3 healthier (and still yummy!) options to replace your daily Starbucks drinks
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Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate.
Iced Hazelnut Macchiato.
What do these drinks have in common? They’re all Starbucks drinks, and they all contain insane amounts of sugar.
Let’s talk about the Pumpkin Spice Latte, since it’s an iconic Starbucks drink which has recently made its way to our shores in Singapore.
Assuming you’re getting this in a Grande size (16 ounces) without any alterations, that’ll be 420 calories and 50 grams of sugar. To put this into context, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommends that Singaporeans have no more than 40 to 55 grams of sugar per day. That’s right - order a single Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, and you’re maxing out your sugar quota for the entire day.
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How about the other Starbucks drinks? In general, the fancier the name sounds, the more sugar it contains.
The Peppermint Hot Chocolate, for example, has 61 grams of sugar (that’s diabetes in a cup, right there).
The Cinnamon Dolce Latte has 40 grams of sugar.
In contrast, the Iced Caffè Latte has a much more reasonable 11 grams of sugar.
If you’re serious about cutting down on your sugar intake and looking after your health, we’d recommend going cold turkey on your Starbucks drinks, and opting for these healthier alternatives instead:
#1: Milk tea
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Wait a minute… milk tea is healthy?!
Well, that really depends on how strict your definition of healthy is, but generally speaking, milk tea contains less sugar than Starbucks drinks. According to Claudia Correia, a dietitian at the Raffles Diabetes & Endocrine Centre, Singapore, the average milk tea or bubble tea contains 18.75 grams of sugar (that’s still quite a lot, but not as much as you can find in Starbucks drinks). For best results, have your milk tea customized with lower sugar levels.
#2: Fruit juice
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This option is particularly popular with the Office Ladies (OLs). You can opt for fruit juices made with single fruits, or if you want to go for something a little more fancy, there are plenty of healthy and delicious-tasting combinations such as Apple, Beetroot, Carrot (ABC) juice, Green Apple and Carrot juice, and more.
Two tips: request for the stall to make your drink without any added sugar, and steer clear of ingredients that add unnecessary sugar to your drink (rather than going for Avocado with Gula Melaka, for example, just have your Avocado juice without any complements).
#3: Spiced drinks
How yummy does this Spiced Cacao drink sound? The best part is - it’s completely sugar free!
You can drink this as many times a day as you’d like, and not feel guilty about it at all. Yes, it’s a chocolate drink, but it’s vegan, organic, and completely natural. The blend comprises of organic raw cacao and traditional Ayurvedic spices which are packed with antioxidants, and it doesn’t contain a single trace of gluten, dairy, soy, corn additives, preservatives or GMOs.
PS: The same Australian company behind the above drink also makes a Spiced Golden Latte blend which contains a rich blend of Turmeric, Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon, Black Pepper and Himalayan Sea Salt. These warming, immunity boosting, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying natural ingredients will go a long way in enhancing your digestion and metabolism!
(Credits)
How about the other Starbucks drinks? In general, the fancier the name sounds, the more sugar it contains.
The Peppermint Hot Chocolate, for example, has 61 grams of sugar (that’s diabetes in a cup, right there).
The Cinnamon Dolce Latte has 40 grams of sugar.
In contrast, the Iced Caffè Latte has a much more reasonable 11 grams of sugar.
If you’re serious about cutting down on your sugar intake and looking after your health, we’d recommend going cold turkey on your Starbucks drinks, and opting for these healthier alternatives instead:
#1: Milk tea
(Credits)
Wait a minute… milk tea is healthy?!
Well, that really depends on how strict your definition of healthy is, but generally speaking, milk tea contains less sugar than Starbucks drinks. According to Claudia Correia, a dietitian at the Raffles Diabetes & Endocrine Centre, Singapore, the average milk tea or bubble tea contains 18.75 grams of sugar (that’s still quite a lot, but not as much as you can find in Starbucks drinks). For best results, have your milk tea customized with lower sugar levels.
#2: Fruit juice
(Credits)
This option is particularly popular with the Office Ladies (OLs). You can opt for fruit juices made with single fruits, or if you want to go for something a little more fancy, there are plenty of healthy and delicious-tasting combinations such as Apple, Beetroot, Carrot (ABC) juice, Green Apple and Carrot juice, and more.
Two tips: request for the stall to make your drink without any added sugar, and steer clear of ingredients that add unnecessary sugar to your drink (rather than going for Avocado with Gula Melaka, for example, just have your Avocado juice without any complements).
#3: Spiced drinks
How yummy does this Spiced Cacao drink sound? The best part is - it’s completely sugar free!
You can drink this as many times a day as you’d like, and not feel guilty about it at all. Yes, it’s a chocolate drink, but it’s vegan, organic, and completely natural. The blend comprises of organic raw cacao and traditional Ayurvedic spices which are packed with antioxidants, and it doesn’t contain a single trace of gluten, dairy, soy, corn additives, preservatives or GMOs.
PS: The same Australian company behind the above drink also makes a Spiced Golden Latte blend which contains a rich blend of Turmeric, Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon, Black Pepper and Himalayan Sea Salt. These warming, immunity boosting, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying natural ingredients will go a long way in enhancing your digestion and metabolism!