Healthy Fast Food Guide | Starbucks | Detailed
Overview
Starbucks is one of the most commonly found coffee shops in the United States. Generally, I would skip most of the bakery items. You can consider the Roasted Turkey & Dill Havarti, but this is not readily available at all Starbucks locations and is high in saturated fat with moderately high sodium. With those points in mind, let’s look at a couple of suggestions.
Recommendations
Option #1 — Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon & Cage Free Egg White Breakfast Sandwich
I believe this is one of the best options because it’s a simple sandwich that doesn’t come with too many unnecessary components. See contents below:
- Benefits — low in fat and cholesterol-free
- Drawbacks — low in nutrients and not much better than bread
Tip: Consider removing the English Muffin and eating the rest of the sandwich with Classic Oatmeal for a more nutritious source of carbohydrates.
- Benefits — high in lean protein without bad cholesterol and fat from the yolk of the egg
- Drawbacks — yolks have lutein and zeaxanthin, which promote eye health, so missing a small benefit
- Benefits — less saturated fat than pork bacon; to my knowledge, saturated fat is healthy so long as it’s in moderation so turkey bacon is a perfect alternative to pork bacon
- Drawbacks — high in sodium. The short-term solution is to drink more water
- Benefits — high protein, lower fat than regular cheese, and improves bone health
- Drawbacks — still contain saturated fat and more sodium than other protein sources
Option #2 — Sous Vide Egg Bites
If you’re trying to keep carbs low and want to skip the Wheat English Muffin from the sandwich above, consider this option with only 13 grams of carbohydrates. You can consider doubling up on this order if you want more protein at the expense of higher sodium and saturated fat intake.
- Benefits — high in lean protein without bad cholesterol and fat from the yolk of the egg
- Drawbacks — yolks have lutein and zeaxanthin, which assist in eye degeneration, so missing a small benefit
- Benefits — high protein & improves bone health
- Drawbacks — high in saturated fat and more sodium than other protein sources
Spinach — improves blood glucose levels, lowers risk of cancer, improved bone health
Red Peppers — improves immunity, eyesight, and metabolism
Classic Oatmeal
Pair your sous vide egg bites with oatmeal for a healthy source of carbohydrates for added satiety factor:
- Improves insulin response
- Reduces blood sugar
- Improves cholesterol levels
Option #3 — Za’atar Chicken & Lemon Tahini
Moderately high in sodium, but includes healthy veggies and grains.
- Grilled Chicken — this chicken is grilled instead of fried, which means you’ll have less intake of bad fats, avoid losing nutrients in the cooking process, and reduce butter intake
- Ancient Grain — high protein for a grain and contains essential amino acids for a more beneficial, complete protein source
- Carrots — regulates blood cholesterol, improves eye health, and lowers blood pressure
- Romaine Lettuce — rich in antioxidants, prevents bone loss and improves heart health
- Request lemon tahini dressing on the side so you’re in control of how much is used (if any)
- Request chunky cucumber tzatziki on the side so you’re in control of how much is used (if any)
Add-ons
Whenever I’m at an airport or traveling for work, I will add on the following two items to my order for the plane ride to ensure I’m staying full and adding numerous vitamins and minerals into my body.
Naked Juice Green Machine
Here’s a summary of some of the potential health benefits:
- Spirulina — high in nutrients, antioxidants, lowers bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol
- Alfalfa — lowers cholesterol, reduces inflammation, improves bowel movements, boosts immunity
- Broccoli — fights cancer, improves bone health, improved digestion, and detoxification
- Spinach — improving blood glucose levels, lowers risk of cancer, improved bone health
- Barley Grass — strengthens immunity, detoxifies the body, maintains healthy skin
- Wheatgrass — improves digestion, reduces heartburn, alleviates bloating
- Garlic — lower risk of heart disease, combats common cold, detoxifying body
- Ginger — reducing nausea, improves digestion, cold and flu relief
- Kale — strengthens the immune system, assists with blood clotting, fights cancer
- Parsley — improves immunity, fights cancer, reduces inflammation
There are a couple of drawbacks in the form of a high amount of sugar, so keep in mind for sugar intake for the rest of the day. Also, this shake includes mango puree and banana puree, which may have additional preservatives. Regardless of these drawbacks, I still believe the health benefits drastically outweigh the negatives to this smoothie.
Sweet Potato Chips
Incredibly simple, yet healthy, ingredients which are a massive win considering most fast food has additives, especially in airports.
The benefits of these chips are numerous vitamins and minerals that contribute to improve gut health, boost immunity, and fight cancer. The major drawback with these chips is that they’re high in fat due to the canola oil. On the other hand, canola oil is high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, so there are positives to it.
Most of the options at Starbucks include egg whites, but these make for healthy options that have solid satiety factor. Including classic oatmeal allows for a nutritious source of carbohydrates that continue to aid in keeping you full for longer. Overall, a solid fast food option, especially when traveling.
More Useful Tools
Quick Guide — for when you’re on the go and/or need to know what the suggestions are without all the detail
Detailed Notes — consolidated notes for each fast-food establishment
