Episode 221

Healthier Options at Starbucks

Published on: 25th October, 2023

Whether you’re an avid Starbucks drinker or just stop in when you need a reliable bite to eat on the road, you deserve to know this info. Jenn dives into the nutrition facts of Starbucks drinks and food and offers some healthier alternatives for you.

Today Jenn is talking about Starbucks! She goes over a variety of the popular food and drink options, uncovering the nutritional facts. Jenn provides some tips on making the items available at Starbucks a bit healthier and how to make the best decisions for you when it comes to placing your order. Although this episode may be a little bit of a wake up call, it can be helpful to understand what you are putting in your body so you can determine if you’d like to continue or if there is an alternative way to still enjoy your items with a bit of a healthier spin to it. Tune in today to learn how your favorite drink measures up.

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

●  [4:50] What are the nutrition facts of a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte?

●  [8:21] What are the nutrition facts of an Apple Crisp Frappuccino?

●  [10:26] What is the recommended daily intake guideline for sugar per day?

●  [11:14] Comparing a Starbucks drink to their glazed donut.

●  [12:00] Are sugar free syrups a healthier alternative for drinks?

●  [13:45] What adjustments can you do to make a healthier alternative?

●  [18:06] Other great options that you can order with minor changes.

●  [22:22] Is Starbucks green juice a healthful option? 

●  [26:19] Jenn discusses the nutrition facts for the different egg bite options. 

●  [28:52] What are the nutrition facts for the reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich?

●  [29:35] What is the best available food choice in terms of balancing protein, fiber and fat?

●  [30:34] Is avocado spread a good option to add to our food orders?

●  [32:40] What are the nutrition facts for the cinnamon coffee cake?

●  [33:51] Key takeaways about Starbucks food and drinks!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

●  Sugar free options may feel like a better option, but the reality is it's a bunch of chemicals. This isn't supporting our health. You decide what works for you, whether it's real sugar or the sucralose in the sugar free options, knowing it can still keep us addicted to the taste of sweetness. 

●  There’s nothing you can’t eat or enjoy. Everything can work, it's about making the decisions intentionally. You have the power to choose what you want to order, but be knowledgeable about what choices you are making and how they align with your health goals. 

●  Consider what’s occasional and what’s on the regular. If you know the cadence, it’s not really occasional. Try one of the more “basic” coffee options and add the cinnamon powder and see how it tastes, how it satisfies you. Then make your decisions about what you might add or take away from your order. 

QUOTES: 

“Over time our taste buds adjust, so the more we have it, the more of it we have to have, for something to register with the same sweetness. So overtime, that may not taste so sweet to us anymore, and now we’re going "oh, I kind of need another pump.” - Jenn Trepeck 

“The calories aren't actually the part of the story that we need to know.” - Jenn Trepeck

“Look up your drink, your go to, and then just make some small shifts. It doesn't have to be flipping the switch from one extreme to another at all. Start by just skipping the additions on top, then stair step down the pumps of the syrups, maybe swap your milk choice.”  - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
Nutrition tips that actually work. Real-life healthy eating, balanced diet tools, and weight loss tips you can use today with coach Jenn Trepeck.*

If you have searched for nutrition tips, tried to keep a healthy lifestyle, or felt stuck following popular weight loss tips, this podcast is for you. Get straightforward wellness advice that works in real life, plus strategies for a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, and a smarter approach to fitness and nutrition. Is your diet making you hungrier, crankier, or less healthy? Tune in and find out.*

Free gift: Schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Jenn to explore what is possible for you. https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/contact/

Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries, where wellness meets real life. Award-winning host Jenn Trepeck, health and lifestyle coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, cuts through the noise with clear answers you can trust. Ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, the show won Ear Worthy’s Best Health Podcast in 2024 and 2025 and was nominated for Best Independent Podcast both years. Jenn also won Women Who Podcast’s Stellar Interview award in 2025 after being named one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022.

Jenn’s motto is “wellness without the weirdness.” With more than 17 years coaching after solving her own food struggles, she knows how confusing the industry can be. Each week you get the foundations of a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, metabolism basics, and long-term holistic health, plus straight talk on fad diets and supplements.

What you will get by listening:
✅How to eat and how to cheat, guilt-free
✅Nutrition tips that work in the real world
✅Weight loss tips that are effective, never restrictive
✅How to build a balanced plate at home, on the road, and eating out
✅Smart strategies for sustainable habits that include your favorite foods
✅Evidence-based insights on fitness and nutrition
✅Conversations about holistic health that go beyond food
✅Wellness advice you can use right away


About Jenn Trepeck:
Jenn is a health coach, speaker, and consultant who blends humor with practical science. She has helped thousands improve energy, metabolism, and confidence in their choices through one-on-one coaching, group programs, her book, and this podcast.

Connect with Jenn and the show:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenntrepeck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTrepeck/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425796548337541/
Website: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/

If you are ready to trade guilt for freedom, confusion for clarity, and boring salads for fries on the side, press play. Health gets doable here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast and its guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

Profile picture for Jennifer Trepeck

Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!