Starbucks ain’t got nothing on this protein-packed faux Mocha Frappuccino! Haha, just teasing but a lot of times I try to spice up my protein shakes to make them taste more like a treat and this one really hit the spot. I love stopping at Starbucks. I really love it. I use my Starbucks app more than I’d like to admit, and my husband hates how much I spend there. If the kids fall asleep in the car, my absolute favorite thing to do is to run through the Starbucks drive through and pick up an iced coffee as a special treat to myself. Here’s a picture I posted on Instagram (@nataliehodson1) the other day showing how excited I was to get 5 minutes to myself when both kids fell asleep in the car.
The problem is, one Starbucks Frappuccino has 400 calories, 64g of carbs (50g of sugar!), 15g of fat, and only 5g of protein. Yikes! That’s a fourth of my daily carb intake in just one drink and way more sugar than I aim to get all day. Yesterday I decided to get a little creative and try to recreate a healthier version of my favorite Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino in my own kitchen.
Here are the ingredients I used:
-1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
-1 Scoop MRM Rich Vanilla Whey Protein
-1/2 Tbsp Trader Joe’s Instant Coffee (you could use any brand just make sure to get one without added sugar to it)
-1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
-2-3 handfuls ice
-2 Tbsp Fat-Free Reddi Wip (optional)
Put all ingredients except for the whipped cream in your blender and blend really well until you can’t see any ice chunks anymore. I know that Reddi Wip isn’t a clean food, so you can opt not to use it if you want, but it only added 5 calories and made it feel like my protein shake really was more like a Starbucks drink. For the most part, I keep my diet full of nutrient-dense, ‘clean’ foods, but adding a few fun treats on occasion isn’t going to ruin your diet, my two cents at least!
Nutritional Information:
140 Calories
Fat: 4.5g
Carbs: 5g
Protein: 20g
Try it and let me know what you think! You could also add a frozen banana for a chocolate banana taste and it would only add about 100 more calories and about 25g of carbs to your drink, or add a few drops of mint extract for no added calories to make a mint mocha frappuccino.
Enjoy!!
Your Friend,
Natalie
