember that artificial sweeteners may have harmful side effects and should not be consumed on a daily basis.
• · Ask your barista to hold the whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and caramel sauce—whipped cream can add almost 100 calories to your drink!

Remember to look at the sugar content of drinks along with the calories count; 15.55 grams of sugar are in one tablespoon, so if a Grande White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 60 grams of sugar, that is almost FIVE tablespoons of sugar in one drink! All of Starbucks nutrition facts are online at http://tiny.cc/xzgpa.

• · Brewed Tazo Tea (0 calories)
• · Brewed Coffee (5 calories)
• · Caffé Americano (10 calories)
• · Nonfat Cappuccino (60 calories)
• · Skinny Vanilla Latte (90 calories)
• · Nonfat Caramel Macchiato (140 calories)
• · Caffé Latte (150 calories)
• · Nonfat Vanila Crème No Whip (150 calories)

Also, they are selling those cute reusable cups with the candy cane straws again, which is a great excuse to go try out a new drink :)