YouTube Star Candace Lowry's 90-Calorie DIY Frappuccino

They parade themselves as a casual coffee drink, but when it comes down to it, Frappuccino's are about as healthy as a thick, luscious milkshake. Or a generous slice of chocolate cake. Or maybe even a whole bar of rich dark chocolate. (We're not kidding.)

These Frappuccinos are absolute explosions of calories, fats, and sugary syrups.

Candace Lowry, a YouTube-famous millennial, was sick of the nutritional tragedy of Starbucks' famous drink. The frothy delights didn't exactly align with the "Get Fit 101" section of her YouTube channel, so she made a version that does. And it's only 90 calories. According to her proud opinion, it tastes "almost exactly the same" as a real Frappuccino.

In fact, she claims it tastes even better. Before sipping her own, she taste tests a real Starbucks creation and agrees that it tastes really good — but that it tastes syrupy. She could tell there was a whole lot more sugar in her cup than there needed to be. A regular Frappuccino has a gratuitous 66 grams of sugar. Lowry's "Candy-ccino," on the other hand, only gets you nine.

So let's get this straight. Her recipe contains:

  • 90 calories
  • 9 grams of sugar
  • 3 grams of fat

That's incredible. With those stats, a healthy Candy-ccino is less of a strain on your diet than half a CLIF bar.

The recipe solved the dilemma that, for Lowry, originated deep in her childhood. In her video, she reminisces of her teen years, when she would drink Frappuccino after Frappuccino with reckless abandon. Consequence-less and carefree, she downed dozens. However, then she grew older — she's now 25 — and gained a few pounds in the process. She was forced to give up on her favorite syrupy creation. But she couldn't stay away for long. Hence, her recipe was born.

So how does she make it? This is the best part: It's so easy.

All you need is:

1/2 cup of coffee
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 packet stevia sweetener
1 scoop Eat Enlightened hot cocoa ice cream
1/2 a banana

You blend together everything but the ice cream and the banana, then throw those in once the rest is blended for added creaminess. Then, add a handful of ice and blend once more, until the consistency is similar to that of a Frappuccino.

The end result looks almost exactly the same as a real Starbucks Frappuccino. Candace wants her viewers to understand her main takeaway from the experiment: "You don't have to give up the things that you love if you want to get into a healthier lifestyle."