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The Wall Street Diet Book

The Wall Street Diet Information

Too busy to diet? Heather Bauer's new book, The Wall Street Diet will teach you how to lose weight, keep it off, and still keep up with your busy life.

 

Coffee Beverages Exposed
By Heather Bauer, RD, CDN | September 2007 | SUBSCRIBE | VIEW ARCHIVE

With spring in full swing, and summer just a few short weeks away, we now find ourselves strolling outside as we delight in the beautiful weather. Oftentimes, these strolls are accompanied by jaunts into a coffee shop or an ice cream store to get a frosty treat. While many may feel that opting for the coffee is the healthier or least caloric choice, many times this is not the case. A serving of vanilla ice cream (which is ½ a cup) is only 145 calories, while a serving of a blended coffee beverage (16 oz) can range anywhere from 180 to 580 calories! The following chart gives a breakdown of some of your favorite coffee treats:

Product Serving Size(oz) Calories Total Fat(g) Saturated Fat(g) Carbs(g) Sugars(g) Protein(g)
Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino Blended Coffee – no whip 16 260 3.5 2 52 44 5
Starbucks Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino - whip 16 580 22 13 86 65 14
Dunkin Donuts Coffee Coolatta with Milk 16 210 4 2.5 42 40 4
Cosi Arctic Latte 16 530 16 unknown 94 unkown 6
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Ice Blended, Mocha, with non-fat milk and regular powder 16 390 7 4.7 58 39 11
Caribou Coffee Coffee Cooler 16 220 4 4 46 40 2

Luckily, you can mimic some of these frosty beverages while also cutting down on the calories.

Basic Blended Coffee Base*
Serves 2

1¼ cup strong coffee, chilled
1 cup skim milk
3 packets artificial sweetener (i.e. splenda, equal, etc.)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups ice

  1. Put everything in a blender and blend until desired consistency.
  2. Serve.

Calories per serving: ~95

*To flavor your blended coffee, try adding a teaspoon of sugar-free vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate, or caramel syrup. These flavorings will provide additional sweetness, so you may want to decrease the amount of artificial sweetener or sugar in the recipe.