There is nothing better than a Starbucks fix. You surf the web on your laptop, scroll through your Instagram feed, take another sip of your coffee and forget about the world's problems.
The problem is that you could be taking in more calories in one beverage than in a Happy Meal!
McDonald's burger with fries contain 487kCal whereas Starbucks' Venti Caffe Mocha has 564kCal!!
Think twice before pronouncing the oh-so-long-and-pleasing name of your favourite coffee.
Here is a practical guide for your Starbucks order:
1. Skimmed milk contains more sugar than whole-milk. It, however, has less fat and calories. If you are watching your sugar intake, I would recommend whole or semi-skimmed cow-milk.
2. Non-dairy milk options should be avoided as they contain added
sugars. For example, a Tall Grande Coconut Latte has 10.5 of added sugar. This is more than 1/3 of your daily allowance (30g for non-diabetics)
If you are vegan, almond milk would be a better option compared to soy, coconut, and oat (the latter being the worse).
3. Cappuccinos are better than Lattes as they contain less milk, calories, fat and sugars.
4. Mochas, chai lattes and hot chocolates are terrible as they contain lots of added sugar (22.0g for a grande semi-skimmed Mocha and 60.1g for a Venti Chai Latte!!).
5. Avoid beverages that you would not be able to make at home such as pumpkin spice latte; they generally have syrups that are high in sugar.
6. Choose black coffee (3 calories for a grande filter coffee and 6 for an expresso) and add a splash a milk yourself.
7. If you are cutting on caffeine, have an infusion (not a tea), the ones sold in sachets.
8. As a general rule, the shorter the name, the healthier. Although less glamorous, an expresso is a better option than a Grande Soy Chai Latte or a Grande Caramel Macchiato with vanilla syrup to go, please!
References:
1.https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/good-to-know/nutrition-calculator.html
2.https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/C188769C64A54E49AE1D467978F60E8B.pdf
3.https://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1139.aspx?categoryid=51
