Make coffee drinks healthier | Just a little chocolate . . .

With us entering holiday season you probably have noticed the pumpkin lattes and the other holiday inspired beverages. Pay attention to these festive concoctions as they are typically loaded with sugar then add milk and whip cream and you have a 350-550 calorie hit to your system - and sorry whip cream does not provide you any nutrients!

Now, I am not saying you can’t have the festive holiday beverages but like anything you need to practice moderation – so have the Eggnog Latte once or twice during the season but not every day or even week . There are also a bunch of ways to make coffee drinks healthier.

Tips to “lighten” up your fav coffee drinks -

Switch from 2% milk (what most places use) to skim milkand save 60 calories (if ordering a large/grande)
Limit syrup shots- if you love flavored lattes – then ask how many shots are typically added and ask for half of the shots - most drinks have 4-6 shots – have 2 or 3 and the beverage will still be sweet (I promise – I even get my husband and mom to do this trick) and you will save yourself 40-60 calories
Try a smaller size- going from a large/grande to a medium/tall on mochas and other flavored lattes will save you 60 cals and on those special holiday drinks going down a size can save up to 120 calories – think you need the caffeine? Then add an extra shot (only add 5 cals) Just remember caffeine dehydrates so drink extra water
If the place has a website – take 3 minutes to go onlineand look up your go-to beverage. You may be surprised by how many calories, fat, and sugar is in it! For instance I love Chai Tea Lattes and if I order a regular (large) size then it would back about 241 calories and 41 grams of sugar! By simply asking for the smaller size and skim milk I decrease the cals to about 150 and sugar to 30g (still very high so this is a very occasional splurge )