Save Over 300 Calories with Simple Winter Drink Swaps

Nothing hits the spot on a cold winter day like a warm beverage. But often times they are loaded with sugar and calories, not to mention, expensive. Making your favorite drinks yourself using the tricks below can save you calories and money.

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1Apple Cider:

 Apple cider is a super-sweet beverage, so you won’t lose much sweetness and flavor by going for a half apple cider, half black tea combo. Not only will you be adding antioxidants by mixing in the tea, you will also save about 60 calories!


Vanilla Latte: Well, there’s always the option of using skim milk and sugar-free vanilla syrup to make a lower-calorie version of this favorite hot beverage, but I prefer to combine freshly-brewed coffee with vanilla almond milk to get that great vanilla flavor. Going the almond milk route saves 130 calories over a regular nonfat vanilla latte and even saves 75 calories over a nonfat latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup!

3Hot Chocolate:

Hot Chocolate: Of course, you could go with the low-fat and and sugar-free hot chocolate mixes, but they are just not the same as a real honest-to-goodness hot chocolate! Instead, I prefer to make my own hot chocolate by stirring a 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate hazelnut spread into a cup of hot skim milk. It yields a rich, decadent hot chocolate that still saves about 50 calories over the regular topped-with-whipped-cream versions.

4White Hot Chocolate:

White Hot Chocolate: This is one drink that I do like to use a mix for. The brand 5 Sparrows has a great sugar-free Coffee House White Hot Chocolate that is sweetened with stevia and has a great white chocolate flavor. You simply combine the mix with hot milk, and then you have a tasty drink. If you prefer that it be a coffee drink, you can also add some espresso. Compared to a traditional white hot chocolate, you will save 100 calories!

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5Cafe Mocha:

Cafe Mocha: Who doesn’t love a warm drink that combines coffee and chocolate? Cafe mochas are great, but they can be high in calories and sugar. My favorite healthier, easy  recipe combines a couple ounces of espresso with a cup of steamed skim milk and a couple tablespoons of Nestle’s Quik. It’s a great alternative and will save you more than 50 calories!

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