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A Registered Dietitian Hacks the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Menu

A Registered Dietitian Hacks the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Menu
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It’s here! Have you been waiting 365 days for Starbucks to release its Fall menu? Us, too. We asked one of our Registered Dietitians, Brookell, for her favorite drinks — and what swaps she would request to make it even healthier by lowering the sugar.

These are Brookell’s top picks!

Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso

I chose this drink because it is one of the recipes that doesn’t require a lot of modifications and I love all things apples in the fall (I’m dreaming of the fall season in Texas). One simple change of decreasing the apple brown sugar syrup in a grande from 3 pumps to 2, takes the sugar content from 17 grams to 12 grams of sugar. Making one more change by swapping the oatmilk for unsweetened almond milk, takes the sugar content down to 10 grams and calories down to 70 calories.

Here’s my order:

  • Grande
  • 2 shots of espresso
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 pump(s) apple brown sugar syrup
  • 1 packet of Splenda (optional, if you need more sweetener)

70 calories, 10g sugar

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This drink is a very popular choice in the fall for most coffee drinkers, which is why I looked at what modifications might make it a little more appealing to those keeping an eye on their sugar intake. A few modifications, such as only using 2 pumps of the pumpkin pie sauce and swapping regular milk for unsweetened almond milk, decreases the calories by half.

Here’s my order:

  • Grande
  • 2 shots of espresso
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 pump(s) pumpkin spice sauce
  • 1 packet of Splenda (optional, if you need more sweetener)
  • Topped with pumpkin pie spice
  • No whipped cream

155 calories, 12g sugar

While it may not be apple and pumpkin weather yet in most places, we can certainly grab a coffee and start dreaming of Fall right now.

Ready to take the next step? Unlock MyFitnessPal Premium to access custom goal settings, quick-log recipes, and guided plans from a registered dietitian. Premium users are 65% more likely to reach their weight loss goals!

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