Downscaling.net

I absolutely love Starbucks. Huge fan. Have a gold membership and they send me reward cards. It’s a mutual love affair.

If you can find the bitch that loves Starbucks more than me, point her out because she and I should be besties.

A Starbucks a day, however,  is a great way to rack up a lot of calories and fat grams and spend a lot of money if you happen to like the sweet foofy drinks like I do.  I seldom drink black coffee.

This is a way to help reduce the calories and the cost.

Every week I buy a box of Starbucks VIA Iced Caramel coffee packets (the same ones I raged about because the nutritional label is bullshit) and every two weeks or so I buy a small jug of CoffeeMate Cafe Latte (I have a small fridge in my office.)

The iced instant coffee is 100 calories for a 16 ounce serving. I get in a little cardio shaking the holy hell out of the grinds with some cold water (bonus: the caramel makes my office smell like a candy factory), then I pour the mixture over ice and add a dash of the Cafe Latte. Mix well.

Viola. I have a venti-size iced caramel latte for about 135 calories, which is less calories than a grande-size Skinny Caramel Macchiato.  I didn’t have to drive out of my way to get it either, so I arrive at work earlier and I can enjoy it while I have my Greek yogurt and berries.

The box of five packets of VIA sells for $5.95, and the jug of creamer sells for $2.79 and lasts at least a couple of weeks. That brings the price of my refreshing morning eye-opener to less than $1.50 per serving, which is about $4 less than it costs if the barista made it for me. (Add in another buck saved because I always tip my baristas.)

I am slowly weaning myself off the creamer, using less of it every day, because it does contain some stuff that I would like to eliminate from my diet.  So eventually this concoction should cost less in fat, calories and coins.