Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

A couple of weeks ago, we were hit with the news that Starbucks was closing approximately 600 of it’s coffee shops.

• Business & Technology | Starbucks closing 5 percent of U.S. stores | Seattle Times Newspaper

The Seattle coffee company is cutting 5 percent of its U.S. locations as part of a wide-ranging effort to boost its bottom line and its stock price. The chain is accelerating international growth.

CNN itself gave out the advice to skip Starbucks when you’re trying to save money.

• How to save $2,425 a year – Skip Starbucks – CNNMoney.com

What about when you’re trying to save calories? The advice is the same. Starbucks coffee tastes so good because it’s packed full of milk and sugar. Even their “light” coffees are high in calories. For example, their 16 oz. Caffé Vanilla Frappuccino® Light Blended Coffee is 190 calories with 5 grams of fat.

So how do you make coffee at home that’s light in calories AND make it taste good? Here’s a quick list:

• Coffee: Good news, coffee is fat free and calorie free. Many grocery stores have coffee bean grinders right in the store, so you can get a small amount of freshly ground coffee every week while grocery shopping.

• Fat free milk: Many diets suggest a daily allowance of dairy products. You can get that into your diet easily by adding one cup of fat free milk for 80 calories. To heat milk in the microwave, use the 50% setting and heat for two minutes. All microwaves are different, of course, so watch it so your milk doesn’t bubble over.

• Torani Sugar-Free syrups: THIS is the secret ingredient that will make your coffee taste as good as a Starbucks coffee with no calories. Amazon has nine different flavors: vanilla, carmel, chocolate (doesn’t taste so good), raspberry, hazelnut, white chocolate, Irish creme, lemon and peppermint. You’re sure to find a flavor that can recreate your favorite Starbucks creation.

I gave up all forms of caffeine long ago, so coffee isn’t hurting my pocketbook or my food journal, but if your particular indulgence is coffee, here is a way for you to have your coffee at a lower price AND calorie count.