A Healthier Alternative: Blended Coffee

Starbucks recently introduced six new flavours of frappuccinos in honour of the drinks 20th anniversary. As a former Starbucks barista and lover of sweet, creamy coffee-infused drinks, I love a good blended or iced coffee once in a while. I'm not big on drinking hot coffee without copious amounts of chocolate or other flavours, so blended coffee drinks are my prefered way to get that coffee caffeine kick!

But, there is an alarming amount of sugar (and fat!) in these drinks. So how can I (we) get the tastes we love, while still remaining conscious? I browsed through several sites to get the skinny (pun intended :P) on healthier alternatives to blended coffee drinks, and tried some for myself. Check out my recipe below!

The basic classic Starbucks Frap Recipe is simple: 3.25% Milk, Coffee, Ice, syrup and of course whipped cream - Easy!

Blended Mocha Coffee (with Protein!)
Blend the following ingredients in a blender until you've reached desired consistency:
- 2/3 cup double-strength coffee. Make sure it is strong to make it extra tasty! It'll need to be chilled, so either give yourself extra time, or make extra the day or night before!
- 2/3 cup of milk. Starbucks automatically uses 3.25%, so just by going down to 2% you're saving on the fat/calories. You're choice to go down to 1% or use your favourite soy or almond brand.
- 1 scoop of Chocolate Protein Powder (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cacoa Powder
- 2 & 1/2 cups of ice

Other modifications:
- Add 1 Banana to give it a smoother, more smoothie like texture.
- If it is too bitter for your liking, add your favourite sugar subsitute until desired taste/ratio is achieved!

Let us know if you have a favourite healthy alternative recipe, and we may feature it on our blog! Email vstacey@healthsnap.ca to chat!