| |  | | | | This Saturday's episode of Hungry Girl -- "Pick Me Up!" -- is all about sips and snacks that'll give you a lift. As a head start, here's everything you need to know about making your own coffee-shop-style drinks and more... | | | | | | Do-It-Yourself Drinks! Say "so long!" to high-calorie, high-priced coffee beverages...
 The Coffee - When making iced or blended coffee-based drinks, we like to use instant coffee granules. You can get all fancy and use Starbucks VIA; you can use the affordable-and-dependable kind from Folgers. Or you can brew up your coffee of choice -- just make it super-strong (with less water) if you plan to add ice afterward!
 The Milk or Creamer - If you're looking to put together a latte-like beverage with very few calories, you need Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze. Light vanilla soymilk is good too, but UVAB is super-creamy and WAY low in calories! Sugar-free or fat-free powdered creamers, like the kinds by Coffee-mate, are also essential. When it comes to these creamers, the MVP (most valuable powder) at the HG HQ is sugar-free French vanilla. We keep the fat-free plain variety around as well, along with a fancy flavor or two!
 The Sweet Stuff - Splenda has been our go-to no-calorie sweetener for ages, but Truvia is our recent love and stevia pick. Torani Sugar Free Syrups are perfect when you want fun flavor + sweetness, without a bunch of calories! These syrups come in a SLEW of great flavors -- order them online or find them at places like Cost Plus World Market and BevMo!. If you're lucky, you can locate a couple of flavors in the coffee aisle of your supermarket... Just make sure they're the zero-calorie, sugar-free kinds!
 The Add-Ins - If you want to add some chocolate flavor to your brew, a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder will do it for minimal calories -- not to mention that a container of the basic stuff is cheap and will last a LONG time. If you want chocolatey stuff that IS sweetened, grab some 25-calorie hot cocoa mix packets -- Swiss Miss Diet is a staple. Finally, we have Fat Free Reddi-wip. Don't look at us like a squirt of whipped topping won't make your coffee drink more delicious. You know it will, and it'll get the job done for 5 calories per 2-tbsp. serving! | | | | | | | Early-Morning Market Finds! Swap those treats you'd get with your cup o' joe for something you can grab at the grocery store!
 Want a Muffin? Vitalicious VitaTops!
PER SERVING (1 VitaTop): 90 - 100 calories, 1 - 2.5g fat, 105 - 150mg sodium, 20 - 27g carbs, 5 - 10g fiber, 0 - 12g sugars, 3 - 5g protein -- PointsPlus™ value 2 - 3*
If sweet baked goods are your downfall, you need to get better acquainted with these 100-calorie (or less) treats. You can find limited varieties at select markets, and you can order from the whole lineup online. Keep an eye on your HG emails for free-shipping specials and other deals... There's one coming your way NEXT week!
 Hungry for a Hot B-fast Sandwich? Jimmy Dean D-Lights!
PER SERVING (1 sandwich): 230 - 290 calories, 4.5 - 12g fat, 760 - 860mg sodium, 29 - 31g carbs, 2 - 4g fiber, 3 - 5g sugars, 15 - 18g protein --
PointsPlus™ value 6 - 8*
Jimmy D. has some AMAZING options in this low-calorie lineup. Tasty items on an English muffin, a bagel, a croissant... WOW! And you don't have to wait in a line to get one.
 Craving Bagels? Thomas' Bagel Thins!
PER SERVING (1 Bagel Thin): 110 calories, 1g fat, 160 - 210mg sodium, 24 - 25g carbs, 4 - 5g fiber, 3 - 6g sugars, 4 - 6g protein -- PointsPlus™ value 3*
Here's the thing -- we LOVE bagels as much as the next person. But we don't need mega-normous dough rings with SLABS of cream cheese. These guys are juuuust right...
 Only Have Eyes for Oatmeal? Amy's Organic Hot Cereal Steel-Cut Oats Bowl!
PER SERVING (1 container): 220 calories, 3.5g fat, 190mg sodium, 42g carbs, 5g fiber, 15g sugars, 6g protein -- PointsPlus™ value 6*
We actually like the oatmeal at Starbucks a LOT, but if you want to skip the trip and don't have time to make your oats from scratch, this freezer-aisle find will do. There are also Multi-Grain and Cream of Rice options. Toss some fruit on top and go to town! (Not really... Stay where you are.) | | | | | | | The Big Coffee-Shop-Swap Recipe Roundup! Half drinks, half food, all delicious...
 Cherry Bomb Iced Mocha - A fruity, chocolate-inflected coffee drink. We never get tired of it!
Cara-mellow Coffee Freeze - McDonald's for a coffee drink? WHY? We've got what you need...
Toffee Mocha Hotté - Just thinking about this sweet cup of yum makes us feel ready to face the day.
Vanillalicious Cafe Freeze - Sure, the flavors are simple and it's easy to make, but your taste buds won't appreciate this sipper any less!
Raspberry Mocha Madness Swappuccino - Frappuccino schmappuccino -- this rich-n-fruity freeze ROCKS!
Green Tea Crème Swappuccino - A little something for the coffee avoiders in the house...
 Fluffy-Good Zucchini Nut Muffins - Most veggie-based baked sweets are bad news; ours are front-page worthy.
Chunky Apple-Cinnamon Muffins - These are just as good as anything coming out of a bakery case -- make them and you'll see...
Big Fat Blueberry Muffins - Everybody's favorite muffin, featuring surprisingly slim stats.
Chocolate-Chippy Cheese Danish - Guilt-free pastry with chocolate. We repeat, GUILT-FREE PASTRY WITH CHOCOLATE.
Crazy-Delicious Cheesy Cherry Danish - If chocolate isn't your style (don't scoff, cocoa lovers -- some people aren't into it!), this fruit-filled Danish will suit your needs.
Top Banana Bread - Cut yourself a slice to go with your coffee, sit back, and smile. You won't be able to help it, really... | | | | | | | 
Psssst! For those seemingly inevitable Starbucks stops, click HERE for a few (read: a LOT of) tips to get in and out, satisfied and unscathed...
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Skip grabbing coffee with your homies -- click "Send to a Friend" to pass this along, and then you can all get together for java at home! | | | | | | Having mail issues? Click here for a printable, text-only version of this email. And click here for an HTML version. We may have received free samples of food, which in no way influences whether these products are reviewed favorably, unfavorably, mentioned with indifference, or mentioned at all. Click for more about our editorial and advertising policies.
*The PointsPlus™ values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by Hungry Girl and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark.
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