Pumpkin spice season is here. As temperatures cool and days become shorter, Canadian coffee chains are rolling out their fall seasonal menus, taking heavy inspiration from autumnal staples like pumpkin spice, caramel apples, pecan pie and more.<\/p>\n
Seasonal drinks can be comforting and nostalgic, but they\u2019re often loaded with sugar, saturated fat and empty calories. To help you make informed choices, Yahoo Canada asked a registered dietitian to review and rank the most popular fall-inspired menu items from three of the country’s major coffee chains: Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Second Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cFall menus, while delicious, can be tricky,\u201d said Lucy Zhang, a registered dietitian at Beyond Diabetes Nutrition<\/a>. \u201cSometimes they can be surprisingly high in terms of calories, sugar and saturated fat.\u201d<\/p>\n This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.<\/p>\n However, Zhang said if seasonal drinks like pumpkin spice lattes bring you joy, you don\u2019t have to completely abstain from them. Enjoying a festive beverage every now and then is perfectly fine \u2014 just think of it as an occasional treat rather than an everyday go-to.<\/p>\n Zhang said even she makes a point to try these seasonal treats out \u2014 but she asks for some modifications to make them more health-conscious. For example, she’ll ask for half sweet, order a smaller size, go lighter on the cream, or swap out dairy for a plant-based option.<\/p>\n \u201cEven then, you still get a fairly sweet-tasting drink, but you\u2019re starting to reduce just how much sugar there is,\u201d she said. It\u2019s still a pretty tasty drink, even with modifications.\u201d<\/p>\n Curious which fall drinks are worth it? Zhang reviewed nutritional info from Starbucks, Tims and Second Cup and ranked their most popular seasonal menu items from worst to best. Here\u2019s what you need to know before your next order.<\/p>\n WORST \u2014 No. 10: Tim\u2019s Pumpkin Spice Iced Capp<\/p>\n The Pumpkin Spice Iced Capp from Tim Hortons might taste like fall in a cup, but nutritionally, it\u2019s a sugar bomb, which is why Zhang ranks this worst on the list. \u201cThe standout here is it does cross above that 500 calorie mark for a drink,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At 510 calories for a medium size, with 65 grams of sugar and 18 grams of saturated fat, it\u2019s a lot for a beverage.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep in mind that calorically speaking, 500 calories is really approaching the caloric intake of a meal at that point,” Zhang explained.<\/p>\n She also noted the drink is \u201cvery high\u201d in saturated fat \u2014 \u201cit\u2019s actually 90 per cent of your daily intake. If that one drink is taking up your day\u2019s allotment, that\u2019s maybe not the best choice.\u201d<\/p>\n No. 9: Second Cup Nutty Pumpkin FroCho<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Second Cup doesn\u2019t include the detailed nutritional breakdown of its fall drink menu online, so Zhang had to read between the lines. Still, she said Second Cup\u2019s Nutty Pumpkin FroCho stood out as a drink to avoid, due to its whopping 590 calories.<\/p>\n \u201cI know we don’t have detailed nutrition info, but I looked at the regular Second Cup menu,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cI thought the closest comparison would be the regular FroCho at the standard 16-ounce size.\u201d The regular FroCho clocked in at 510 calories and 75 grams of sugar. Assuming the pumpkin version is similar, it would actually rank the highest on the list for sugar content.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of these beverages are really like a dessert or a meal when you look at the amount of carbohydrates,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re around the 70 gram range, that\u2019s really equal to about 4-5 slices of bread.\u201d<\/p>\n No. 8: Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai<\/p>\n This drink sounds innocent enough, but it\u2019s actually one of the heaviest hitters on Starbucks\u2019s fall menu. With 470 calories, 66 grams of sugar and 67 per cent of the suggested daily intake of saturated fat, it stood out to Zhang as a skip.<\/p>\n \u201cMy suggestion would be to reduce the number of pumps for the syrup,” she advised. “One rule of thumb is to go down by half the amount and it still tastes pretty good.”<\/p>\n No. 7: Second Cup Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte<\/p>\n \u201cFor this one, I tried to look for something comparable on the regular Second Cup menu, but I actually couldn\u2019t find any,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cTheir iced vanilla latte, you’re actually only looking at about 230 to 250 calories per drink vs. this pumpkin version which has 410.\u201d<\/p>\n For this reason, Zhang would actually avoid this pumpkin version altogether.<\/p>\n “My thought is, it\u2019s such a big difference compared to all the other lattes on the menu, I would maybe just skip it,” she said.<\/p>\n No. 6: Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin<\/p>\n The Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin from Starbucks is the first \u201cmoderate\u201d offering among the list, but still, it\u2019s not all that healthy. \u201cI know it’s called a muffin, and we tend associate muffins with being a breakfast items \u2014 but really, at the end of the day, it is a dessert,” she said. “It is just cake in a different form.”<\/p>\n Indeed, this seasonal muffin has 350 calories, 34 grams of sugar and 14 grams of fat, making it “more of a dessert or treat option,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably not the best idea to grab this as your day-to-day breakfast choice.\u201d<\/p>\n No. 5: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a classic,\u201d Zhang said, but “it’s still hefty for a drink.\u201d Clocking in at 390 calories, 50 grams of sugar and 14 grams of fat, the Starbucks PSL has more sugar than what you\u2019d find in a can of Coke.<\/p>\n If you want to enjoy the seasonal superhero in a more health-conscious way, Zhang suggested sizing down to a tall, which will “give you about a 25 per cent reduction in the amount of sugar.”<\/p>\n Similarly, cutting back on the number of pumps of pumpkin flavouring will result in fewer calories and less sugar.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the plus side, because it’s milk-based and a latte, you do actually get 14 grams of protein per drink for the grande size, which is equal in protein to about two eggs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n No. 4: Tim Hortons Salted Caramel Butter Tart<\/p>\n \u201cIt may feel funny that I have some of these more dessert options ranked as moderate, but they are actually just that much lighter when you look at calories and sugar,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n The new Salted Caramel Butter Tart from Tim Hortons comes in at 350 calories and 25 grams of sugar. \u201cWhile I wouldn’t say that that’s low sugar, it is among the lowest ones of these fall menu items,” she said, nothing that doesn’t mean it should be an everyday go-to.<\/p>\n No. 3: Tim Hortons Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew<\/p>\n \u201cI do find cold brew options, generally speaking, are going to be your lighter options on those coffee shop menus,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cThis Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew actually starts to look pretty good. Calorie-wise, you’re now down below the 300 mark, at 260 calories, and it starts to look much more reasonable with the amount of sugar and carbs.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim\u2019s pumpkin spice cold brew is also quite low in sodium, at only 4 per cent of your suggested daily intake. However, Zhang still suggests a modification here to make it even lighter, including halving the amount of flavoured syrup and asking for less pumpkin cream on top.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only downside here, it is quite substantial in terms of the saturated fat content at 65 per cent of your daily value,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s where going with a light amount of pumpkin cream could make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n No. 2: Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew<\/p>\n Starbucks\u2019s cold brew with pumpkin cream is nutritionally pretty similar to Tim Hortons\u2019s, however, it edged out the Tim’s option because it’s lighter in calories, at 250 for a grande, has only 8 grams of saturated fats compared to Tims\u2019s 13 grams and it has about half as much sodium.<\/p>\n BEST \u2014 No. 1: Second Cup Iced Chai with Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam<\/p>\n The best seasonal fall menu item for your health? Second Cup\u2019s Iced Chai with Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam, which only has 190 calories. Made with chai tea concentrate and a cold foam topping made from skim milk, spiced brown sugar syrup and house pumpkin pie spice, it\u2019s much lighter than other drinks on the list.<\/p>\n \u201cThat one is interesting, because it is so much lower in terms of calories,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cWe unfortunately don’t have the detailed nutritional breakdown, but the closest comparable I could find on their regular menu is the 12-ounce iced chai latte, which is also 190 calories.\u201d Checking out the regular iced chai latte, Zhang noted it looks \u201cquite reasonable\u201d in terms of the saturated fat content at only 12.5 per cent and 30 grams of sugar. Given these facts, she assumes the pumpkin iced chai is similar.<\/p>\n The bottom line<\/p>\n Fall menu items are tasty, but they can pack a surprising amount of sugar and saturated fat into a small package. That doesn\u2019t mean you have to skip them entirely \u2014 especially if you make moderations to lessen the caloric impact \u2014 but speciality beverages like these are best to be savoured every once in a while, not sipped every day.<\/p>\n Let us know what you think by emailing us<\/a>, commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA<\/a>! Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n