Ever since mid-terms I have been addicted to Starbucks! I have to have a coffee every day now... A grande iced caramel machiatto with nonfat milk to be exact. I like the way it suppresses my appetite but not sure how it is working with my diet. I just recently got back on track, going to the gym and eating right and it feels soooo good. I would like to get away from coffee completely but until finals are over it will be impossible... two weeks away. I don't like any hot coffee either and prefer expresso. Help! Imbue me with your words of wisdom!
I have no advice - I drink 2 coffee's in a day - I get the grande non fat caramel macchiato once a day, 4-5 days a week. 190 calories - it counts as a snack for me I figure you just account for it! But this is also coming from a coffee addict!
You can make ice coffee at home. Just brew normal coffee and put it into a pitcher in the fridge. The trick is to also free coffee into ice cubes so it stays cold without watering the coffee down.
If you prefer espresso, you could always buy a semi-inexpensive machine as a mini-goal reward and make your own at home. Yeah, its a major expense all at once, but you'll save the money from going to starbucks all the time! There are a ton of recipes online for Starbucks-look-alike drinks, that you could customize and make lower-calorie.
Also, the macchaito is made with the vanilla syrup (I asked once)...you can get it with the sugar-free syrup to save some more calories too
I always get the nonfat chai tea latte. But only once in a while. I almost broke down and got a frappucino but I forced myself to drive by starbucks and then congratulated myself on being awesome. I do this all the time.
actually, if in home prep is a possibility, you can get your hands on instant espresso. i frequently use it as flavoring to desserts (as well as a terrific pick-me-up). the only brand i've ever seen is in stores (hispanic ones) is medaglia d'oro. yum. i so wish it wasn't 2a.m. and i could indulge.
There's a drink call a Starbucks Doubleshot, it's not on the menu anymore but it's really good... it's 3 shots of espresso (in a grande), plus syrup (usually classic, but I get caramel) shaken over ice and topped up with the milk of your choice. A grande is only 90 calories, and it's DELICIOUS. Also, the frappucino light blended coffees, which skip on the whip and use our light base and nonfat milk, are only 90 calories for a coffee frapp, 130 for a caramel... not too bad, all things considered. Also, the passion tea lemonade is 130 calories for a grande, whether with regular syrup or raspberry (yum!).
My suggestion would just be to make sure this is in your plan. If you're counting calories account for it, etc.
If it's not in your plan then find an alternative.
I'm a huge Starbucks fan but don't get Starbucks nearly as much because it's too much sugar that my lifestyle change doesn't allow. An alternative for me is the unsweetened Green Tea that I throw a few splenda in. AND it's a heck of a lot cheaper too.
I really LOVE their iced chai with soy milk. I thought that subbing skim milk would be better - uhhhhhh 42 grams of sugar.
I found an alternative Sugar Free concentrate online. It came in the mail yesterday so I'll keep you Chai lovers updated!
I drink a skinny flavored latte every day. A hot one (either vanilla or hazelnut flavored but I think they have other sugar-free ones too) is 90 calories for a tall and 120 for a grande. And an iced grande is only 80 calories, since some of the milk is displaced with the ice. I LOVE the iced version. I don't know why, but it tastes better to me than a hot one. But both are delicious and great low-cal options. The coffee frappuccino light is also 90 calories for a tall.
Have you had an Americano? It's espresso with hot water. 25 calories for the venti. That's what I have. I usually have it plain, but every now and then I get a shot of sugar free vanilla or hazelnut thrown in as a treat. I used to be a latte drinker, but now I'd be lost without my Americano. Don't think I could stomach a latte any more.
I just discovered the light frap and its amazing...
Mmmmmmmm.
I too have no advice, I'm in the same boat. It just occurred to me today that I spend wayyyy too much money on Starbucks. The grande mocha frap light is only 140 cals and it's soooo good, especially if I put some splenda in there. Guilt free treat!
Making them at home are good too... it's just I need the ingredients. I'd take like a cup of ice, 3/4 cup of skim milk or vanilla soy milk, a scoop of protein, some starbucks instant coffee, and some splenda and blend it up. It's really good, but I'm out of protein, and their instant coffee is mega expensive (tastes kinda like butts with maxwell house instant coffee.)
I begin my morning with the equivalent of a smim venti latte with one brown sugar. Its an important part of my day, makes me happy, and is free (I work at the cafe!)
I'm sure you folks could talk to your cafe people about how they could make substitutions in the drink and experiment with it. I did it for a client recently, who had gone online and looked at calorie and sat fat contents of the drink. Being diabetic, we worked out an interesting drink, and I gave him the precise quantities I used so he could always ask for it elsewhere.
BTW - The Sugar Free Chai concentrate I got was pretty decent. It's sweetened with Spenda and isn't half bad. I mean, its no regular iced chai from Starbucks, but it'll definitely do the trick for the cravings!
I don't know if this is terribly helpful, but I thought I'd post it just in case. This is my "OK List" of drinks at Starbucks, drinks I love under 200 calories. They're listed from lowest to highest. There's other stuff too, for sure, but these are my fave indulgences.
Iced Venti Passion (or Black, or Green) Tea Lemonade
190 Calories
50g Carbs
(cut out the lemonade, cut out 60 calories and 19g of carbs - 130cal, 31g; also delicious with raspberry and/or dark cherry syrup, but best if half sweet or even unsweetened)
Starbucks addict
I figure you just account for it! But this is also coming from a coffee addict! 
