Fa la la latte. Lots a sugar oh my!

Happy Monday, peeps! I don’t know about you but on Monday’s I’m thrilled to indulge in a big ol’ cup of coffee before and after my morning walk and workout.

This morning I got up early to walk the lake with a friend and treated myself to a large skim milk latte at Caribou on the way home. Yum! It’s my treat to myself  to start the week.

I noticed when I stopped in at my neighborhood Caribou Coffee that the Fa la la for the holidays is in full swing. The gifted marketing team at Caribou is at it again. Check out the NEW awesomeness Caribou is throwing our way. Now, you can get the holiday Fa La Latte (or any holiday flavored latte) with your choice of whip and sprinkled with your choice of flavored chips or candy on top. It’s a Fa La Latte bar of sorts — topped by you.

A very cute gentleman in line before me this morning saw me taking photos of the leader board and said he always wanted to try one. He did. And his comment: “It’s like eating candy!”

No kidding! That’s because it IS eating candy. And lots of artificial flavoring.

For starters, the regular medium size Fa La Latte with whip — before the new flavored whips (vanilla, mint, rasberry and chocolate) and without the candy cane, butterscotch or chocolate mocca sprinkles on top — is 490 calories, 230 from fat 25 g fat. Remember, this is medium and without the flavored whip and candy on top!

It looks delicious and delightful to me. I am drawn in by the fun concept of customizing your drink and the beautiful and fun marketing. BUT, I am a label- reader and educated consumer — now. I know that the devil is in the sugar and the fat hidden in all those delightful candy flavored toppings. Not to mention that 490 calories is certainly more than my breakfast (almost double) and it doesn’t fill me up to “drink” my calories.

So, my beloved skim milk latte with no frills but foam on top, is my go-to treat. And I am totally happy with that. My Monday Morning Motivation consisted of a gorgeous fall sunrise over the lake, an awesome rigorous walk with a friend, and my skim latte. On to the workout and the day!

Check out the kids drinks at Caribou and the iced coffee in a bottle. Wow! Again, they are filled with sugar and artificial sweeteners. You can find all of the nutritional facts on Caribou Coffee’s specialty menu on their website cariboucoffee.com.

Seriously, I’m all for a great cup-a-joe to start the day. And I especially love my coffee on Monday’s, BUT I don’t want to drink pure sugar and a bunch of artificial crap. It doesn’t make me “feel” good. In fact, I don’t even have a temptation to try it. I urge anyone who loves coffee and perhaps Caribou as much as I do, to check the details before you sip away.

Walk it off

If you do decide to indulge in the Fa La Latte and create your own version with flavored whip and sprinkles, consider walking it off with a brisk walk in our gorgeous fall!

We are soooooooooooooo lucky in fall in Minnesota this year! I walked every day, sometimes 2x, with friends this past weekend. The fall color is still gorgeous and hanging on now going on 5 weeks and the temps were 70’s on Saturday and Sunday, and a nice sunset and 50’s this morning.

Get out there and enjoy it friends. Soon, we will be complaining we can see our breath and we’ll be shoveling the white stuff.

Cheers & Happy Monday!

xo

Lori

#motivationmonday #you’vegotthis #yesyoucan