Recently, Starbucks announced their 2018 holiday drink lineup, featuring a Peppermint Mocha, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Gingerbread Latte, and Eggnog Latte. Often these festive favorites can contain loads of unwanted extra calories, fat, and sugar. Here are a few ways to make Starbucks holiday drinks just a little bit healthier.
Nix the Whipped Cream!
The OG recipe for the most popular Starbucks holiday beverage —the Peppermint Mocha—contains a whopping 440 calories. I’m a sucker for this classic drink, but enjoying too many of these might add up. Just removing the whipped cream from your order, you can save 80 calories from your drink order! This also saves you from 7 grams of added fat.
Swap Out Your Milk!
If you don’t specify the type of milk you would like in your speciality beverage, often the baristas will use 2% milk. Starbucks also offers other options such as almond, soy and coconut milk.
If you opt for a healthier plant-based milk, your drink will taste just the same AND you can save up to 70 calories by making the switch. Some other health benefits of choosing plant milk over traditional milk include less fat and a lower sugar intake.
Skip the Sauce
One serving of the caramel or mocha drizzle has about 15 calories. This may not be a lot, but skipping the topper is an easy way to save a few extra of those holiday calories.
As for the pumps of flavor used to sweeten your drinks, each pump of the mocha sauce is 25 calories. For the speciality drinks, 3-4 pumps of flavoring is the standard amount for a grande-sized beverage. Instead, try swapping out this sauce with sugar-free flavored syrups. They taste just as good and without the extra calories.
Try these healthy tips during your next Starbucks run this holiday season!