Finding yourself wondering what happened to the weekend and dreading Monday morning already? Plan to start your week off right and get rid of those Monday blues by popping into Starbucks and trying out one of my top 4 (macro-friendly) orders.
This post is brought to you by my incessant need to fuel my mornings with a ridiculously expensive cup of coffee. We all have our things. Mine just happens to be iced coffee. Yes, even when it’s freezing cold outside. I love it that much.
A couple of these ideas were borrowed from the instagram account @themacrobarista. A friend introduced me to this account a few months ago and his stuff is great. Apparently he is an ex-Starbucks barista that experiments with different drinks to find lower calorie, lower sugar, lower fat versions of everyone’s favorites. Give him a follow to find even more ideas!
The first 2 are options that I experimented with and found out to be AMAZING. They are lower calorie drinks that don’t provide the sugar bomb that most popular Starbucks drinks do. The other 2 came from @themacrobarista, and I order these every now and then to mix things up. Here’s the list:
1. Grande Iced Blonde Americano with 2 pumps hazelnut and light cream. This is my go-to daily order. This cup of coffee has a lot to do with how I can wake up to my 4:30am alarm every morning. I love it so much. I typically put my own cream (half and half) in my drink, because baristas are inconsistent on what they consider “light.” I have ended up with an almost entirely white drink when I ordered through the drive through before. That is milk. Not coffee. If you absolutely can’t go in, ask for a splash, and if it’s not enough they will add a bit more for you. If you want a venti, get 3 pumps of hazelnut :). We all have those days when the grande just aint gonna cut it.
Nutrition- Cals: 95 Carbs: 15 Fat: 3 Protein: 2
2. Grande Nitro Cold Brew with sweet cream and 1 pump of hazelnut. You can mix up the syrup here and go vanilla or caramel, or whatever your heart desires. I love a good pump of the pumpkin syrup in the fall and winter. Tastes like fall in a cup. I also either ask for a sprinkle of cinnamon on top or do it myself if I’m in the store. Note: not all locations have nitro, but if you run across one that does, you should definitely spend the extra money to make this an occasional treat. Plus, it comes in a cute sippy cup.
Nutrition- Cals: 90 Carbs: 9 Fats: 5 Protein: 1
3. Grande cold brew (not nitro) with 1 pump skinny mocha, 1 pump sugar free vanilla, 1.5 pumps toffee nut, and light cream. Again, I typically put the cream in myself so I know exactly how much I am using. This one tastes a bit like chocolate milk with a caramel undertone. It’s literally like a dessert. Love getting this one when I have a reward because its a bit more expensive (though not as expensive as the nitro), and it’s a great way to change it up here and there.
Nutrition- Cals: 80 Carbs: 11 Fat: 3 Protein: 1
4. Grande cold brew with cold foam, 3 pumps sugar free vanilla, 1 pump hazelnut, light cream. This one is relatively new to me. I have been wanting to try out the new cold foam for a while, but was always nervous that I would order it and hate it. This option from @themacrobarista just looked too good to pass up. It was definitely a good decision to give it a try. Also a bonus that it comes in the adult sippy cup again haha.
Nutrition- Cals: 90 Carbs: 12 Fat: 3 Protein: 3
Any of these drinks can be subbed out for almond or soy milk if you are dairy-free, or you can use your own non-dairy creamer at home, but that's going to change the macros a bit :). You could also try swapping up the flavorings too. For example, on the first option you can do toffee nut or caramel syrup instead. The same macros would apply in those instances.
What are your favorite macro-friendly Starbucks orders?? Let me know if you try out one of mine! Hope this helps brighten your upcoming Monday!