What you can eat at... Starbucks

As work gets crazy, I sometimes camp out at a local spot.  In a pinch, I gotta eat what they got to sell.  With dangerous menus, what's the health conscious person to scarf down?

Today, I'm at Starbucks.  Let's take a look at some of the choices...

First, I'm not one to tell you not to have that scone.  If you love it, can fit 450 calories worth of Cranberry Orange Scone into your diet (and be satisfied an hour later), more power to you.  Most people can work a treat in there, somewhere.  But, I have to have the scone AND food.  So that's not going to work for me.

Here are my options and recommendations:




Vivanno Nourishing Blends

Chocolate and banana or orange, mango, and banana shakes.  These are pretty good.  Not too shabby, nutrition-wise, either.

I have a friend behind the counter, so I got the inside scoop and tour, and was able to read all the labels of all the ingredients in these things.  Ingredients include bittersweet cocoa powder, 2% milk, whey protein w/fiber, real banana, real orange mango juice (Naked Juice), and option macha powder or espresso, depending on the flavor your choose.

To me, the only questionable ingredients are the juice and the macha powder.  Juice won't kill you, and I'll take Naked Juice's juice over most.  I just love mango.  A weakness on my part.

If you think you're getting the green tea benefits of the macha powder, don't.  It adds 40 calories of sugar and who knows how much green tea.  Not much, I'm thinking.  If it makes it taste good, figure in the calories and go for it.

Take a look at the blends and see for yourself.  I think the chocolate ones are a better nutritional deal, with 20-21g of protein, but the mango ones are sure tasty, even with merely 16g of P.

Banana Chocolate
270 calories, 5g Fat, 44g Carb, 6g Fiber, 21g Protein

Banana Chocolate w/espresso
260 calories, 4.5g Fat, 42g Carb, 5g Fiber, 20g Protein

Orange Mango Banana 
250 calories, 2g Fat, 47g Carb, 6g Fiber, 16g Protein

Orange Mango Banana w/Macha 
290 calories, 2g Fat, 57g Carb, 6g Fiber, 16g Protein

Perfect Oatmeal

It's oatmeal.  Just oatmeal.  It's fine.  You can get toppings.

Perfect Oatmeal
140 calories, 2.5 Fat, 25g Carb, 4g Fiber, 5g Protein

Nut Medley
100 calories, 9g Fat, 2g Carb, 1g Fiber, 2g Protein

Fruit Medley
100 calories, 0g Fat, 24g Carb, 2g Fiber, 1g Protein

Brown Sugar*
50 calories, 0g Fat, 13g Carb, 0g Fiber, 0g Protein

* fyi, brown sugar is just as healthy as white sugar, or HFCS.  It's still.  just. sugar.

Of course, you can also get Splenda, milk, half and half, etc. at the little bar area.  The cinnamon and chocolate shaker bottles have sugar in them, too.  So beware of the shakes your shake onto your oatmeal.

This oatmeal not a meal.  Not for me, anyway.  You need to add some protein.  They suggest a sugary protein enhanced latte, but if you're willing, you can ask them to dump in some whey from the Vivannos (it's extra).  You might get a blank stare or a "no."  It's a drink option for a food item, so they panic.  Which button do you press?  Crap!  "Uh, no sir. We don't have protein."  Just be patient and consider using the word "venti" to comfort them...  Talk them down and work through the problem together.


Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon, Cholesterol-Free Egg, Reduced-Fat White Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich

The name is a mouthful, huh?  It's like an Egg McMuffin, but sort of healthier?  I'm not so sure, since an Egg McMuffin is right up there with the nutritional content.  But, were not at McDonald's, we're at Starbucks.

Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon, Cholesterol-Free Egg, Reduced-Fat White Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich
350 calories, 11 Fat, 41g Carb, 3g Fiber, 20g Protein

I'm not really about reduced fat, but I don't like extra fat and I don't like fat calories when they aren't necessary.  This sandwich doesn't taste like it's reduced fat, so it's just good.  Oh, the english muffin only looks whole wheat, btw.  It's not.  Eat it anyway.


Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta & Egg Wrap


I really like these.  But, by the afternoon, they tend to be gone.

Yikes!  It's got a lot of freakin' ingredients, but most aren't that bad.

LAHVASH WRAP (WATER, FINE WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, NATURAL FIBER FLATBREAD BASE [WHEAT GLUTEN CORN STARCH, OAT FIBER, ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, SOY FLOUR, SOY OIL, SALT, SESAME FLOUR, CALCIUM SULFATE, DEXTROSE, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, MONOGLYCERIDES, FUMARIC ACID], WHEAT FLOUR, CANOLA OIL, HONEY, SUGAR, SALT, YEAST, CALCIUM PROPIONATE, L-CYSTEINE [DOUGH CONDITIONER]), SCRAMBLED EGG INSERTS (WHOLE EGGS, WATER, WHOLE MILK POWDER, SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SALT, BUTTER FLAVOR [SOYBEAN OIL, BUTTER (CREAM), LIPOLYZED BUTTER FAT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS], XANTHAN GUM, CITRIC ACID), SPINACH, FETA (CULTURED PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES, POTATO STARCH ADDED TO PREVENT CAKING), SUNDRIED TOMATO, GARLIC AND SPICE SPREAD (WATER, PASTEURIZED MILK AND CREAM, TOMATO PASTE, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SALT, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES (TOMATOES, SULFUR DIOXIDE [PRESERVATIVE]), SUGAR, CANOLA AND OLIVE OIL, SPICES, CHEESE CULTURE, CREAM, STABILIZERS (CAROB BEAN AND/OR XANTHAN GUM AND/OR GUAR GUMS), LACTIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), CRUSHED GARLIC, CITRIC ACID, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, MALTODEXTRIN,  NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM CITRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ENZYMES), ROASTED TOMATOES (TOMATOES, CANOLA OIL, GARLIC, OREGANO, SALT).

IMO, the whole "preservative" thing is overblown, anyway.  "No preservatives" is for eating at home!  Not when you're fainting from hunger and need to knock out a proposal and head to the customer!

Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta and Egg Wrap, 
240 calories, 10 Fat, 29g Carb, 7g Fiber, 13g Protein

See look what Starbucks has to offer!  Just look past the bakery case and the sugary, fatty drinks, and eat something fairly healthy.