Healthy Recipe Doctor

Oh I’ve been watching the little signs in the Starbucks I frequent announcing that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back! And I waited for the first truly cold day to arrive, and like clockwork, I ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte (nonfat milk, no whip). Had absolutely no idea what the calories were, but it didn’t matter because at that moment I was celebrating my favorite season of all – fall.

But now that we are well into October, we all need a reality check. What exactly are the calories in those mesmerizing pumpkin spice lattes? What are our best choices in hot, winter drinks at Starbucks? Let’s have a look shall we?

Drinks with around 200 calories or less!

Caffe Mocha
With steamed milk and mocha syrup
(Ordered with nonfat milk and no whipped cream)
Grande size = 220 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 42 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 14 g protein, and 35% Daily Value for calcium
Tall size = 170 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 11 g protein, and 30% Daily Value for calcium

Cinnamon Spice Mocha
With espresso, steamed milk, bittersweet mocha syrup, cinnamon syrup, and a dash of cinnamon
(Ordered with nonfat milk and no whipped cream)
Tall size = 170 calories, .5 g fat, 32 g carbohydrate, <1 g fiber, 11 g protein, and 30% Daily Value for calcium

Vanilla Latte
With espresso, steamed milk, vanilla syrup
(Ordered with nonfat milk)
Grande size= 230 calories, 0 g fat, 42 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 14 g protein, and 40% Daily Value for calcium
Tall size = 170 calories, 0 g fat, 31 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 11 g protein, and 30% Daily Value for calcium

Pumpkin Spice Latte
With pumpkin and holiday spice flavors, espresso, steamed milk
(Ordered with nonfat milk and no whipped cream)
Tall size = 210 calories, 0 g fat, 40 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 12 g protein, and 35% Daily Value for calcium

Caffe Latte
With espresso and steamed milk
(Ordered with nonfat milk)
Grande size = 160 Calories, 0 g fat, 24 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 16 g protein, and 45% Daily Value for calcium
Tall size = 120 calories, 0 g fat, 18 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 12 g protein, and 35% Daily Value for calcium

One drink you won’t see on this list…
It’s the White Chocolate Mocha and I’m in mourning too… I haven’t had these in a while but I still remember them fondly. Maybe they’ll come up with sugar-free white chocolate syrup, who knows. Even with no whipped cream and nonfat milk a Grande adds up to 340 calories and a Tall adds up to 260. Still… this is a HUGE improvement over the Regular White Chocolate Mocha (with whole milk and whipped cream), which totals 510 calories and 24 grams of fat (16 grams saturated fat) for a Grande.

Fall Tips For Calorie Watchers
* Switch to “Sugar-Free Syrup” in your drinks. Each pump of this syrup adds ZERO calories. If you order it instead of the regular flavored syrup it will save you 20 calories per pump! If you order it instead of the mocha syrup, it will save you 25 calories per pump!
* If you absolutely LOVE whipped cream with your hot coffee drinks, I have two words for you: “LIGHT WHIP”. Just say those two words when you order your drink and most of the time this will get you about half the regular amount of whipped cream, which for a Grande size drink will save you about 65 calories and 6 grams of fat.
* Keep it simple. The good old Caffe Latte with simply espresso and steamed milk is the lowest of the low with 120 calories in a tall size. It also has the most calcium, since it makes up with milk what it loses in syrups.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: The Buzz on Coffee, Cut the Coffee Calories

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