(exciting music)
- Hey, munchies, welcome to the channel if you're new.
For a lot of us, summer is near,
and it's warming up by the day, so it's about time
that I head to Starbucks craving cold drinks instead of hot.
Today I'm gonna share some low-carb options
that you can get at Starbucks that are cold drinks.
We won't focus on hot today but let me know
if you want that video made.
These all have less than 10 grams
of carbs and/or sugar per drink,
and I've got a free PDF that you can download
in the description that shares the drinks
and what to ask for, so you don't need to
take notes while watching.
Let's keep in mind, this 10 grams number is arbitrary.
There aren't really rules for low-carb or keto
because everyone's tolerance is going to be different,
but I had to choose a number
to make the video so I picked 10.
You should choose what suits your needs.
I talk more about low-carb lifestyles
and carb tolerances in my keto 101 video,
and I do some crazy sugar comparisons in this video
because 10 grams of sugar might be more or less
than you really think, so check them out using the links
in the description if you'd like.
First let's talk about Starbucks iced coffee.
Now many don't realize that by default
the iced coffee at Starbucks includes the classic syrup.
So a venti or 20 ounce black iced coffee
contains six pumps of that syrup,
which is 30 grams of sugar.
So, if you ask for a black iced coffee, that's what you get.
If you don't want the sugar,
you must request that it is unsweetened.
Ask for no sweetener or syrup if you want it
to not contain sugar or carbs.
The Starbucks cold brew is not sweetened,
so if you get an iced black cold brew,
it won't cost you any sugar or carbs unless you add milk.
Same goes for the iced caffe Americano.
As is, it's just espresso, ice and water,
so you're safe on carbs and sugar
regardless of the size.
The iced tea is also sweetened.
A venti Teavana shaken iced black tea
contains 16 grams of sugar.
Now, you'd need to specifically request unsweetened
to avoid sugar for the iced teas.
More on those in a minute.
What if you like iced coffee with milk?
Let's spend a second talking about our options at Starbucks.
Coconut milk is a common low-carb favorite,
but the one at Starbucks does have added sugar.
Actually, every nondairy milk has added sugar,
at least in the US.
Some locations can carry almond milk without sugar,
but not all.
The coconut milk is 80 calories,
five grams of fat, and eight grams of sugar in one cup.
So, if you're adding a splash it could just be
a few grams of sugar.
Like when you get a venti iced coffee unsweetened,
or an iced cold brew with coconut milk.
But, if you're getting something milk-based
like a venti iced latte with coconut milk,
it's gonna be 11 grams of sugar.
If you get it as a grande however,
it goes down to eight grams of sugar.
To keep sugar and carbs down though,
the better option at Starbucks is the almond milk.
It's 60 calories per cup with four grams of fat,
five grams of carbs, three of which are sugar,
and two grams of protein.
That means you can get a venti iced caffe latte
with almond milk for 100 calories and five grams of sugar,
or a grande for three grams.
Other iced coffee drinks that work.
An iced flat white.
A grande with coconut milk is seven grams of sugar
and nine grams of carbs, and with almond milk
it's only three grams of sugar for a grande
or five grams of sugar with nine grams
of carbs for the venti.
Many people familiar with a low-carb lifestyle
know that black iced coffee unsweetened
with heavy cream is a great drink.
Oh man, it is so tasty, but it's good to know
that they add a lot of that heavy whipping cream.
If you watch them make it, you'll see that
they don't measure and it ends up being
about a third to a half a cup of heavy whipping cream
in a venti iced coffee.
So, back up, one cup of heavy whipping cream
is over 800 calories and almost 90 grams of fat.
So a venti black iced coffee with heavy whipping cream
can rack up over 400 calories and almost 50 grams of fat.
Now yes, it's key on a low-carb diet
to eat more fat, but do I want 50 grams of my fat tally
to go to that drink?
Well, you might, but I don't.
And either way, it's good to at least have the information.
If I get it, I add heavy whipping cream myself
and you can do this at Starbucks.
They will let you physically put it into the drink,
and I just add a splash.
Just know that even two ounces or a quarter-cup
is over 200 calories.
Again, I'm not demonizing fat or calories,
but just bringing awareness to the fact
that heavy whipping cream really racks it up.
Another tasty summertime drink that is manageable
for low-carbers or anyone looking for less sugar
is a passion tango iced tea unsweetened.
Of course, make sure that you're not getting
the lemonade version.
And I like to add a splash of coconut or almond milk.
If you get it unsweetened, your only macros would be
from the milk, since tea does not contain calories or carbs.
And I'm not able to calculate the nutrition
of this tea with milk on the website,
but I did the calculation on my own to show you.
With coconut milk accounting for two ounces
or a quarter-cup of the milk,
and you can always use less of course,
the drink will only cost you two grams of sugar.
Add a splash of heavy whipping cream
to that passion tango iced tea instead,
and you end up with the low-carbers version
of the pink drink.
Option to add a sugar-free syrup
to any of these of course, but I prefer to avoid
the artificial sweetener and get unsweetened instead.
I personally go for the heavy whipping cream
over the sweetener.
If you are a tea fan it's also worth nothing
that you can combine the different types of teas
and infusions without sweetener in any way you'd like.
You just have to ask.
So, they have a shake in a black, green, and white tea.
They paired each with an infusion,
peach with the white tea, pineapple with the black tea,
and strawberry with the green tea.
They default come with sweetener pumps from the syrup,
but you can get them all unsweetened.
You can also mix and match.
So I often like to get the peach infusion
with the green tea for instance,
and their other infusions on their own
do not contain calories or carbs.
So as long as you ask for the drink unsweetened
you have a lot of combinations that you can try
with those iced teas and infusions.
Remember, I am not talking about the lemonade
which does have more sugar.
Just the tea infusions on their own.
Okay, next, I know a lot of people
in the health and/or low-carb community
try to not do dairy in coffee.
But, if you're not opposed,
which I assume you're not if you're having
heavy whipping cream, and are solely looking
to lower carb intake, you have a few more options
for cold drinks at Starbucks.
One is the iced cappuccino with cold foam.
Now, they need to use dairy milk to make the foam,
so you can't swap it out, but if you get a grande
it's got eight grams of sugar and nine grams of carbs.
The other dairy option is the vanilla sweet cream cold brew.
Now if you are a sweet iced coffee fan,
this is a very good drink.
But the sweet cream is premade with sugar and dairy,
and you can't swap it out.
If you get a tall, so the compromise is it's much smaller,
but still a tall size will cost 90 calories
and nine grams of sugar and carbs.
If you want the cold brew flavor
with a natural sweetness without any milk or dairy,
consider the nitro cold brew.
The only ingredient is coffee,
but the slow steeping process makes it smooth,
and the nitrogen infusion leaves a naturally
sweet flavor with, and I quote,
a cascading, velvety crema.
Perfection is served.
Is it perfect?
Nitro cold brew is not my thing but it might be yours.
As I mentioned earlier, if you want to add more
than just the coffee and the milk, you could add syrup.
They have sugar-free vanilla and cinnamon Dulce flavors.
They are sucralose-based.
So if you prefer monk fruit, erythritol, et cetera,
you won't be able to hit the mark
with the sugar-free options at Starbucks.
You could also add light toppings.
The whipped cream and caramel drizzle
will each add on about three grams of carbs.
The chocolate drizzle will add one gram of carbs,
and then you can always add the toppers
like cocoa powder and nutmeg, cinnamon,
and vanilla powder, which would each add
less than one gram of carbohydrates.
So there are some drink options to give you ideas
on what to get at Starbucks this summer
for lower sugar and lower carb options.
And you can download the PDF that you can keep on your phone
or print it out as reference
for help determining which drink
might be right for you with all of this information.
If you want me to do something similar
later in the year for warm drinks
that are low-carb at Starbucks,
let me know in the comments below.
Also remember, especially if you're doing keto
and need to be extra mindful of the carb intake.
No food or drink is necessarily keto-friendly or banned.
It's all about your own tolerance,
and I discuss that in my keto 101 video.
Check out my crazy sugar comparisons video
if you want your mind blown on just how much sugar
is in some of the regular stuff we eat, healthy or not.
Thanks so much for being here.
I'll see you next week, and remember,
it's all a matter of mind over munch.