Starbucks Fix And Staying Healthy

What isn’t there to love about Starbucks. Starbucks/coffee shops play a huge role in many peoples everyday life. Did you know that most of Starbucks drinks are filled with added sugar? Guess what, you can make healthier choices at Starbucks and avoid drinking your calories.

Drinks

Don’t get any sugary filled drinks! (Frappuccino’s, lemonades, most caffeinated drinks have added pumps of sweetener).
Get your drink unsweetened (if you need a little sweetener I would add honey).
Avoid using the creamers, milk, almond milk, coconut milk because they all have added sugar in them (yes, even the almond and coconut milk)
Look at Starbucks app and see what is actually in the drinks (the app shows how many pumps of cane sugar is in the drinks and other sweeteners). I slowly weaned myself from the added sugar by asking for fewer pumps until I was able to finally able to order with no pumps added.
If you can, bring your creamer! I bring about 1/3 cup of my own unsweetened vanilla almond milk (If I know I am going to Starbucks). Helpful hint: I use a reusable Starbucks cup, add my creamer from home and they add my coffee to the cup.

What drinks do I get?

peppermint or green tea (peppermint tea= aids in de-bloating, green tea= boots metabolism)
pike place coffee + add my own almond milk
unsweetened iced green tea, light ice (I do this with all my iced drinks, so you get more of the liquid)

I understand how it can be hard to switch to unsweetened beverages. At first, try by reducing the number of pumps of sweetener you are getting. Here is an example of how it can be done.

I thought a green tea lemonade was so healthy until I realized that it had four pumps of cane sugar added! I began ordering the drink with fewer pumps until I was able to order this drink as an (Unsweetened) Green Tea Lemonade. After a while, I wanted to reduce the sugars even more and got to where I was able to order just a plain Unsweetened Green Tea! It’s not about going cold turkey; it’s about slowly adjusting!

Example of a sugary drink

Carmel Frappuccino: 3 pumps of frappuccino roast, 3 pumps caramel syrup, whole milk, topped with caramel drizzle and whipped cream. If this is a favorite drink of yours you are consuming:

Calories: 420

Total Fat: 15g

Total Carbohydrate: 67g (you are drinking your carbs for the day!)

Sugars: 66g!!!

This drink is one I would completely cut out. You can reduce the number of pumps but it is still going to be loaded with sugars and provides you with no nutritional benefits.

What Food To Get

Starbucks is carrying more healthy options, and recently I have seen many new things. They now have a section called Starbucks Mercado that carries healthy salads, sandwiches and breakfast bowls. Here are a few things I usually get, or I suggest.