Choose This Seasonal Drink to Save Over 100 Calories

Now that the Pumpkin Spice Latte craze has passed, Starbucks has rolled out a new set of hot drinks for the winter season. With enticing names like Gingerbread, Eggnog, Caramel Brulee, and Peppermint Mocha, these sweet sips sound like a fun way to kick off the holidays. But not so fast! If you're going to indulge, which one of these drinks should you choose to avoid extra pounds?

 

 

The Winner: Gingerbread Latte!

Although these lattes all sound equally festive and delicious, there is a slight difference when it comes to calories! Check out the nutritional information, from the Starbucks website. (All information is for a Grande (16 oz.) drink, made with 2% milk and whipped cream.)

Gingerbread Latte	Eggnog Latte	Caramel Brulee Latte	Peppermint Mocha
320 calories	460 calories	430 calories	410 calories
13 grams fat	21 grams fat	13 grams fat	15 grams fat
8 grams saturated fat	12 grams saturated fat	7 grams saturated fat	9 grams saturated fat
37 grams sugar	48 grams sugar	52 grams sugar	53 grams sugar

The lower-cal Gingerbread Latte is made with steamed milk and gingerbread-flavored syrup. The other drinks are also made with syrups and steamed milk, but they pack in a few extra calorie punches with real egg nog, caramel brulee topping, and mocha sauce.

Of course, you can customize your drink and slash some of the fat by ordering it with skim milk and no whipped topping. However, the sugar count is still going to be extremely high for all of these drinks (even the Gingerbread Latte contains over 9 teaspoons of sugar!).

Order a Tall (12 oz.), or even a Short (8 oz.) to get a taste of your favorite seasonal flavors without breaking the calorie bank--or, if you want the real deal, indulge in a drink with all the fixings if you can squeeze a treat into your meal plan. The holidays only come once a year, so don't deprive yourself completely of all the seasonal sweets you love. Choose one of these as a treat, not an every day indulgence. 

 

From Melinda Hershey at SparkPeople.com.