The Food Cop Undercover – Starbucks
Starbucks mission statement is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” With more than 15,000 stores in 50 countries, Starbucks has certainly lived up to its mission statement, having served many cups of coffee to numerous people, and is a popular meeting place in neighborhoods all over the world.
Like many fast-food restaurants though, Starbucks menu items aren’t necessarily as healthy as one might think though! Fortunately, Starbucks does have several options available so you can make your beverage more nutritious. For example, you can order your coffee with nonfat milk, 2% milk, whole milk, or soy milk (great for those of you who are lactose intolerant!). You can also choose to use sugar-free syrup instead of regular syrup in your beverage, and you can have your drink with or without whipped cream. In addition, depending on the type of beverage you order, there is a wide variety of beverage sizes to choose from.
For example, an 8 oz. (Short) serving of Starbucks basic Hot Chocolate with whole milk and no whipped cream has 170 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 22 grams of sugar. Make it sweeter by adding some whipped cream, and you’ve just increased the calorie count to 230, the amount of saturated fat to 7 grams, and the amount of sugar to 24 grams. To make this hot chocolate a healthier alternative with the same great taste, substitute the whole milk with nonfat milk, and the saturated fat goes down to 4 grams. Go without the whipped cream to bring the saturated fat down to only 1 gram.
Prefer something fancier than hot chocolate, like one of Starbucks Espresso beverages? A Short (8 oz.) serving of Caffè Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream contains 200 calories, 7 grams of saturated fat, and 18 grams of sugar. Switch to 2% milk and take away the whipped cream, and you have only 130 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat, but it still has 17 grams of sugar.
Starbucks Iced Caffè Americano, which is a combination of espresso, water, and ice, is a great healthy option. Regardless of which size you order, there is no saturated fat or sugar, and the largest serving size contains only 25 calories. The Iced Caffè Latte and Iced Skinny Mocha are also great options, as they are low in calories, saturated fat, and sugar as well.
Starbucks Frappuccino beverages consist of coffee blended with ice and various other ingredients, and are usually topped with whipped cream. Most of them contain more calories than Starbucks Espresso beverages, and have a much higher sugar content. For instance, a Tall (12 oz.) Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino Blended Beverage with whole milk and whipped cream has 300 calories, 6 grams of saturated fat, and a whopping 48 grams of sugar. A Grande (16 oz.) Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino Light Blended Beverage with nonfat milk and no whipped cream has 180 calories and no saturated fat, but still contains 39 grams of sugar.
And what about Starbucks new Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino Blended Beverage? A Tall (12 oz.) serving with whole milk and whipped cream contains 340 calories, 9 grams of saturated fat, and 48 grams of sugar. Switching to nonfat milk and going without the whipped cream saves you on the calories (220 calories) and saturated fat (2 grams) but the sugar content is still 46 grams.
As you can see, there are several ways to enjoy your Starbucks addiction without feeling the guilt!