What to eat at Starbucks if you’re trying to be healthy

Photo by Anna Tarazevich/Pexels

If you think there’s no such thing as a healthy Starbucks meal, think again. Here’s my list of breakfast choices guaranteed to help you stick to your healthy eating habits. Note that low-calorie doesn’t always mean low fat but the items included on my list only get my seal of approval if they meet both.

Battle of the pandesals

Although the chicken pandesal will cost you 100 calories more than its corned beef counterpart, the former makes it on my list due to its lower fat content. Only 36 percent of the chicken pandesal’s 350 calories come from fat, which is relatively low, compared with the 55 percent found in the corned beef pandesal despite having 242 total calories.

On the other hand, the tuna pandesal actually does much better than the two in the fat percentage department at 32 percent but has the most total calories of the three at 367 calories.

Honey multigrain bagel

This is great as a pre- or post-workout snack due to its ideal balance of high carbs (81 percent), some protein (14 percent), and low fat (five percent). On its own, a bagel will only set you back 232 calories. You can keep the calorie count under 400 by ditching the cream cheese (140 calories) and spreading honey (60 calories) instead.

Pair this with a short skinny latte (70 calories) to amp up the protein content, and you have yourself a healthy breakfast for only 362 calories.

The perfect oatmeal

Only four percent of its 160 calories comes from fat so this tops the list. Throwing add-ons into the mix racks up its calorie content but even if you replace water with a half cup of steamed nonfat milk (45 calories) and include the 100-calorie dried fruit medley and 20-calorie agave syrup, the count is still relatively low at 325 calories. That still leaves room for a short skinny cappuccino on the side for that extra caffeine kick and protein boost.

The next time you find yourself searching for a healthy breakfast place after a tough training session, head on over to your friendly neighborhood cafe. Just stick to lighter breakfast options and combine with skinny versions of your favorite coffee.