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Consumer Reports: High Calorie Holiday Coffee Drinks

The secret? Skip the whipped cream

Consumer Reports checked out 11 seasonal coffee drinks from 6 different chains.

McDonald's Peppermint Mocha looks yummy, but at 16 ounces, the beverage has more than 400 calories, with 8 grams of saturated fat and 13 teaspoons of sugars.

Starbucks Gingerbread Frappuccino blended beverage isn't any better. With whipped cream and whole milk, 16 ounces has 370 calories which includes 15 teaspoons of sugars and 9 grams of saturated fat.

"Holiday coffee drinks are a surprising source of saturated-fat," said Patricia Calvo, Consumer Reports Health & Food Editor. "In the ones we looked at, the saturated fat content ranged from about 22 percent to nearly 100 percent of the saturated fat that you should have in an entire day."

But don't despair. Simply ordering a smaller size and substituting skim milk takes a huge bite out of the fat and sugar content of all the holiday drinks Consumer Reports analyzed.

For instance, choosing the smaller skim Starbucks' Gingerbread Frappuccino saves you 110 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat and 3½ teaspoons of sugars. Choosing the smaller skim Dunkin Donuts Salted Caramel Swirl Hot Latte saves you 170 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, and about 4 teaspoons of sugar.

"No matter where you get your drink one great way to cut fat and calories is just simply skip the whipped cream," said Calvo.

With the Starbucks Gingerbread Frappuccino Blended beverage, even with whole milk, you'll knock 100 calories off the medium size and bring the saturated fat down to a reasonable level of 7 percent of what's recommended you consume every day.

Another tip: Reduce or switch the syrup that flavors the drinks. Some franchises do offer artificially sweetened syrups, which will cut down significantly on the calories in the drink.

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