Can Drinking Green Tea Make You Fat?
If it’s from Starbucks, it can!!!
Hi friends! How has your day been so far?
Mine has been okay. I headed over to Barnes and Noble early this morning to do some online grading work that I’ve been putting off. Normally, I just get coffee or sometimes a soy latte, but this morning, I decided to go a little crazy and get a Tazo Green Tea Latte. Starbucks calls this drink “an intriguing blend of Matcha green tea, lightly sweetened and combined with soy milk.” Ummm…lightly sweetened my BUTTOCKS! This baby was sweet. I mean, sweeter than this:
And this:
Pretty sweet, right?
Now, the fact that it was so sweet should have tipped me off that it wasn’t something I needed to be drinking but…the sweetness sucked me in!! Plus, I just got a tall, so I figured it couldn’t be that bad, right?
Wrong.
One tall green tea soy latte contains 270 calories and 42 grams of sugar. FOURTY-TWO!!!! I could have just had a big bowl of ice cream…I guarantee you I would have enjoyed it more!
Now, I know in the grand scheme of things, 270 calories is not a lot. But I’m one of those people who prides themselves on not drinking their calories (wine doesn’t count, right?). I scoff at the fools with their mochafrappalattetinos, extra whip. Don’t they know how bad that is, I think, as I sip my hot tea, plain.
But today, Starbucks, you got me. You sucked me in with your promise of “intriguing” green tea, and indeed, I did find it intriguing. It intrigues me that you were able to shove 42 sugar grams into a 12 oz. beverage that is supposedly mostly green tea. Yep. In the words of Chandler Bing, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.”
Moving on.
Lunch sucked too.
Gah! Sorry guys—I’m having kind of a bad day, food-wise! I came home wanting something warm and filling. We’re taking a yoga class at 5:30 this afternoon, so I knew that I’d be forgoing any sort of snack later on in the day.
Unfortunately, it seems to be one of those days where nothing sounds good.
At the store on Sunday, I bought some House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles. Have you seen these? I remembered seeing them on the Hungry Girl website, and I thought I’d give ‘em a whirl.
Anyway, nothing sounded that great for lunch today, so I figured, why not some noodles?
I opened the package and was greeted with the pleasant smell of what can only be described as anal glands. Those of you with dogs might know what I’m talking about here. WHEW!!! These things smelled FISHY. They describe it on the package as “authentic.” Authentically what, I’m not sure.
But, after I gave them a good rinse, the smell had decreased significantly. I mixed the noodles with a big handful of spinach and some grape tomatoes, and popped them in the microwave. Finally, after the spinach had wilted down and the dish was hot, I topped it with some pesto. I also had some carrot sticks on the side for some crunch.
Here are the noodles, plain:
And in lunch form:
Looks okay, right? The taste? Eh, not so much. Honestly, I would try these noodles again, but I think they would go much better in something like an Asian noodle bowl with broth. The pesto didn’t really stick to the noodles (they’re really slippery and chewy), and the flavors just didn’t meld at all.
Of course, on the plus side, there are only 40 calories in that whole big package. Honestly though, I’d much rather just have regular pasta and cut calories in other places.
Because the noodles were such a disappointment, I also ate a big crunchy Pink Lady apple…and that was definitely the best part of lunch!
Sorry to be Debbie Downer today…I’m actually having a fine day, but my meals are having some issues!
Hopefully tonight’s dinner will make up for it. We’re going to the hot yoga class in State College (about 45 minutes away), and then eating at one of our favorite restaurants afterwards…you’ll have to check back in to see what it is!
Hope your day is full of better eats than mine so far!
Wow, those noodles look so tasty! Can’t get the picture of anal glands out of my head though. Don’t think I’ll be trying them.
I love their green tea because it IS sweet1
Tea is never sweet enough for me!
I avoid starbucks, I just don’t speak that language!
We all have Debbie Downer days so it’s ok. I have tried those noodles once before. I followed a recipe I found from Hungry Girl using laughing cow cheese. They really weren’t bad, so definitely try again with a sauce of some sort.
I usually get their tea lattes unsweetened – especially with the soymilk which is already the sweetened type! Sorry the shirataki noodles were a bust – I’ve tried them a few times but figured I would be happier with pasta or veg noodles
I’ve had shirataki noodles too! They’re really not good, not to mention they smell terrible! I’ve read you need thick sauces to cover up the taste… seems not worth it to me. I think food should be enjoyed, I don’t care how low calorie it is.
Hope your food day gets better!
OMG! My hubs had a dog….eww! So on to the noodles, the only way i could eat them is the way Hungry Girl prepares them…..in an asian style broth (as you said) or with the wedge of laughing cow cheese i mix in some string beans or peas. P.S. make sure you rinse, drain and dry them really good before you microwave them.
I’ve tried those noodles before… I wasn’t a huge fan either… I think it was a mental thing though…
Hope your day gets better
I think Shirataki Noodles are one of those things you either love or hate. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of middle ground. Me, personally, LOVE THEM! My favorite one is the angel hair.
hey girrrlll!!! those noodles suck. my mom has bought me the hungry girl cookbook two years in a row for christmas and I will never make anything with those noodles again. yes, they stink really bad and the finished product is gross. the chewiness freaks me out. nothing like eating rubber bands. rubber bands rhymes with anal glands. nice. love you!!
I KNEW you’d have to de-lurk eventually! lol…I wish I had been there to witness your reaction to those noodles. Mmmmm.
Love you girl!
I love the green tea latte’s but get them without the syrup because the Vanilla soy milk is enough sweetness for me!
I think the dish looks great! Sorry to hear it didn’t taste as good!
Your pasta dish looks great.. too bad it was a tad ick!!
I love green tea.. just plain though, I never get lattes. Maybe you could request it unsweetened??
Oh man! The noodles don’t even LOOK that good. I think you’re right – they would be best in a soup!
I never drink my calories either
People think it’s weird that I don’t drink soda, alcohol, juice, coffee, tea… I just don’t like it! Every now and then, I have a sports drink.
THose noodles are definitely a love them or hate them thing. I personally like them, but you do have to find a sauce that sticks to them better. I made a pad thai with them once that was pretty good.
I agree, wine does not count as drinking your calories!
I worked at a coffee shop in college and I was SHOCKED to see how bad for you all those drinks really are! I’ll just stick with my grande quad nonfat latte thank you very much.
I sure hope wine doesn’t count
Otherwise I’m in trouble!
Well, yoga and dinner sounds like it will be much better.
I have tried those noodles before and you’re right, putting them in something is the key. I usually have them with some dandelion sauce, or in a broth like you mentioned. Don’t feel bad about the Starbucks, they totally suck you in! My Dad is a frap fiend! Go figure 
And wine totally doesn’t count in my book! 
I really don’t like those noodles. I know hungry girl is obsessed with them, but give me regular asian rice noodles any day.
Just discovered Starbucks has been slipping sugary syrup into my vanilla roobios soy latte. Now I ask for it “minus syrup” – they call it sugar free but I prefer to just specify “Don’t put the syrup in – not sugar free syrup, not any kind of syrup.” I too prefer to save drinking my calories for wine
Ah yes, I have used those noodles a few times, and each time I keep my nose away from the package when opening. If you drain them, dump them in a bowl and cover them with water, nuke them for a minute, then rinse them the smell completely goes away. I will continue to tolerate it because that calorie count is so stinkin’ low. My favorite use for these is soup, and the best soup so far has been green curry noodle soup.
I get the green tea lattes all the time, but order them with only 1 pump of syrup, they usually use 4! So I get a grande soy one pump green tea latte, quite a moutfull.