13 Surprisingly Healthy Starbucks Drinks

Let`s say you are on a diet and want healthy Starbucks drinks. 

If you have looked more closely at their menu, you have probably noticed that most of their drinks are high in calories. Most of them have a high sugar content and bad cholesterol. If you are looking for some low sugar Starbucks drinks, then you could try some of their more than 50 choices. There are also caffeine free Starbucks drinks you could try. A great choice for pregnant and nursing women.

I know that one way or another, most of us are faced with diets or want to limit calorie intake—harmful calories. Some of their drinks have more than 500 calories.

There is a solution for that as well. So that you can enjoy the atmosphere at Starbucks and some of your favorite drinks there.

Maybe you know that Starbucks allows everyone to make their drink. 

Yes, you can customize each one of your drinks. 

I want to assure you that I looked very carefully at the Starbucks menu. I checked each drink’s nutrition information and prepared a list for you. 

If you continue reading, you will discover which drinks to choose from and how to improve them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. TOP 13 of Healthy Starbucks Drinks
2. Tips for ordering healthy Starbucks drinks (+ nutrition stats)
   1. Try one of the Alternative Milk Options
   2. Customize Syrup Pumps
   3. Hold in the Whipped Cream
   4. Withhold the sweeteners
   5. Check out the Starbucks Nutrition Menu
   6. Ask for a “skinny” or “Light” drink
3. F.A.Q. for healthy Starbucks drinks

TOP 13 of Healthy Starbucks Drinks

It isn’t easy to choose specific healthy drinks that are available at Starbucks. I made a table with 13 “drinks” and their calories and sugar content. In some places, I have listed more than one Starbucks drink. I hope this table will help you choose your favorite healthy Starbucks drinks. Not all drinks have the same Starbucks Cup size, so I have chosen two sizes you can order for each: Tall and Grande.
I will be happy if you comment on which of them is your favorite 🙂

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Tips for ordering healthy Starbucks drinks (+ nutrition stats)

Now is the time to mention again that anyone can customize their drink at Starbucks.

So, how to order healthy Starbucks drinks?

1. Try one of the Alternative Milk Options
2. Customize Syrup Pumps
3. Hold in the Whipped Cream
4. Withhold the sweeteners
5. Check out the Starbucks Nutrition Menu
6. Ask for a “skinny” or “Light” drink

TRY ONE OF THE ALTERNATIVE MILK OPTIONS

Starbucks provides a variety of options to replace Whole Milk. These alternatives are: 

• Nonfat Milk 
• 2% Milk 
• Whole Milk 
• Breve (Half & Half) 
• Heavy Cream 
• Almond Milk
• Coconut Milk
• Oatmilk Milk
• Soy Milk

I have prepared a table to compare some of those alternative milk options. The Nutrient value for each one of them is 3.38 oz.

For comparison, drinking your coffee with Whole milk will increase the calorie intake by around 60. The nutrients value for 3.38 oz of Whole Milk are fat – 3.3, cholesterol – 10, sugars – 5.1, calories – 61, protein – 3.2, saturated fat – 1.9, carbohydrates – 4.8.

The healthiest choice here is almond milk. It has less fat, calories, and carbohydrates than the rest.

CUSTOMIZE SYRUP PUMP

Starbucks offers 11 types of Syrup. One pump of them is equal to 20 calories. For example, Grand Cup Size has 4 pumps or 80 calories. And those calories are coming only from the sweet Syrup. 

To decrease the sugar and the calories, change the regular Syrup to a sugar-free one. One option is the Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup (zero calories, zero fat). Also, you could always ask the barista if there is some sugar-free seasonal option. 

But if you still want to taste something sweeter but do not want to face the calories, then you could order your drink with half the Syrup.

Interesting fact. Starbucks had another Sugar-Free syrup. It was the Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dulce Syrup. Unfortunately, this year (2021), they have removed it from the menu and the app. 

HOLD IN THE WHIPPED CREAM

Depending on the cup size (Tall, Grande, or Venti), the whipped cream adds no additional flavor but contains 80 to 110 calories and 8g to 11g fat.

As you can see, to feel this cream in the drink is nice but does not contribute anything good. For my diet, it is completely unnecessary. I learned that you could order such kind of foam from substitutes. 

So, to make your Starbucks drink healthier, you can ask the barista to replace the ordinary whipped cream with foam of almond or nonfat milk with no additional sweetener. 

WITHHOLD THE SWEETENERS

Starbucks uses a lot of sweeteners like syrups, sauces, liquid sweeteners, and sweetener packets. Some of them are the classic:

• Classic Syrup
• Cane Sugar (Best For Iced Tea)
• Honey Blend
• White Sugar
• Sugar In The Raw®
• Honey
• Splenda®
• Stevia In The Raw®

I have already mentioned avoiding syrups and ordering sugar-free ones. I advise skipping the white sugar and using its alternatives – Splenda and Stevia In The Raw.

You can find these sugar and calorie-free substitutes in every Starbucks.

You will have a healthy and still delicious drink with less sugar and, therefore, calories.

CHECK OUT THE STARBUCKS NUTRITION MENU

On their website Starbucks has provided all their menu. Of course, not all options are available in every country, but that shouldn’t stop you from looking at them. 

Their drinks are divided into categories to quickly and easily find your favorite beverage. Each drink is provided with both nutrition information and ingredients.

ASK FOR A “SKINNY” OR “LIGHT” DRINK

Suppose you are still not sure what to do. Next time asked the barista to prepare your drink “skinny” or “light.” This will lead to a few things. Your drink will be with sugar-free syrup, nonfat milk (or you could ask for almond milk), and no added whipped cream as a topping. 

Do not worry about the taste. It will still be delicious. 

Years ago, I had to stop all refined sugar because of a diet. Until then, I thought I was drinking coffee. It was more like sugar with coffee. After two weeks and countless strange faces from the bitterness of the coffee, I no longer had a problem. I began to feel the real taste of the coffee. I have been drinking it completely clean ever since. 

F.A.Q. for healthy Starbucks drinks

Are there any healthy drinks at Starbucks?

Yes, there are healthy drinks at Starbucks. It depends on what you want to drink. Try some hot teas (zero cholesterol, sugars, and calories). 

But you can customize the drink you love if you want something fancy. There are different options of Milk, Syrups, Sweeteners, and Sauces. When you order the drink, you can remove or change them to suit your diet. This will decrease the calories, sugars, and cholesterol.

What is the healthiest Starbucks drink?

If you want ZERO Calories, ZERO Cholesterol, ZERO Fat, and ZERO Sugars, then you can choose among:

Iced Teas:

• Iced Passion Tango™ Tea
• Iced Green Tea
• Iced Black Tea

Hot teas:

• Chai Tea 
• Earl Grey Tea
• Royal English Breakfast Tea
• Emperor’s Clouds & Mist®
• Mint Majesty®
• Peach Tranquility®
• Jade Citrus Mint® Brewed Tea

If you are not afraid of little Calories and want to drink coffee with ZERO Cholesterol, ZERO Fat, and ZERO Sugars, then you have several other options:

• All the Iced Clover® Brewed Coffees and Clover® Brewed Coffees – 10 Calories.
• Blonde Roast, Featured Starbucks® Dark Roast Coffee, Pike Place® Roast, Decaf Pike Place® Roast – 5 Calories.
• Caffè Americano – 15 Calories in a Venti cup.
• Starbucks Reserve® Cold Brew, Starbucks® Cold Brew Coffee – 5 calories in a Venti cup.
• Starbucks Reserve® Nitro Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew – 5 Calories.

RELATED TOPIC: Starbucks Decaf Drinks

What is the healthiest cold drink at Starbucks?

The healthiest cold drink at Starbucks can be found in two types.

Iced Teas – Iced Passion Tango™ Tea, Iced Green Tea, Iced Black Tea. They have ZERO Calories, ZERO Cholesterol, ZERO Fat, and ZERO Sugars.

Iced Coffees – Iced Clover® Brewed Coffees, Clover® Brewed Coffees, Starbucks Reserve® Cold Brew, Starbucks® Cold Brew Coffee, Starbucks Reserve® Nitro Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew. They have 5 to 15 Calories, ZERO Cholesterol, ZERO Fat, and ZERO Sugar.

RELATED TOPICS: Starbucks Iced Coffee Drinks

What is the lowest calorie Starbucks drink?

The lowest calorie drinks in Starbucks are with 0 (Zero) calories. You can choose one from:

• Chai Tea
• Earl Grey Tea
• Royal English Breakfast Tea
• Emperor’s Clouds & Mist®
• Mint Majesty®
• Peach Tranquility®
• Jade Citrus Mint® Brewed Tea
• Iced Black Tea
• Iced Green Tea
• Iced Passion Tango™ Tea

Those calories are for the Grande cup size.

CONCLUSION

I hope the drinks listed in this table will help you pursue a healthier lifestyle. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the tricks of ordering a healthier drink. Your favorite drink may not be listed here, but you could make it as helpful as possible. You will quickly achieve this when you reduce or eliminate the syrups, replace the milk, and remove the whipped cream.

Can you add other healthy Starbucks drinks to this list?

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