Photo: pierofix, Flickr

A cup of coffee usually has fewer than 10 calories, so why is recent research finding that our afternoon coffee breaks might be making us fat? OK, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out -- while black coffee or tea on their own are practically calorie-free, not many people actually drink them this way, and all the add-ons can send the calorie count soaring.

Researchers from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene set out to find out just how we like our coffee and followed the habits of afternoon coffee drinkers at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts for 11 weeks. They found that while 78 percent of patrons at Dunkin' Donuts stuck to regular coffee with milk or sugar (averaging around 69 calories a cup), two-thirds of Starbucks addicts opted for fancier coffees, which upped the calorie count drastically.

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Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie Photo: Starbucks

Starbucks' full line of "real food" hit the stores nationwide today -- although you may have already seen many of these products rolled out in recent months. All foods are now free of artificial trans fats, dyes, flavors and high-fructose corn syrup. Good news right? Sure, but a cookie is still a cookie.

There is debate and a lot of misunderstanding about whether HFCS is worse than sugar, and the scientific jury is still out. But the verdict from a recent tasting is that real flavors and slightly more wholesome ingredients make for better treats.

The Banana Walnut Bread swapped banana flavoring for the real fruit. But with 480 calories, it's not much of a waistline improvement on Starbucks' old banana bread. More than one AOL Health Editor commented on the flavor of the sample slice. "It tastes like real bananas!" one editor exclaimed. "It's surprisingly good." Even so, the bread, like many of the cookies, is still quite large. It should be an occasional indulgence and not a staple.

That brings me to the Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie. Topped with a generous quarter-cup of various dried fruits, it is delicious. It offers three full grams of fiber, but also 370 calories and 14 grams of fat. Again, the wholesome ingredients are a step up, but the nature of the treat is no different.

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Attention frappuchino lovers: Starbucks is taking a small step towards a healthier coffee break in their Dallas stores.

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Photo: DeusXFlorida/Flickr

Starbucks is known for great coffee, not healthy food. They occasionally dance with health-conscious consumers with their protein plate, instant oatmeal and hormone-free milk, but it's not exactly the Whole Foods of coffee shops. However a Starbucks drive-thru drum roll, please -- be on the lookout for healthier baked goods soon, and lucky Dallas is the test baby for a new Frappuccino formula.

On June 30, the wire-you-up coffee king is overhauling 90 percent of its baked goods -- removing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial flavors/colorings and some preservatives. Low-calorie salads are rolling out, along with egg-white breakfast sandwiches, a reduced fat Very Berry Coffee Cake with 20 percent fruit and an organic blueberry bar. Reaching for greener corporate pastures, new water meters will save each store 150 gallons daily, allowing baristas to properly rinse their spoons without the tap continuously running. But when will they start using recyclable cups?

No doubt, it's a good thing a corporate giant is ridding so many Americans of HFCS and chemicals on their myriad java stops, and let's keep our fingers crossed that healthier Frappuccino formula says au revoir to artificial sweeteners. But if this nation is to reverse rising obesity, stopping in for a brewed cup of coffee and skipping that 'healthier' baked treat all together is a better call.

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I don't know about you, but when the weather warms up to any sort of temperature that doesn't require a coat, I immediately crave a cold drink, and usually a tall glass of ice water won't cut it. I want something tasty I can sip on as I amble through a park or do a bit of window shopping. A frappuccino fits the bill nicely.

But while they're meant to be a refreshing oasis between meals, most of the fraps out there are more like meals themselves. That can't be healthy, right? So, you tell me ...

I don't know about you, but more often than not, my mornings are spent rushing around -- to the train, the coffee shop and eventually work. I always seem to be a few minutes later than I should be, and though I usually manage to bolt into the office doors on time, I usually do so in a frazzled fashion, having run all the way across London Bridge to make my start time.

I usually try to grab a healthy breakfast before I leave the house, but you know as well as I do that sometimes, there's just not enough time. So I'm faced with choices -- a donut, a bagel or a muffin. Usually, I go for the muffin -- it seems to be the healthiest of the lot. You too?

But is a muffin really the best on-the-run morning meal?

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Yup, Starbucks. The place where the only "food" you could order once came in the form of extremely high-calorie muffins and pastries, loaded with sugar and absent of any resemblance to a food that could have been gathered, plucked, hunted or fished (the four Jonny Bowden Food Groups).

Starbucks now offers a number of food items suitable for low-carbers, including nuts, cheese and fruit.

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This holiday season, all I see is advertisement after advertisement for Starbucks holiday drinks. They're mostly the same ones from last year with one notable exception: The Espresso Truffle. Hmm. I like espresso. I also like truffle. And I love whipped cream, which it comes with, according to the previously-mentioned ads. Sounds delicious .... and deliciously sinful.

What do you think? Is the Espresso Truffle an acceptable Christmas indulgence or a holiday calorie drink disaster?

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Brrrr ... it's cold outside. And it's so very tempting to take a detour into your nearest Starbucks to warm up with one of those delicious holiday drinks.

It's also tempting to believe that coffee drinks don't "count" toward your daily calorie total. But, ohhhh, how they do. To see how bad it gets, check out this post over at Holidash.

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Now that the leaves have turned (and somehow all wound up in my yard), there are few things more appealing to me than having a warm drink and a meal with friends in a cozy pub or coffee shop with a fire place. Normally, I'd consider spending my weekends by the water or out in the fresh mountain air, but that's not really an option in November when you live in Canada -- unless you're the super outdoorsy type (I'm not).

So, for those of us who don't like cold weather, the outdoors is out this time of year, except in small doses. I'll take a fireplace any day. Let the wind howl away, we're warm and happy and having fun inside.

After a day of raking leaves or shopping or wandering around the autumn streets, a cup of steaming hot apple cider really hits the spot, don't you think? But surely apple cider is better for you than some of the other winter offerings, most of which are made primarily of cream and sugar. What do you think?

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We know portion sizes have grown. They've grown a lot -- and many of us have grown right along with them. But DietBlog is providing some fairly shocking comparisons of portions now compared to 20 or so years ago.

Consider these four items -- take-away coffees, potato chips, chocolate milk, and soft drinks. A standard bottle of pop used to be 12 oz, containing about 160 calories, but now, a dollar (or more, depending on where you are) in a vending machine will get you 20 oz and 245 calories. Chocolate milk is worse, having doubled in size and calories.

That's not the worst of it, though -- coffee, which once was only available in convenience stores (do you remember the days before Starbucks?), generally came in a 7 oz cup, so even with sugar, you were just getting around 85 calories. Now, a large coffee is more than double the size and with all the extras you can order, you can take in just shy of 500 calories. But chips are the icing on the big, fatty cake -- snack bags used to have just about 150 calories, and now, some snack bags that come with sandwiches have 500 calories!

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I'll admit it: I'm a bit addicted to Starbucks. It's just so darn convenient. There's one near my house, my office -- heck, there's even one in my grocery store. Since coffee is definitely a staple of my diet, I end up in the Starbucks line-up fairly often.

And I usually do stick to coffee, except on a rare occasion when I've either forgotten to pack a healthy snack or was in too much of a hurry to grab a healthy meal. In such an event, the baked goods call out my name from their home behind the glass window, and, with stomach grumbling uncomfortably, I am powerless to resist.

I'm not a fan of super sweet cakes and donuts, so I tend to stick to things like muffins and scones. But are they any healthier than the sweet stuff?

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I make a point of always eating breakfast, but if I have to get it on the run, one place I rarely go is Starbucks. Sure, they have some yogurt and fruit (not to mention those fantastic Americanos), but other than that, the options seem limited to sugary baked goods.

Well, good news Starbucks lovers. The gourmet coffee chain is coming out with some new and improved healthier breakfast offerings, currently referred to as Morning Source. USA Today has all the details, but here are some sample items:

• A protein power plate, available with or without peanut butter.
  
• Oatmeal with a variety of toppings, including fruits and nuts.
  
• Multigrain rolls with almond butter and/or fruit preserves
• Bran muffins.
  

What would you like to see on the new menu?

(Via Fitsugar)

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I'm a major coffee fanatic, but when the weather is hot, I find myself craving something cooler than a big, hot, steaming cup of java. And what fills that kind of void better than an iced cappuccino? Nothing, if you ask me. They're cool, delicious, with just the right amount of creaminess and coffee flavour. One popular establishment here in Canada, Tim Hortons, has the best iced caps.

But while coffee itself is pretty low in calories (calorie free, in fact, if you skip the cream and sugar!), you can't usually control what goes into a slushy coffee drink. It comes with lots of sugar and cream already in it, and the result usually tastes so good that you know it can't be good for you. What do you think?

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Occasionally grabbing breakfast on the run is one of those inevitabilities. After all, who hasn't overslept or woken up only to find that the last bit of cereal milk has been usurped by the last breakfaster? And grabbing breakfast on the go is better than not having any at all.

Yahoo health recently rated the top breakfast choices. Here are some picks:

• McDonald's: Fruit n' Yogurt Parfait -- 160 cal, 2 g fat
• Starbucks: Spinach, roasted tomato, feta and egg wrap -- 240 cal, 10 g of fat (but lots of protein and fiber)
• Jamba Juice: Jamba Light smoothie -- 150-160 cal, 0 g of fat
• Dunkin' Donuts: Four powdered donut holes -- 260 cal, 15 g of fat
• Burger King: Nothing. Their food still has trans fats.
  

Want to find out what other breakfast dishes made the cut? Click here for the full list.

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