Nutrition Nugget! Bite-sized bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about Dunkin's Protein Drinks. Dunkin’ has officially jumped on the protein bandwagon and is rolling out a new line of protein drinks that have everyone asking: Are these actually a good source of protein? Jenn went straight to the source, visiting multiple Dunkin’ locations, digging into the nutrition facts PDF, and asking the questions most of us never think to ask. What she found might surprise you. On the one hand, Dunkin’ uses a real, recognizable dairy-based milk with a clean ingredient list and no added sweeteners or emulsifiers. On the other hand, the protein count may not be quite what the marketing suggests. Jenn also addresses the ingredients that go into your cup beyond that protein milk so that you can decide for yourself if this is a smart, satisfying option or just another trend wrapped in clever branding. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/
KEYWORDS: Jenn Trepeck, Nutrition Nugget, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Health Tips, Wellness Tips, Dunkin Protein Drink, Protein Drinks, Fast Food Nutrition, Dunkin Menu, Protein Milk, Lactose Free Milk, Lactaid Brand, Nutrition Facts, Coffee Drinks, Protein Content, Starbucks Protein Drinks, Sugar Free Syrup, Vanilla Syrup, Almond Syrup, Protein Latte, Protein Refresher, Nutrition Nugget, Weight Loss, Wellness Podcast, Health Coach, Healthy Coffee Options, Nutrition Labels, Filtered Skim Milk, Reduced Fat Milk, Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Lactase Enzyme, Artificial Growth Hormone Free, Dairy Milk, Non Dairy Options, Coffee Additives, Food Marketing, Added Sugar, Saturated Fat, Nutrition Myths, Healthy Eating, Protein Powder, Fast Food Coffee, Megan Thee Stallion Dunkin, Protein Trend, Is Dunkin Protein Drink Actually Healthy, Dunkin Protein Drink Nutrition Facts Review, Protein Coffee
Transcripts
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[00:00:28] So you may remember last year. So that was 2025 Starbucks came out with their protein drinks and I went into Starbucks, one of the locations by me in New York City, and I asked a ton of questions. Admittedly, I caused a little bit of a scene and you know that whole story you can find in our bonus episode from December 12th, 2025, nutrition nugget, Starbucks protein drinks.
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[00:01:16] And so I looked at all that before I went into the store because of course I had lots of questions. So anyway, here's the scoop. The press release highlights that they're using protein milk. They highlight their partnership with Megan Thee Stallion for the campaign and the press release focused on protein refreshers and protein lattes.
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[00:02:05] Dunkin says, a medium beverage has 15 grams of protein. In the PDFI see that that's not entirely the case. The medium of some drinks had 10 grams, the large of some showed 13 grams. So whatever drink you prefer, please be sure that you're looking at those nutrition facts. And by the way, make sure that you're looking at all of the nutrition facts, not just that protein content.
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[00:03:02] Of course they're, everything is their own brand, so I could only get information from them. And even then, it was sort of a bit of a guesstimate. Dunkin though is using lactate brand protein milk. So I'll go to those nutrition facts in a second. It was interesting, I mean, in the store they were kind, they let me take pictures of the latte, milk carton, and then of course I had more questions.
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[00:03:55] I don't really know. But the only option in the stores, the Dunkin locations [00:04:00] that I went to was the lactate protein milk. The other curious thing is that on the menu in the store, like on the board that lights up, they highlight this almond protein MAA latte. So I now asked about that one and I said, so that's not almond milk.
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[00:04:41] So we also have a nutrition nugget on coffee syrups that you can go back to on that one. And then I felt like we needed to look at the lactate brand. Milk, right? So lactate as a brand is lactose free dairy milk. It's [00:05:00] not a plant-based, you know, milk in air quotes. So what lactate says is they start with milk from cows, which they note are free of artificial growth hormone treatment.
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[00:05:41] Now they also highlight that it's lactose-free. 2% protein milk is fortified with ultra filtered skim milk, which is higher in protein than regular milk. So this reminds me of when we talked about fair life, right? What they do to their milk. When we looked [00:06:00] at the Fairlife protein drinks, so that was a listener request, by the way.
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[00:06:28] Zero grams of trans fat, 12 grams of total carbs, of which we have zero grams of fiber, 11 grams of total sugar, zero of which is added sugar, and then 13 grams of protein. And the micronutrients, the amounts are pretty low, like even though they've added vitamin A and vitamin D three. The amounts are still pretty low, and I will say I appreciate that there are not any sweeteners or emulsifiers in those ingredients.
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[00:07:25] You know, I think as always, we need to carefully choose the other add-ins like flavorings and syrups and sweeteners and other things that they're putting into these drinks. And like I said before, you can certainly check Dunkin's website, their nutrition facts, PDF, to see if your favorite drink is there.
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[00:08:07] It is okay for us to not protein pack every single thing that we consume. I get why Dunkin wants to jump on that bandwagon and just because they are doesn't necessarily mean you have to, but that's the scoop on Dunkin's protein drinks. Well, as always, I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media.
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[00:08:51] Cecily Mak: Thank you, Jen. What a joy. I love your work. Thank you for continuing to do what you do. This is such an important perspective and place and I, I'm grateful to have been a part of it. [00:09:00]
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[00:09:09] This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and your health. On top of this week's episode, in full video with Behind the Scenes pieces and your 24 7, ask Me Anything in the community board, you'll get this week's recipe for the hot pink coconut slaw.
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[00:09:46] Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, [00:10:00] healthy.
