HCB's Journal, 05 November 2012

With starbucks it is false advertising completely. I went there for a soy latte and they charge me extra because I was not having it with regular milk.. needless to say I have not been back there since. Anyways hope you had a good night and that your hot coco was yummy.. :) 

I just mix 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 packs of truvia in a cup of skim milk and heat it in the microwave. Its really good and the cocoa only adds 4 calories and trace amounts of fat. 

Nonfat probably has a different "legal" meaning than fat free. The food industry is rife with slight of hand, smoke and mirrors names for things to make them sound healthy even when they aren't. You did the right thing and did your detective work checking out the nutritional stats. You definitely can't go by the name alone! 

Cocoa cravings are horrible. Let me know if the new mix is any good. I can use something that isn't as bad for me as my mom's mix. If you look on the bright side.. a cup of cocoa is better than a candy bar. It satisfies the same craving, takes longer to eat if you make it so hot you can only take lil sips and it's not as fattening or have as many calories. Unless its my mom's mix.. then its just as bad as a candy bar because she loves you and is trying to fatten you back up. 

Its definitely buyer beware out there. A friend of mine is watching her grand nephew and he has a medical condition where he has to limit his salt intake. She asked me to pick up some crackers for him and as I was checking out the salt content I found that the crackers without salt on top are actually higher in sodium than the one that are topped with salt. Yet the packaging makes it look like it is the better low sodium choice. Nutella advertises their product as a good healthy breakfast choice for kids. Just what they need a sugary high and then a crash. There is a lot of BS out there. 

You will have to publish your cocoa reviews here.  

Oh yes... Starbucks's is a fattening coffee shop. Making your own concoctions is the way to go. I have been drinking Pumpkin Coffee in the K-cups. I should really go see the carb content. I just didn't think to do that. Uh oh, I may have boo boo'd.  

I've been making mocha by whisking a tablespoon of baking cocoa & a teaspoon of espresso powder into a cup of nonfat milk, or unsweetened almond milk if I want something richer. I don't do artificial sweeteners (they irritate my bladder) and I've found that milk actually tastes sweet to me!  

yum yum - for all those creamy hot beverages! 

I LOVE Swiss Miss Diet Cocoa - 25 calories and 4 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fat. It tastes chocolatey and delicious. The only missing thing is that they do not make low carb marshmallows! It's just hit or miss, HCB - everyone has a suggestion about this stuff, some people don't do artificial sweeteners, some like me do, you will just have to try and taste and see how it goes. Yeah, Starbucks is a double-edged sword. I just went to Starbucks today and got a decaf skim latte with sweetener in it, which was essentially free because I had a gift card. I used to hate Starbucks because I was a "real hipster" who would never go to a "corporate" coffee shop. Yeah. Well I do all the time now, but it's hard to get me to part with 4 dollars for a coffee when I love the convenience store coffee just as much for 1.71. Anyway, I digress. I would enjoy eating at Starbucks A LOT more if they had sugar-free muffins and bread, or maybe food besides just carby sandwiches and wraps that I could eat. I am sure someone who watches fat has the same sort of frustration with Starbucks with the fat grams as I do with the carbs. Also, wouldn't I just LOVE it if Starbucks had sugar free cocoa? Or sugar free lemonade? Or sugar free anything other than coffee and tea? I don't know, I know I am in the minority, but there are 79 million diabetics in America and lots of them would spend more money at Starbucks if they had options like that. Now think of all of those people, and think of all the people that are trying to watch fat and sugar for weight loss or health, and think of how many more millions of people would buy more snacks and drinks at Starbucks if they had better options. 

I love the Nestle's and it is very good on these cold days...Enjoy..:O)