How to Eat Healthy at Starbucks

How to Eat Healthy at Starbucks

Latte. Cappuccino. Frappuccino. Macchiato. Tall. Short. Grande. Vente. 

Those Starbucks terms are now common language if you are a frequent customer there. Truth be told, I don’t know this lingo. I had to look them up. I am one of the rare ones who doesn’t drink coffee and hardly ever sets foot in a Starbucks. If I do go in and order hot tea, I usually get a weird look when I say, “I’ll take a medium, please.” I get re-educated on the sizes every time. And don’t you think grande should be the largest size??

What is funny is I am actually sitting outside of one right now as I type this article. My daughter is at volleyball practice and I needed a place nearby with wifi while I wait until she is done. I honestly went inside to see if there was something I wanted to get so it didn’t seem like I was freeloading their wifi. But nothing appealed to me. So thank you Starbucks for letting me use your wifi. At least I am writing an article about what people should get at Starbucks to eat. 

Starbucks can be a great grab-and-go place. In fact, I didn’t know they had so many healthy options until I was doing research for this article. But unfortunately, they have a lot of unhealthy options, too. 

So if you are working on healthy eating and need to get food from Starbuck whether for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack below is a list of go-to options. 

Please don’t discount the beverages you get. I’m not going to list beverages (except one) in this piece, but surprisingly they can be filled with sugar and artificial ingredients. So check out your favorite drink online to see how sugary it is.

Healthy Go-To Options 

An ideal meal or a more nutritionally complete meal has a combo of protein, veggies, good fat, and carbs such as fruit or whole grains. So in general, I am going to help you create a complete meal from the Starbucks menu. 

I understand the Starbucks you frequent might not carry everything I have listed. But do your best. And even though I have divided them into breakfast, lunch/dinner, and snacks, there is no rule that says you can’t have something from the lunch/dinner list at breakfast time and vice versa.

For Breakfast

First, pass on pretty much all the hot sandwiches with one exception--the Spinach, Feta, & Egg White Wrap. Add some avocado spread & fruit (banana, orange, or fruit cup) to make it more of a complete meal. Concerning the egg bites, I am not a fan of how much cheese they contain.

Other okay options:

• Hearty Blueberry Oatmeal
• Classic Oatmeal
• Berry Trio Parfait
• Strawberry Overnight Grains

These are very carb (fruit and whole-grain heavy) so be sure you consume more protein and veggies another time in your day.

For Lunch/Dinner

For a complete meal, go for the below with a piece of fruit: 

• Chickpea Bites & Avocado Protein Box
• Grilled Chicken and Hummus Protein Box - you’ll need to order two of these in order to have a more complete meal.
• Chicken & Quinoa Protein Bowl with Black Beans and Greens

Protein boxes and Prosnax Snack Boxes are a good option but most lack a vegetable or a fruit. To get some veggies in, consider adding a bag of kale chips or Evolution Fresh® Organic Superfruit Greens. Here is the best pick of these boxes:

• Eggs & Gouda Protein Box 
• Eggs & Cheddar Protein Box 
• Prosnax Gala Apples, Egg, White Cheddar Cheese, and Almonds Snack Box
• Prosnax Green Apples, Egg, Mild Cheddar Cheese, and Cashews Snack Box
• Prosnax Carrots, White Cheddar Cheese, and Almonds Snack Tray

For a Snack

It can be tempting to grab something less healthy when you just want a snack. Snacks can really make or break you with regard to staying on track with your nutrition goals. You can read more about healthy snacking here. Before you go into Starbucks to get your fancy drink and a snack, already have in mind the healthy snack you are going to get. Plan a backup if that particular snack isn’t available. 

Pick from this list-

Fruit:

• Banana
• Orange 
• Fruit cup

Nuts:

• Squirrel Brand® Fruit & Nut
• Squirrel Brand® – Classic Almonds

Snack bags:

• Rhythm Super Foods Kale Chips - Sea Salt
• Butter Gourmet Popcorn
• POP! Popcorn

Bars & Jerky:

• Turkey Jerky
• Beef Jerky
• Perfect bars
• Kind bars
• That’s It

Now, what will you get?

So next time you are in Starbucks, what will you get to eat? Do you have a favorite? Does your Starbucks have something different I didn’t list? Share below. I’d like to know. 

Now that I know that Starbucks has this many good options, I might check it out when I need something on the go. Especially when traveling. 

Time to go get my daughter from volleyball practice. Again, thank you Starbucks!

Jen