Ready or not…all things pumpkin are BACK! I’m always blown away by some of the drinks offered at Starbucks and drink orders I see on Instagram or overhear people orderin store. Like gahhh you’re drinking more added sugar in a 16oz latte then you ought to be consuming in 2 days. While there is no recommended amount of added sugar, ideally you’re consuming 25 grams or less of added sugar a day. Many of these drinks contain 40-50 grams of added sugar.
While my drink recs won’t be as sweet as what you might be used to this is a good thing for many reasons. Consuming sweet drinks/food (real or artificial) will keep you craving and reaching for more and more of it. Retrain you tastebuds to be OK with less of the sweet! This is especially important as we head into the holidays.
I see a lot of bloggers share their “healthy” drinks and many sub the 4 pumps of regular syrup for the sugar free option. While this does save you the calories and grams of sugar, that super sweet taste is still there leaving your body craving that sweet taste the rest of the day. This is why I encourage you to just ask for less pumps of the regular syrup. I’ve found that half a pump is plenty sweet in many of these drinks.
If you have a favorite holiday drink familiarize yourself with what is in it, so you can ask the barista to make specific adjustments to lighten it up. All of the nutrition information is on their app. Now you know what syrups and toppings to ask for less of or omit.
Lastly, I like to think of these drinks as a fun treat to have every once in awhile, not your daily fall Starbucks order. Why? Well, because they still contain sugar and will leave you cravings sugar on some level the rest of the day.
Pumpkin Spice Latte: standard grande is 390 calories, 50 g sugar, 14 g fat
What I Order: tall almond milk PSL with 1/2-1 pump pumpkin syrup. No whip. No pumpkin spice topping. Add cinnamon. OR grande americano with 1-2 inches steamed oatmilk and 1/2-1 pump pumpkin syrup.
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew: standard grande is 250 calories, 31 g sugar, 12 g fat
What I Order: tall or grande (depending on how much caffeine I need) 1/2 pump vanilla. Light pumpkin cream cold foam. No pumpkin spice topping. Add cinnamon.
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew: standard grande 70 calories, 4 g sugar, 5 g fat (pretty good as is TBH!)
What I Order: tall or grande with a light splash of vanilla sweet cream
Dirty Chai Tea Latte: standard grande chai latte is 240 calories, 42 g sugar, 4 g fat
What I Order: tall almond milk latte. 1 pump chai. Add cinnamon.
Caramel Macchiato: standard grande is 250 calories, 33 g sugar, 7 g fat
What I Order: tall with almond milk, 1/2-1 pump vanilla, and light caramel drizzle
xx, A
