Design a tasty season drink to meet your athletic goals.
Many coffee shops have luxurious fall drinks, headlined by the pumpkin spice latte, designed to tempt the tongue with seasonal flavors and plenty of holiday sweetness. But they don’t really support either health or performance. How do you adapt them so you can enjoy the season but keep to your goals? Every athlete has body composition goals (and related body image feelings), calorie goals, training and performance goals, rehab goals… and probably all of the above!
Let’s assume that we’re starting with a grande pumpkin spice latte. Lattes are steamed milk, espresso and a little milk foam on top. The pumpkin spice flavor is additional. This strategy would also work for a peppermint mocha, an iced pumpkin cream chai latte, a white chocolate mocha, a caramel macchiato, or any similar milk/flavoring coffee shop combo.
Adjust the size.
Less volume = fewer calories as well as less protein and less sugar (added or inherent).
For a plain, skim milk pumpkin spice latte, calories are as follows at Starbucks: Short: 70 calories. Tall: 100 calories. Grande: 130 calories. Venti: 170 calories. For a hot skim milk chai latte (hello, pumpkin cream!), the calories are: Short: 100 calories. Tall: 160 calories. Grande: 210 calories. Venti: 260 calories.
For an iced skim milk chai latte (back again, pumpkin cream!), the calories are: Tall: 150 calories. Grande: 200 calories. Venti: 300 calories. There is no short option for iced drinks.
Pick your “milk.”
If you’re a dairy drinker…
Decide between skim, 2%, or whole milk for that pumpkin spice latte. Do you need only the carbs and protein or do you want the fat? This will depend on what type of athlete you are, what you’re training for, and how well you handle a high fat intake.
For the fewest calories, go for skim. For the best recovery option, pick the milk that you like AND fits in your calorie/protein goals.
An advantage of dairy milk is that it contains complete protein that’s high in leucine, very useful for turning off hunger signals and stimulating muscle protein synthesis.
Reasons to not consume dairy include not being able to handle it (think lactose intolerance, or an allergy) or just choosing not to consume dairy for ethical or taste reasons.
There are also half and half, heavy cream and (seasonal) eggnog options. None of these support health or sports performance, nor will they improve your pumpkin spice latte!
If you don’t do dairy…
You have many options without dairy! These can have a particular taste or aftertaste that takes acclimation and might impact your enjoyment of that pumpkin spice latte.
Soy milk has carbs, protein, and possibly fat. It also has a definite flavor.
Almond milk is low in calories in general, so low in protein, carbs and fat. It does have vitamin E (usually fortified before sale), which is difficult to come by.
Coconut milk has carbohydrate and fat, no protein.
Oat milk is low in protein and fat and has moderate carbohydrates. Because it’s inherently low fat, oat milk often has added fat to increase creaminess. Many companies even have a “barista” version that is designed to produce excellent foam for espresso drinks. “Oat water” just doesn’t cut it as a selling point…
Most of the non-dairy milks are fortified with calcium, vitamins A and D and vitamin B12, making them a good choice for vegans or vegetarians in need of those nutrients.
Adjust the added sugars/flavors
This is somewhat dependent on size; smaller drinks have less flavoring.
That being said, it’s possible to adjust the number of pumps of syrup and sauce that are added to your pumpkin spice latte.
A grande pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks has 4 pumps pumpkin sauce. One pump of syrup is 20 calories, or 5 grams of added simple sugars. Do you need that much added sugar in your day? Try cutting back on the pumps of flavor and see what you think!
A grande iced pumpkin cream chai latte starts with 2% milk, 4 pumps of “chai,” and pumpkin cream cold foam topped with the pumpkin spice topping. As above, one pump of syrup (presumably including chai; they’re not clear on that) is 20 calories or 5 grams of added sugars. See below under “Toppings” for (unfortunately) vague info on the cold foam.
Some flavors come in “skinny” versions, meaning they are sweetened with sucralose instead of sugar. This is a way to cut calories.
Whip or no whip? Whipped cream adds somewhere between 50 and 80 calories, depending on the size of your drink.
Adjust the toppings.
Pumpkin spice lattes come with a pumpkin spice sprinkle on top. This is minimal calories.
For the iced pumpkin cream chai lattes come that come with cold foam and the pumpkin spice mix: the cold foam can be made from any milk, and the calories will depend some on the size. A scan of various (probably not very reliable) websites indicates calories ranging from 40-100. ? This information isn’t provided on Starbucks’ master nutrition list, sadly.
Adjust the caffeine.
Do you need caffeine? It can be a useful boost before or during a tough workout. Current guidelines recommend 1-3mg/kg whenever you start to feel fatigued. Find caffeine levels here at the Caffeine Informer.
It’s completely okay to ask for a decaf drink. Sleep is important.
It’s also completely okay to get a steamer, steamed milk without the coffee or espresso but with the flavors (remember, half the pumps)!
Adjust your timing!
When are you having this drink? If you’re having it before a workout, avoid anything that you know bothers you (dairy, too much fat from full fat dairy or oat milk, artificial sweeteners). If you’re having this during a workout (!), same. And maybe carry some snacks?
If you’re looking for recovery after a workout, go for something with carbohydrate and protein and lower in fat. If you’re a fat-adapted athlete, opt for the higher fat choices but with no/low inherent carbohydrate and no added sugars in the forms of flavored syrups or sprinkles. The sugar-free versions are fine unless they upset your stomach.
To Summarize:
If you’re looking for a treat, have at it! I feel compelled to suggest small or medium sized versions of the splashy seasonal specialty drinks, as this is the easiest way to get the most flavor and enjoyment AND meet your goals. If you’re going for performance, make choices that provide calories and protein at the right times, that are appropriate for your sport, your position, the goals of that day, and that make you feel energized.
For a personalized plan on building the best pumpkin spice anything for you, reach out here to set up a consult.
See this related article on using coffee drinks like the peppermint mocha or pumpkin spice latte as recovery drinks. Or this one on why you SHOULD include chocolate and cocoa in your training menu. And if you want more information about milks in general, here’s a great article comparing dairy with non-dairy milks.
Here’s the Caffeine Informer link again in case you missed it above.