Hi Everyone! Happy Fall!!
This is such an amazing time of year. The weather is starting to get cooler, the holidays are on their way, and our favorite coffee places have an entire delicious new drink menu. If you are like me and love all the flavors of fall, read on to discover those coffee beverages that are packed with your favorite flavors without a ton of calories.
While drinking anything in moderation will not cause a significant harm to your health, frequently consuming coffee beverages with sneaky amounts of added calories can deter your overall weight loss goals.
High quality coffee is not only rich in antioxidants, but can have many anti-inflammatory benefits as well. It tends to be some of the extra items that we add to our coffee that can contribute to the amounts of added sugars and saturated fats. Here are some tricks below that can help to make sure you get the most out of your coffee when ordering from your local coffee shop.
Include less milk or creamer
Minimize the total of of sugar being added
Use sugar free flavorings or spices
Ask for non-fat or 1% milk or plant based milks
Ask for fewer pumps of syrup or a sugar free syrup
Here are a few of our favorite drinks here at The Rite Bite!!
Katherine- Pumpkin Cold Foam (70 calories)
2 pumps sugar free syrup in the cold brew
1 pump pumpkin sauce in the foam
Sprinkle of cinnamon on top
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“I love the flavor of pumpkin, but am also a huge fan of iced coffee. This way I am not only able to sip on it all day, but the ice enhances the pumpkin flavor. From a nutrition standpoint the ice is also helpful because it decreases the total amount of the beverage in the cup, which further reduces the amount of calories. You will taste the entire season of fall in this one drink!!”
Mary- Pumpkin Spice Coffee (Hot) - ~30 calories
Tall Medium Roast Coffee(5 cal)
1 pump pumpkin spice sauce (25 cal)
Sprinkle of cinnamon topping (0 cal)
Jackie - Pumpkin Spice Nitro Cold Brew (Cold) - ~60-70 cal
Tall Nitro Cold Brew (5 cal)
1 pump pumpkin spice sauce (25 cal)
Very light splash of half and half (20-40 cal)
Sprinkle of pumpkin spice topping (0 cal)
Jackie - Brown Sugar Cappuccino (Hot) - ~70 cal
Tall cappuccino with nonfat milk (60 cal)
1 pump brown sugar syrup (10 cal)
Sprinkle of pumpkin spice topping (0 cal)
“I couldn’t choose just one drink so I gave what I would order on a 60-70 degree fall day and what I would order on a cooler fall day! Most people don’t know this, but I am a huge Starbucks fan! It tends to be a treat for me on the occasional Friday to celebrate the end of the week. After all, there is a Starbucks right across the street from the office! I tend to keep the calories down in my coffee drinks by reducing the drink size and keeping it to a tall (FYI most lattes and cappuccinos from Starbucks have no difference in the amount of espresso between a tall and a grande, they just add more milk. I like to get straight to the point and prefer my coffee/espresso more robust which also helps with the calories a bit). Nitro cold brews are often very smooth and less bitter which helps so that you don’t have to add a lot of sugar or milk. Their pumpkin spice topping is basically just pumpkin spice (blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) with no added sugar which is a great way to add some additional flavor to your fall beverages! I hope you all enjoy these drink picks as much as I do!”
Happy fall ya'll!
Until Next Time,
Katherine Ancona, MS, RDN, CDN