Starbucks No Sugar Added Banana Nut Coffee Cake Review

Overall 3.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

AnnaBanana
Oak Park, IL

Delicious but should be washed down with a cup of reality!

health conscious, into trying new things, watching my weight, willing to pay for quality

Pros

No sugar added, delicious flavor

Cons

Get a load of those calories

JUN

2009

Last Saturday was another appointment with destiny to have my hair cut and visit Starbucks again on the way home. This time some of my customary zest had been tarnished a bit by my unfortunate experience with One A Day Weight Smart so while I waited for my beverage to be prepared, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get something to eat. As I stared thoughtfully at the snacks and sandwiches, reason returned and I knew that -- whether I was hungry at that moment or not -- I would probably want something to eat later on so I picked up a Pesto Pasta Salad to have later on for supper. Then I noticed something new had been added -- No Sugar Added Banana Nut Coffee Cake.

This is a simple earnest appearing cake which appears to have been baked in a tube pan and cut into wedges. No frosting or anything -- it said right there on the label that no sugar had been added. I felt good about buying a piece of it. I was still feeling pretty darned virtuous later on as I was knocking it back after I had finished my salad. Then I looked up the coffee cake's stats on the Internet.

HOLY CANNOLI!

A single simple unassuming wedge of this nice virtuous coffee cake contains 470 calories with 240 calories from fat. There are 27 grams Total Fat, 3.5 Saturated Fat, zero Trans Fat, 50 mg. Cholesterol, 210 mg. Sodium, 62 Total Carbs, 3 grams Fiber, 11 grams Sugars, 7 grams Protein, 20% (D.V.) Iron, and 2% each Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Calcium. As far as calories and fat content were concerned, I might as well have just bought two salads and eaten them one after the other!

MY VIEWPOINT:

There is nothing inherently wrong with Starbucks No Sugar Added Banana Nut Coffee Cake which is sweetened with Maltitol and therefore I will recommend this as something which could be enjoyed by a person who has to seriously watch their sugar intake. Aside from that sugar which is inherent in certain of the cake's ingredients, there really has been no other sugar added. It is nice that Starbuck's is offering "No Sugar Added" options, I must admit, but with calorie and fat counts like this, most of us might be better off just going ahead and picking a reduced fat pastry instead ... or better yet, just stopping off at the chocolate store on the way home and buying a piece of fudge!

Last edited on Jun 12, 2009

Starbucks No Sugar Added Banana Nut Coffee Cake is recommended by AnnaBanana

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Comments about AnnaBanana’s Review

Wow...too bad on the calories and fat. Add a specialty coffee to it, and you could EASILY have almost half your caloric intake for the day, just with a "snack!" Since I've started working out more, I measure everything I eat by "how many minutes on the treadmill to burn that off" now!

In response to joyjoy's comment from Jun 10, 2009 at 7:36PM:

How are you doing, Joy-Joy? Any vacation plans for the summer?

With no sugar added you expect it to be low calorie. Yikes! on the calorie count.

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Jun 9, 2009 at 3:10AM:

Well, I don't know if you have folded yet but it's after 3:30 a.m. here and I think I will do that very thing. Alas, I have accidentally run out of Arimidex through poor planning on my part. Placed an order with Caremark and they told me yesterday that the order is on its way but might not get here until later in the week as I was too cheap to pay for special handling. SO the doctor over in Berwyn is going to give me three pills to get me through the next few days which means I have to go over there to pick it up tomorrow. Please God, that it doesn't rain! I'll see ya later and take care!

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Jun 9, 2009 at 3:10AM:

You there, Buddy? Huh?

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Jun 9, 2009 at 3:10AM:

That's very interesting that you misunderstood the tone of my message. I've looked at it again and I think this is what you perceived it to be: If YOU (meaning YOU) want to stand there and read the fine print, etc. ...

That emphasis would have invoked anger and accusation. As it was I meant "If you ..." meaning anyone, wants to stand there and read the information.

I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding. It took me a while to get back to my messages too because I got sidetracked trying to watch a Netflix movie which I ordered to be played right in my P.C. Dumb idea too, incidentally. "The Great Ziegfield" works better as a movie SHOULD be played on the tellie.

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Jun 9, 2009 at 3:10AM:

Oh no, I sure didn't meat to sound annoyed. Never with YOU. I'm sorry if it came through like that.

In response to AnnaBanana's comment from Jun 9, 2009 at 12:31AM:

You sound a littled p'd off. Hope it's not with me. I wouldn't read the fine print like that either. In Pollo Loco, you can actually go up to a poster and read about calories, fats, carbs, etc. with regular glasses (or 20/20 eyes). They at least give us a fighting chance! You did the research to check the counts. Doesn't really matter when. And Starbuck's stuff DOES sound really tasty. I love you, too!

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Jun 8, 2009 at 9:20PM:

They actually have nutritional info in little tiny print on the packages. Now, if you want to stand there with your nose inches away from the package of food and reading it all and then put the package back, it's okay, but most of us chicken out when it comes to such close perusal with the other customers waiting in line behind us! (Restaurants and stores count on that!) I get my info from the Starbucks site but usually after the balloon has gone up because I tend to find new things in the s tores that I haven't heard of. I just told Gigi that it took a long time for Starbucks to grow on me. Fortunately, it's just not the type of thing you go to every day. I think the most I went to Starbucks was at the Comfort Inn -- they were so close and I had the card loaded up, etc. I do love their coffee but cannot take it black!

Holy CANNOLI cannoli! What a shocker. I suppose Starbucks doesn't have any helper menu where you can read up on ingredients. It's sure a good thing you enjoyed it! Have you ever looked at Starbucks stock and considered it?

In response to GigiandAdonai's comment from Jun 8, 2009 at 11:56AM:

It took me years to get used to Starbucks. They are a great once-in-a-while treat although I wouldn't do them every day. I actually use them more when I am traveling or knocking around down in the Loop because I usually keep my S.B. card "loaded" and can just use that without digging out money or using credit cards. With S.B., a lot depends on the individual management of each store, some are better than others! If you don't like coffee, you might enjoy a vanilla bean frappe -- the smallest size ("Tall") are not as bad as you would think for an occasional treat.

I love banana nut bread so this sounds like something I would enjoy. I just haven't had any good experiences with our Starbucks as of yet. I'm not a coffee drinker so I would need to opt for milk or soda. I tried all varieties of hot chocolate and didn't like any of them ;+{