Your morning Starbucks, on a diet!

Sararainmaker
Sararainmaker Posts: 48 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
Just because you are dieting, doesn't mean Starbucks is out of the question. Working there I have actually had to find a few ways around my old favorite drinks to make them a bit less... meal-like as far as calories are concerned! :D Just always remember that moderation is a major key to your weight-loss success! Here are some not-so-secret modifications you can make to your favorite drinks to make them more diet friendly:

Get your flavored latte skinny!

A Grande Vanilla Latte has 250 calories, 6g of fat and 36 carbs.
The Grande Skinny Vanilla has 130 calories, 0 fat and 19 carbs.

Skinny's come in Vanilla, Cinnamon Dulche, Hazlenut and Caramel and use nonfat milk and have no whipped cream.

Don't like those flavors? Just ask for nonfat milk! Also each pump of the regular syrup has 20 calories each (25 for mocha), and you can always ask for less! Ask for no whip cream and you can take 50-100 calories off your mocha's or frappuchinos!

You can get your favorite coffee-based frappuchino as a light, which uses a light base, nonfat milk and has no whipped cream. You can also ask us to use the sugar free syrups in the frappuchinos. You can modify your frap just the same as you would a latte.

Looking for more Protein? You can get a Banana Chocolate, Strawberry Banana or Orange Mango smoothie. They have between 16-20g of protein each! We have whey protein powder that we put into the smoothies, and you can actually ask for the powder to be added to your latte! Make sure to ask that your barista steams it into your milk, though, otherwise it gets chunky! Each scoop of Starbucks whey protein/fiber powder has 30 calories, 1 carb and 6 grams of protein.

Don't worry about being a pest by asking for a specially made drink, just for you! We all believe every cup is YOUR coffee, and we love making it! Pretty soon your barista will know it by heart!

I hope this helps!
Your friendly Neighborhood Barista and fellow dieter!

Replies

  • kanonxbou47
    kanonxbou47 Posts: 265 Member
    I can't afford Starbucks every morning, but I LOVE coconut lattes. A tall nonfat coconut latte is only 90 calories. AWWWW yeah.
  • eirelass416
    eirelass416 Posts: 3
    I also work at the bux and love it. Now that I am counting calories I have a hard time looking at all of those pastries in the pastry case.
    If people only knew how many calories are in it all!
    Raspberry Scone has 500 calories!!!
    Ugh.
    But as Sarahrainmaker said, there are lots of options!
  • paxdeus
    paxdeus Posts: 6
    Thanks for the info!!! :)
  • STARSHINE1975
    STARSHINE1975 Posts: 168 Member
    <3 I love my coffee. Thanks for the tips!
  • beach_bum_gurl
    beach_bum_gurl Posts: 200
    Unsweet Green Tea and Nonfat Chocolate Smoothies...luv'em : )

    I am addicted~
  • beccalucy
    beccalucy Posts: 250 Member
    I love this post!

    I've met friends for coffee there more than once this week and had healthy options every time!

    In fact I've fallen in love with green tea =]
  • Sararainmaker
    Sararainmaker Posts: 48 Member
    I also work at the bux and love it. Now that I am counting calories I have a hard time looking at all of those pastries in the pastry case.
    If people only knew how many calories are in it all!
    Raspberry Scone has 500 calories!!!
    Ugh.
    But as Sarahrainmaker said, there are lots of options!

    Heya!

    Nice to see another partner on here! :)

    Yes it's quite difficult to look in the pastry case, however here in California we have a law that requires calories be posted for each item, somewhere within view! After work I look in at the pastries, but then I look at the tag, and there, right next to my absolute FAVORITE lemon loaf it says: 490 Calories. That's enough for me! :D I get a Spinach Wrap for 280 calories and move on! :D
  • Soccer_chick916
    Soccer_chick916 Posts: 159 Member
    bump
  • Felesina1
    Felesina1 Posts: 142
    And the turkey bacon eggwhite sandwich is a nice low cal breakfast!
  • ShellyCheng
    ShellyCheng Posts: 13 Member
    I went today and ordered the Chocolate Banana Smoothie with NONFAT MILK and SUGAR FREE MOCHA SYRUP. Trying to put it into the system, but don't know how much they use when they make the grande drink. Can you please let me know?

    Amount of milk -
    Amount of Syrup -
    Banana - 1 medium size
    Ice -
    Whey Powder - 1 scoop

    Tasted great and kept me full....thanks for your help!
  • 0EmmeNicole0
    0EmmeNicole0 Posts: 180 Member
    Ohhhhhhhh you are GOD SENT! Lol, thanks so much for this info. I have been ordering tall skinny peppermint mochas non stop and i'm getting sick of them. It's great to know that I have other options.
  • ohsweetcalamity
    ohsweetcalamity Posts: 78 Member
    I love starbucks!! Iced unsweetened half passion half green tea tastes like summer for me. And I start most mornings with a venti soy latte. It's a little on the high cal side, but since I'm not really a breakfast eater, those 220 cals of soy milk are a nice wholesome way to start the day, with 11g of protein, too!
  • 0EmmeNicole0
    0EmmeNicole0 Posts: 180 Member
    I also work at the bux and love it. Now that I am counting calories I have a hard time looking at all of those pastries in the pastry case.
    If people only knew how many calories are in it all!
    Raspberry Scone has 500 calories!!!
    Ugh.
    But as Sarahrainmaker said, there are lots of options!

    Heya!

    Nice to see another partner on here! :)

    Yes it's quite difficult to look in the pastry case, however here in California we have a law that requires calories be posted for each item, somewhere within view! After work I look in at the pastries, but then I look at the tag, and there, right next to my absolute FAVORITE lemon loaf it says: 490 Calories. That's enough for me! :D I get a Spinach Wrap for 280 calories and move on! :D

    They should have a calories in plain sight law nationwide! Ignorance is bliss until u realize you've put on a lot of weight because you were ignorant about the food choices you've been making. It will also force food chains to put healthier ingredients in their recipes.
  • ShellyCheng
    ShellyCheng Posts: 13 Member
    Yes, I wish they had the calories right next to the food...would make it much easier. I figure everything out before I go in usually, but couldn't figure out the exact numbers on the Lite Chocolate Banana Smoothie. I don't know why Starbucks doesn't offer it that way or allow me to use their ap to choose the mocha syrup. ;-(
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    They should have a calories in plain sight law nationwide! Ignorance is bliss until u realize you've put on a lot of weight because you were ignorant about the food choices you've been making. It will also force food chains to put healthier ingredients in their recipes.

    Agreed, but you can also ask for a nutrition guide at any chain restaurant and they'll probably have a pre-printed one behind the counter for you to refer to.

    Almost every chain restaurant also has nutrition information both on their website and most of that has been keyed into the MFP database.

    Edit: Having said all that, I just checked Starbucks' database online and it's woefully underpopulated. Only a very few drinks are listed. Very pathetic.

    As for coffee. Black, no sweetener. About 5 calories of hot caffienated deliciousness. But I also cold-brew it myself so it's less than 50 cents a cup.
  • lmdriscol
    lmdriscol Posts: 1 Member
    I went today and ordered the Chocolate Banana Smoothie with NONFAT MILK and SUGAR FREE MOCHA SYRUP. Trying to put it into the system, but don't know how much they use when they make the grande drink. Can you please let me know?

    Amount of milk -
    Amount of Syrup -
    Banana - 1 medium size
    Ice -
    Whey Powder - 1 scoop

    Tasted great and kept me full....thanks for your help!

    Bumping an old thread, because I'm newly addicted to NF/SF chocolate smoothies! From what I've seen online, they put 2 scoops of powder in - is this not accurate? From the investigating I've done, it's 3 pumps mocha sauce (1.5 oz), 2 scoops protein, 1 banana, and milk to the first line on the cup, which I believe is around 2/3 cup.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    haha.. i don't speak starbuckian.. lol.. I went there last week cause I had a gift card and said "black coffee with half and half" and the line laughed at me.. got the protein pack too.
  • KupCake0720
    KupCake0720 Posts: 24
    I love Starbucks, have the gold card to show for it and also the extra pounds from those fatty frappacinos & lattes. Now I go for the skinny mocha or an Americano with 3 pumps of toffe nut & creamer. Im still exploring the skinny drinks so I'll def check out some mentioned here :)
  • phoenikia
    phoenikia Posts: 31 Member
    In the winter, usually a short or tall non-fat cappuccino, or a Tazo Chai tea (not the latte, just the clear brewed Chai tea) with a little non-fat milk.

    In the summer, I get iced Americanos with room for a little milk, or unsweetened iced Tazo Passion tea.
  • gelaasiu
    gelaasiu Posts: 3
    I use to be a big fan of all their flavored drinks... caramel macchiato? White chocolate mocha? Frappachino? Yes, yes and yes. A few years ago I wanted to try drinking it just black. At first like most drinks I use to hate but now love (beer, wine, etc.). I thought it was gross. I think I remember calling it "dirt water". Then after a while it didn't taste so awful... Now I actually prefer it black! I can actually taste my coffee (not the sugar and cream) and it's definitely diet friendly with just a few calories. It allows me to save those extra calories on something else =).
  • smokedragon97
    smokedragon97 Posts: 111 Member
    Awesome!! This is fabulous! Boycotting Starbucks is one of the 2 hardest parts of ;osing weight. I almost rried when I found out my whit chocolate grande mocha was 500 calories all by itself; and thats without the caramel sauce I like to get added to the top of it. I used to drink 3-4 of these a day..... now maybe one a week to treat myself. I'll have to try the lattes, not much of a milk fan but will definiyely give it a try. Thanks! :bigsmile:
  • chica6578
    chica6578 Posts: 76 Member
    dont forget soy milk!! it has proten and maybe help with anyone lactose?? i just came from starbucks today! i had a tall regular caramel frap. :-/ 300 cals!! usually i would be sad because i 'wasted' so much calories. but i said "hey! even with my drink, i still have 500 cals left for the day!" plus i only go twice a month on certain fridays. so i decided to allow myself NOT to feel guilty and enjoy my drink... it was amazing, but i TOTALLY try the skinny version with no whip cream next time :-)
    probably make it my new drink lol
  • gfedex
    gfedex Posts: 226 Member
    Light Mocha Frappuccinos are my summer staple.

    I do wish Starbucks had some lower-cal snack options, but for meal stuff, I'm definitely a fan of their paninis.
  • kelly1142
    kelly1142 Posts: 27 Member
    The skinny caramel macchiato is my friday treat, along with the new steel cut oats with fresh blueberries and agave syrup. Delish!
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