Monday 7 July 2014

My New Summer Drink

I love the Vanilla Chai Frappe at McDonalds. You can only get them at the 'fancy' McDonalds that also have the McCafe. I really wanted it to be the new treat I get on road trips and hot summer days. Usually I get an Ice Capp from Tim Hortons, made with Chocolate Milk. But the Vanilla Chai is so creamy and I love the flavour of chai especially when it has been sweetened.

Well, the internet ruined my dream. I decided to look up the calorie count and compare. Of course, you can't actually accurately compare since the portion amount of their sizes don't match. I chose to look at the 'Small' for both since that is what I always order at Tim Hortons. With the Ice Capp, I need to get a small size because I don't want to have too much caffeine. I usually do not order the small size when getting the Chai at McDonalds, but let's pretend I do.

Here are the facts:

Vanilla Chai Frappe
McDonalds
Size: Small (352ml)
Calories: 400
Protein: 6g
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 56g
Sugar: 55g
Sodium: 135mg

Ice Capp - with Chocolate Milk
Tim Hortons
Size: Small (380ml)
Calories: 160
Protein: 3g
Fat: 0.5g
Carbs: 36g
Sugar: 36g
Sodium: 60mg

I was shocked at the difference! I definitely need to stop drinking the McDonalds Frappe! The portion size is smaller, yet it has more than twice the calories. Getting the Ice Capp made with chocolate milk helps a lot, since it is normally made with cream, which takes the small up to 250 calories and gives it 11g of fat. Because the chocolate milk used at Tim Hortons is 1%, it basically makes the Ice Capp fat-free. The sugar is high in both as is the sodium, I don't even know why they would need that much salt in there, especially McDonalds.

The other main thing looking this up has taught me, is that not only should I be getting an Ice Capp over a Frappe, but I should be getting it made with normal milk instead of chocolate milk. The normal milk used at Tim Hortons is 2%, which brings the fat content of a small Ice Capp up from 0.5g to 1.5g. However, it really cuts down the sugar and therefore the total calories. I think I am going to try make the switch to plain milk, and I am not going to get the chai anymore. (I can find other, healthier, ways to enjoy the flavour of chai.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The internet agrees with your choice... while I was reading your post, I noticed your ad banner was for Tim Hortons vanilla iced coffee!

Love T