It is Sheri Berger, Registered Dietitian/ Nutritionist here to give you encouragement and support! Depending on where you are, it may or may not feel like fall yet. Here in California, it still feels like summer with 80 degree + weather. Although with Halloween displays popping up in stores everywhere, it is evident the season is changing. Another reminder is the offering of pumpkin spice lattes, caramel apple lattes, and other seasonal coffee drinks.
For most of us, seasonal coffee drinks are a huge temptation. I have to admit I already gave in and had my first pumpkin spice latte yesterday. If you are not careful, a seasonal coffee drink can easily cost you 400 calories or more of your calorie budget. Here are my personal tips for saving a hundred calories or more:
1. Most coffeehouses make their holiday coffee beverages with 2% or whole milk. Ask for nonfat or 1% milk. Most coffeehouses do not carry 1% milk, so ask them to mix half 2% and half nonfat. A cup of 1% milk has 2 grams of fat and only about 20 calories more than a cup of nonfat milk, the fat makes it tastes creamier (my personal favorite in lattes).
2. You could order a skinny version of a latte (if you don’t mind the artificial sweeteners and nonfat milk) or ask for less of the regular syrup. Most coffeehouses will use 3-4 pumps of syrup; ask for 1-2 pumps instead.
3. Skip the whip cream, saves you at least 100 calories.
4. Order a smaller size. Did you know Starbucks carries a size smaller than a tall? It is called a short and is 8 oz. compared to 12 oz. (tall).
5. Want the real thing and can’t deal with any of the cutbacks? Then, just treat yourself to 1 special coffee beverage for the holiday season.
Below are links to some more tips and shocking nutrition facts for some of our favorite holiday drinks:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/22/fall-coffee-drinks-which-is-best_n_1998827.html
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/diet-busters-ten-high-calorie-holiday-drinks
http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Calories-Starbucks-Holiday-Beverages-68488
About the Author
Sheri Berger is a Registered Dietitian having completed her B.S. in Food/Nutrition & Dietetics and a dietetic internship at Loyola University Chicago. Sheri has a diverse professional background that includes hospital and outpatient clinic support, preventative wellness programs, corporate wellness services, cardiovascular disease management, and working with seniors. Sheri enjoys engaging her clients in pursuit of their personal wellness goals and leading by example with her healthy lifestyle. Sheri has been certified in adult weight management since 2005. She belongs to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, California Dietetics Association, and the San Jose Peninsula District of the CDA. Sheri enjoys spending her free time with her husband and two daughters and she loves to run marathons.
