Smarter ways to order your favorite menu items without compromising flavor (and fun).
I’ll admit, I don’t love Starbucks, but I continue to patronize their business for two reasons (neither of them being flavor). Wow, I am so rude. Anyway…
Starbucks is primarily good for two things: existing everywhere and having their calories listed on their app. As a loyal calorie counter for the last 10 years, I appreciate it when businesses clearly list their nutritional values. Admittedly, seeing them can be shocking. It’s never fun to look at the nutritional breakdown of a PSL and find that you’ve been drinking 400 calories before you really even start your day. However, life is damn SHORT, and calories shouldn't stop you from enjoying yourself and the flavors you love.
I don’t know about you, but I wholeheartedly refuse to give up my morning favorites– the most I’ll do is a compromise (barely). Thankfully, my stubbornness has manifested as a brief, but memorable, set of Starbucks menu hacks that won’t have you starting off the day with the semi-pissed-off-but-still-functional attitude that only dieting can cause.
Choose your milk option wisely:
First of all, the milk you put in your coffee and the amount thereof can be a sneaky reason for any extra inflammation you may feel. If you’ve never experimented with changing your choice of milk in your beverage, definitely try it out, but proceed with caution. Soy milk and almond milk might not be too allergy-friendly, but oat milk? Oooooooo baby. Oat milk is a creamy and delicious substitute for dairy milk that is kind to your stomach and skin. It may not be suitable for people who adhere to low-carb diets, but then again, neither is skim milk. Low-fat milk options are teeming with excess sugar, and while oat milk may be higher in carbs, the sugar content is generally on par with the rest of the options. If you’re going no-carb/ low-carb, heavy cream is your best bet, but be sure to reduce the amount added to a ‘splash’.
Overall, I’ve noticed that the less dairy I ingest, the better I feel and the clearer my skin looks– and that’s coming from someone who is not allergic to dairy. Sometimes small concessions make noticeable impacts.
Syrups Whipped Cream:
Experts will tell you to limit your sugar to the fullest extent possible. Luckily for you, I’m not an expert!
While I do try to limit my sugar intake, I also know that cutting sugar entirely sets me up for failure later. My treat for the day is usually my coffee, and I’m fine with that. That being said, there’s no reason to drink your full day’s worth of sugar in one fell swoop. Managing this can be done easily through the Starbucks app.
Take the PSL as an example. An iced Grande, as it exists on the menu, will set you back 370 calories and 45 grams of sugar. By customizing this drink on the app, you can view and tweak the ingredients to reduce the caloric impact. Eliminating the whipped cream can already bring this drink down 80-110 calories. In the ingredient breakdown, you’ll see that the recipe calls for 4 pumps of Pumpkin Sauce, which are 25 calories and 6 grams of sugar each. Personally, I reduce the pumps from 4 to 2, bringing the drink down another 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar. You can, of course, go further by bringing it all the way down to one pump, but there’s one thing I won’t do: sugar-free syrups. They’re important to those who can’t have sugar at all but want to enjoy sweet flavors, but the difference in taste is too stark for me to enjoy, and I try to avoid synthetic sweeteners as much as I can. In this example alone, the simple reductions removed between 130-160 calories, turning that 370 calorie drink into a way more modest, yet still delicious, 210-240 calorie treat.
Drizzles:
Drizzles are my secret weapon when it comes to Starbucks menu hacks. Removing the drizzle from your drink, like a Caramel Macchiato, saves you about 50-ish calories. However, adding the caramel drizzle to an otherwise boring basic drink can augment the flavors in a way that makes you feel as if you’re splurging on a latte. I love adding the caramel drizzle to a cold brew because for some reason it contributes a flavor profile that mimics a caramel macchiato better than adding several pumps of caramel syrup, which can be around 100 calories of added bullsh*t. No thanks!
Look, I’m telling you, YOU DON’T HAVE TO COMPROMISE FLAVOR when making your morning beverage choices a tad more nutritious. Have your coffee and drink it too.