I like most of you have a Starbucks right up the street from me. Being a coffee addict, I'm there quite frequently! Now I'm not one for flavored coffees...I find them far to sweet for my taste, but so many people do order them. So my curiosity got the best of me and I went home and did a little research on the sugar content and what I discovered had me completely gobsmacked!!!! Many of the drinks hot or cold had over...sometimes way over... 20gms of sugar in them. The best way I can think of to demonstrate what 20gms of sugar looks like is; every 4 grams of sugar is equivalent to approximately one teaspoon of sugar.
*Notice food labels are in grams instead of teaspoons, I think it's because the average person has no clue how much a gram is…we aren’t metrically inclined!
To put 20gms in perspective, an average glazed doughnut has 10gms of sugar.As imagery helps teach better than words, try putting a pile of refined sugar next to your fave coffee and decide if it's still worth it...I'm guessing you'll be disgusted and find a new favorite LOL!
*Notice food labels are in grams instead of teaspoons, I think it's because the average person has no clue how much a gram is…we aren’t metrically inclined!
Part of what peaked my curiosity in the first place was a blog I read recently by Summer Tomato, she offers many eye-opening facts on the sugar content of common foods. She writes:
"Refined sugars and high-fructose corn syrup are considered by many experts to be the biggest contributors to obesity and poor health in Western civilization.
http://summertomato.com/shocking-sugar-content-of-common-food-products/
http://summertomato.com/shocking-sugar-content-of-common-food-products/
In her book What To Eat, Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at NYU, suggests that any food containing more than 15 grams of sugar per serving is closer to dessert than anything else."
Here is a partial list of the foods Summer Tomato posted:
- Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut -- 10 grams
- Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream -- 16 grams
- Starbucks caffè latte grande (16 oz) -- 17 grams
- Subway 6″ sweet onion teriyaki chicken sandwich -- 17 grams
- Yoplait original yogurt -- 27 grams
- Vitamin Water (20 oz bottle) -- 33 g
- Oscar Mayer Lunchables crackers, turkey & American cheese -- 36 grams
- Coca-Cola Classic 12 oz can -- 39 grams
- California Pizza Kitchen Thai chicken salad -- 45 g
- Jamba Juice blackberry bliss 16 oz -- 49 g
- Odwalla SuperFood 450 ml bottle -- 50 g
- Starbucks caffe vanilla frappuccino grande (16 oz) -- 58 g
1tsp vanilla extract
1c ice
1/2c espresso (cold)
1tbsp sugar (or to taste)
1tbsp chia seeds
Toss in a blender and give it a whiz.
**The chia seeds work as a thickening agent so there is no need to add any cream for a
rich creamy texture. Not to mention they are unbelievably good for you! To learn more about chia seeds check out this link http://www.mychiaseeds.com/Articles/Top10ChiaBenefits.html
