7 Starbucks Items You Should Be Ordering And 7 You Shouldn't
Starbucks is famous for their amazingly strong coffee and delicious espresso drinks. They also have a large menu with lots of options for things to eat. If you're trying to stay healthy, Starbucks has a lot of great choices. But you have to know what to get and what to stay away from. Here's everything you need to know if you want to go to Starbucks without packing on the pounds.
Order: Oatmeal
If you want a tasty Starbucks breakfast that fills you up without adding a lot of calories, try the hearty blueberry oatmeal. It only contains 220 calories, and with five grams of fiber and protein, it'll keep you full until lunchtime. The fresh blueberries also contain lots of antioxidants, which are important for your long-term health.
If you're looking for something with even less calories and sugar, try the classic-whole grain oatmeal, instead. With only 160 calories and zero grams of sugar, it's the healthiest thing on the breakfast menu.
Order: Protein boxes
Starbucks now has six protein boxes to choose from. The healthiest of these is the smoked turkey protein box, which contains a smoked turkey and swiss cheese sandwich with cream cheese and peppers, apples, and baby carrots. The smoked turkey box has the most protein (24 grams) and the least calories (320) of all of the protein boxes.
Check out the BBQ chicken protein box as well. It comes with a barbecued chicken sandwich with jack cheese, power slaw, a yogurt lime dressing, and chili peach spread. It's the second healthiest protein box on the Starbucks menu.
Order: Greek yogurt parfait
If you want a lighter lunch, try the Greek yogurt parfait. It comes with non-fat Dannon Greek yogurt, blueberries, honey, and oat granola. It has a lot less fat than the protein boxes — 2.5 grams compared to around ten. It also contains 14 grams of protein, so you'll feel full after eating it. It does contain more sugar than the protein boxes, so think about what your priorities are before ordering.
Order: Cold brew
Do you want a coffee drink that tastes great but won't fill your belly with empty calories? If so, check out Starbucks' new cold brew options. For a five calorie drink, get the Nariño 70 cold brew. The beans are steeped in cold water for 20 hours for a non-acidic, smooth taste.
Another great option is the nitro cold brew with sweet cream. It still only has 70 calories, less than even a skinny latte, but with a creamier, smoother taste.
Order: Iced latte
An iced latte contains less fat and sugar than a hot one but it will still give you the caffeine boost you need to start your day. If you want to go really low fat, you can opt to get it with skim milk. But even if you get the default to 2 percent milk, you'll only be drinking 130 calories, compared to the 190 you would get in a hot latte.
Order: Americano
If you really want a hot coffee beverage, an Americano is the way to go. Americanos have just two ingredients — espresso and water. Unlike most Starbucks espresso drinks, a grande Americano has three shots of espresso instead of two, so it contains more caffeine and less calories than almost any other grande espresso drink.
Add a little bit of half and half if you refuse to drink your coffee black. Two tablespoons of half and half still have a lot less sugar and fat than your typical latte, with 40 calories and only one gram of fat.
Order: Short size
Did you know that there's a size even smaller than tall? You won't see it on the Starbucks menu, but you can order any drink in an eight ounce size. Just ask for "short" when you order. You'll get the same amount of espresso as you will in a tall latte, but with two-thirds of the calories.
Don't order: Banana nut bread
Just because something has fruit in it doesn't mean it's healthy, and Starbucks' banana nut bread is a perfect example. While it does contain banana, it also has a ton of calories — 420, to be exact. It also has 22 grams of fat, which is one-third of the fat you should be eating in an entire day. With 52 grams of carbohydrates and less than 10 of protein and fiber, there's not much here that's good for your body. Say no to this banana nut bread and eat an actual banana instead.
Don't order: Chocolate marble loaf cake
The chocolate marble loaf cake contains swirls of chocolate and vanilla and a layer of chocolate on top. But all that tasty chocolate will set you back almost 500 calories. This cake is the most caloric thing you can get of all of Starbucks' baked goods. It has 13 grams of saturated fat, or 65 percent of your total daily value. A Big Mac actually has less saturated fat than this cake. In addition, this cake only has six grams of protein and two grams of fiber. If you're craving chocolate, the chewy chocolate cookie has less than a third of the calories of this cake. Try that instead.
Don't order: Sausage, cheddar, and egg sandwich
You may order the sausage, cheddar and egg sandwich and think you're getting a protein-packed breakfast. But that delicious breakfast sandwich also has 500 calories, 28 grams of fat, and 165 milligrams of cholesterol. It's loaded with 41 grams of carbohydrates and only one measly gram of fiber. You'd be better off opting for one of the protein boxes or ordering the reduced-fat turkey bacon and cage free egg white breakfast sandwich, which has less than half the calories of this beast of a sandwich.
Don't order: Frappuccinos
These days, you can make frappuccinos with any kind of milk you want. But don't kid yourself — they're still packed with fat and sugar. Even made with nonfat milk, the regular coffee frap has 220 calories and 51 grams of carbohydrates. But the mother of all frappucinos is the s'mores frap, which is loaded with 470 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 73 grams of carbohydrates. And that's the nonfat milk version. If you want to leave Starbucks without having slurped up a third of your daily calorie intake, stay away from the frappuccino menu.
Don't order: Whipped cream
Starbucks whipped cream is delicious. Unfortunately, it adds 70 calories and seven grams of fat to every drink you add it to. For example, a nonfat grande mocha without whipped cream has 250 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. With whipped cream, it climbs to 320 calories and ten grams of fat. Do yourself a favor and get it without the whipped cream on top. Your body will thank you.
Don't order: Added flavorings in your coffee
Flavorings also add unwanted sugar and calories to your Starbucks drinks. In comparison to a grande latte with 2 percent milk, a vanilla grande latte with 2 percent milk has 60 more calories and almost double the carbohydrates and sugar. If you love flavored lattes but don't want the added sugar, either opt for sugar free syrups or customize your drink and get less flavoring. For example, I love hazelnut lattes but I ask for half the amount of flavoring when I order.
Don't order: Venti size
Did you know that venti and grande drinks have the same number of shots in them? When you order a venti, which is 20 ounces in comparison to a grande's 16, you don't add any caffeine. What you do get is more milk, which means added sugar and fat. If you're looking for a stronger jolt, add a shot to a grande drink or get Starbucks coffee, which has more caffeine than anything else on the Starbucks menu.