Skip to main content

If you've traded in your hot cup of java for a creamy, chilled coffee beverage you might want to rethink your order. Frappuccinos, Chillates, and iced cappuccinos might be refreshing on a hot summer day, but low-cal they are not.

If you're a daily consumer of these hard-to-resist treats, you're likely to notice the numbers on your bathroom scale creeping upwards. In fact, once you look at the nutritional information for your favourite chilled coffee drink, it might not go down so well.

Consider that a 16-ounce (grande) Java Chip Frappuccino with whip cream from Starbucks delivers 510 calories, 21 grams of fat, 15 of them saturated fat, and a whopping 20 teaspoons of hidden sugar. A Tim Hortons large (18-ounce) Iced Cappuccino with cream will set you back 414 calories, 20 grams of fat and almost 14 teaspoons of sugar.

Sounds like liquid dessert to me. Even a glazed donut is easier on your waistline. In fact, you'd have to eat three glazed donuts to consume the same number of calories, fat and sugar that hides in many of these all-dressed chilled coffee concoctions.

It's true that a glazed donut contains unhealthy trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, whereas blended coffee drinks don't. But sipping on artery-clogging saturated fat from whole milk and whipped cream is not much better.

Nor is the bucketful of sugar these blended drinks provide in the form of syrup. Guzzle a 355-millilitre can of soda pop and you'll consume less sugar than in many of these drinks. If you live large and order a Starbucks 24-ounce (venti) Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino Blended Crème (caffeine free), you'll gulp back a hefty 21 teaspoons of sugar, the equivalent of two pops.

There are ways to enjoy these cool, summery drinks without breaking your diet. For starters, skip the whipped cream and you'll save as many as 140 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Next, think small. Instead of ordering the jumbo size, choose the smallest. A regular-sized 12-ounce (or tall in Starbucks lingo), will save you plenty. If you downsize from a large Timothy's Timtation (frozen cappuccino) to a regular you'll save 156 calories, five grams of fat and 21 grams of carbs.

Move from a Starbucks Grande Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino, with whipped cream, to a tall sans whipped cream and you'll bank 230 calories, 8.5 grams of fat, and five teaspoons of sugar -- pretty much the nutritional content of that glazed donut.

There are lighter options available. This summer Starbucks introduced its line of Frappuccino Light Blended Coffees. Made with a higher proportion of lower-fat milk and sweetened with artificial sweeteners, the grams of fat and sugar drop considerably.

And let's not forget about the good old-fashioned iced latte -- simply espresso and milk poured over ice. Even if you add one packet of sugar, or one shot of flavoured syrup, you're looking at roughly 100 calories and zero fat grams (if you order skim milk).

If you're not a coffee drinker, you might be tempted by one of the many blended frozen fruit drinks available at coffee shops. Tiamos, Fruizzi's and fruit smoothies may be caffeine free, but they still pack a punch. A 16-ounce Second Cup Mango Peach Fruizzi (fruit-flavoured syrup, milk and ice) packs a surprising 450 calories and almost 25 teaspoons of sugar.

My advice -- order small, request low-fat milk, and skip the extras. Save your decadent dessert for a once-a-week treat. Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian at the Medcan Clinic, is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday. Contact her at .

Coffee table

Nutritional information for iced drinks provided by companies.

...............................................................Hidden

Blended Coffee Drinks.....Calories.....Fat(g).....Sugar(tsp.)

Second Cup Coffee Chillate...230...6...10

Second Cup Mocha Chillate...180...5...8

Second Cup Caramel Chillate...180...5...8

Starbucks Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino;;;340...3.5...15.5

Starbucks Light Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino...230...1...9.5

Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino...280...3.5...12

Starbucks Light Caramel Frappuccino...180...1.5...6.5

Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino...290...4...12

Starbucks Light Mocha Frappuccino...180...1.5...6

Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino...370...9...14

Starbucks Light Java Chip Frappuccino...260...7...8

Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino, 2% (18 oz.)...270...3...14.5

Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino, cream...414...20..13.5

Timothy's Frozen Cappuccino...208...6.3...7

Non-Coffee Blended Drinks

Second Cup Frrrozen Hot Chocolate...370...1.5...16

Starbucks Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Crème...470...12...16.5

Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappuccino Crème...340...3.5...15.5

Starbucks Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino Crème...470...5...21

Iced Lattes

Second Cup Icepresso Chiller...277...41...2

Second Cup Icepresso Chiller, flavoured...412...8...18.5

Starbucks Iced Caffè Latte, skim...100...0...2.5

Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte skim...160...0...7.2

Starbucks Iced Caffè Americano...20..0...0

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe