December 1, 2011
If you’re a coffee lover like I am, then you must love the holiday season for all the delicious flavors that come along with it, particularly at popular chains Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. The only thing that gets me down about some of these drinks is the amount of calories and sugar in each of them, which is why I love Starbucks skinny options! They recently added a new one to the list – Skinny Peppermint Mocha Latte! If you haven’t tried it yet, please do! Espresso, skim milk & sugar-free peppermint mocha syrup. Normally when I get one of the sugar-free syrups, I add 2 or 3 packets of Splenda to sweeten it up, but this drink needed none! You can also get the syrup added to your black coffee or my personal favorite, Cafe Americana. Other sugar-free syrups include hazelnut, vanilla, caramel macchiatto, and cinnamon dolce. You can lighten the other holiday drinks, the ones with sugar, by using skim milk. Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice, Chai Tea, Eggnog, Salted Caramel, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Brulee… Everything sounds so decadent how could you ever choose just one? I wish they all came in skinny versions! Starbucks, if you’re reading, you should look into getting as many flavors as possible in a sugar-free syrup! It would make those of us watching our sugar and calorie intake very, very happy! But as long as you don’t overindulge too much, one sugary coffee drink every so often won’t hurt too much. It is the holiday season – treat yourself!
Now over to Dunkin’ Donuts, which also has new holiday flavors out, none of which are sugar-free, but like I said, once in a while isn’t awful! Pumpkin, Gingerbread, Peppermint Mocha, and even a Mint Hot Chocolate has been added to the menu. I need to try that soon; chocolate and mint is one of my absolute favorite combinations! I recently bought my own DD ground coffee to make at home. The limited edition flavors were just calling my name in Target. Pumpkin Spice, Vanilla Nut and Mocha Mint. All three are not as flavorful as they are when you get them at DD, but that’s because they serve the syrups there and what I got is simply the ground coffee with the infused flavor. Nonetheless, they are still tasty and satisfy my coffee cravings!
You can find the calorie count for all of the drinks named above at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts
So what’s your favorite holiday coffee flavor?
