Made to Crave

Holiday Caffiends

Ho, Ho, NO!


The New York Post published some eye opening stats regarding some of our favorite holiday drinks. The festive, calorie- packed coffees are back, but is the taste worth the weight?

YOU COULD DRINK:

Starbucks peppermint white chocolate mocha with whole milk and whipped cream (venti)

700 calories

27g fat (17g saturated)

95g sugars

OR EAT THIS INSTEAD:

For the same calories, you could eat 17 1/2 spangler candy canes.

“It’s the worst drink on the Starbucks menu. It’s made with two kinds of syrup — white chocolate and peppermint — and topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. You add whole milk to the mix and you’re looking at the calorie equivalent of an entire Christmas tree’s worth of candy canes,” says Zinczenko. “We typically advise against super-sweet, chocolatey coffee drinks, but it is the holiday season so a little indulgence every now and then is expected. But you should be smart about it.” A grande caffe mocha with skim milk and no whipped cream (220 calories, 2.5g fat [0.5g saturated], 32g sugars) will save you a colossal 480 calories.


YOU COULD DRINK:

McDonald's frappe caramel (large)

680 calories
29g fat (18g saturated; 1.5g trans)
88g sugars
OR EAT THIS INSTEAD:
For the same amount of sugar, you could eat 31 Werther's Original Caramel Chocolates.

“A caramel coffee frappe should be considered actual coffee — the first five ingredients are water, cream, sugar, milk and high fructose corn syrup. Only after getting the two milks and two sugars out of the way do you get to coffee extract,” says Zinczenko. “You can get the same great caramel taste for almost 500 fewer calories by opting for a medium nonfat caramel cappuccino (190 calories, 0g fat, 41g sugars).”


YOU COULD DRINK:

Starbucks eggnog latte with whole milk (venti)
630 calories
30g fat (18g saturated)
64g sugars
OR EAT THIS INSTEAD:
For the same amount of sugar, you could eat two slices of pumpkin pie.

“Any time you see the word eggnog you might say, ‘No, thank you.’ And mixing it with a latte doesn’t help matters,” says Zinczenko. For a Starbucks coffee with seasonal spice, he recommends a grande “skinny” cinnamon dolce latte made with skim milk and a sugar-free flavor shot (130 calories, 0g fat, 17g sugars). The switch will save you 500 calories — and, if you have a slice of pumpkin pie (280 calories) too, you’ll eat more and still avoid 220 calories.



YOU COULD DRINK:

Dunkin' Donuts gingerbread latte (large)
440 calories
12g fat (7g saturated)
68g sugars
OR EAT THIS INSTEAD:
For the same calories, you could eat six Dunkin' Donuts glazed chocolate cake munchkins.

“Lattes are made with espresso and steamed milk and, in the case of the gingerbread latte, a lot of sugar,” says Zinczenko, who notes that just one of the seasonal drinks contains the caloric equivalent of six glazed chocolate-cake Munchkins. “You can get the same great taste for less than half the calories by choosing Dunkin’ Donuts’ medium gingerbread coffee (170 calories, 0g fat, 36g sugars), which bypasses the milk and much of the sweet stuff.”


YOU COULD DRINK:

Panera Bread peppermint hot chocolate (14.25oz)
610 calories
17g fat (11g saturated)
83g sugars
OR EAT THIS INSTEAD:
For the same calories, you could eat 4 1/2 York Peppermint Patties.

“Hot chocolate is going to be one of the worst options,” says Zinczenko. But Panera’s peppermint hot chocolate — which contains the same calories as four and a half York Peppermint Patties — manages to stand out. “It has whipped cream, white chocolate and mocha mint syrups.” Instead, Zinczenko suggests ordering Panera’s regular 10-oz. hot chocolate without whipped cream (270 calories, 7g fat [4½g saturated], 38g sugars).