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fat-free cappucino or cafe con latte??

I love drinking Italian coffee and I need to have some milk in it (I know, order 'macchiato' after 11 AM instead of cappucino). We'll be spending a month in Italy -- do they offer fat-free or skim milk as an option at bars/cafes? What is the Italian word for "fat-free?" Can I find fat-free yogurt and other food products in the grocery store?

Posted by
7737 posts

And, unlike at Starbucks, if you order a "latte" you'll get a glass of milk. (Darlene, I imagine you already know that.) I was explaining to some Italians that ordering a latte at Starbucks gets you what is in essence a cappucino, and they looked at me like I was insane.

Posted by
212 posts

You will have a hard time getting fat free cappuccino. But the way to ask (prepare to have eyes rolled when you do) would be:

Cappuccino con latte scremato
or caffe latte con latte scremato

Good luck!

Posted by
209 posts

Aw! No one rolled their eyes at me yesterday when I went out on a hunt for soy milk in a cafe :o

Speaking of all this cafe talk, I want to just put it out there: There's a series of books with the title Cafe Life: City Name and the Venice one is excellent!!

Posted by
1201 posts

Darlene - Another thing to keep in mind. The serving size on on the latte and capuccino are likely to be quite a bit smaller than what you'll get from Starbucks. So you may be able to have a regular and not feel too crazy.

Posted by
619 posts

We were in Tuscany recently, and did not find fresh skimmed milk in the supermarkets. Many other sorts of milk, including fresh semi-skimmed, but not skimmed.

Another thing we could not find was ready-made vinaigrette salad dressing. There are always things that you believe to be universally available, but are just not commonplace in other countries.

Posted by
30 posts

Good luck trying to find anything 'fat free', 'low cal' or healthy in Italy! I couldn't.

I agree that the serving sizes there are much smaller than here as far as the coffee goes.

Posted by
1003 posts

Almost all of the food in Italy is "healthy" because it is made with fresh, natural, preservative-free ingredients. I lost weight in Italy just because portion sizes are smaller, food is fresher, has lots of fruit and veggies in it, and mostly because of all the darn walking. Even gelato is significantly healthier than US ice cream. Unless someone takes private transportation everywhere and doesn't walk anywhere, I can't imagine anyone gaining weight in Italy.

Posted by
401 posts

I second what Debra said! I instead find it really hard to keep from gaining weight when I go home to the States on vacations, what with the large portions, the processed food, and my weakness for Twizzlers. Enjoy eating in Italy and don't worry about gaining weight, and yes, do have gelato (it has less fat than the ice cream we eat in the US.)

Posted by
223 posts

depends where you will be...perhaps in cities (?) but no way in smaller towns (and in the South especially) There is seriously so little milk in a cafe macchiato, I doubt it would make a difference anyway. All the walking will make it a non-issue :-) p.s.we are in Italy very frequently and my husband always orders a cappuccino at any time of day...who cares what anyone thinks? it is obvious we're not Italian anyway and bars are certainly more than happy to give you a cappuccino if you want it afternoon.

Posted by
19 posts

I have bought fat-free yogurt in groceries all over Italy, although sometimes you only have a limited choice of flavors. Look for "zero" on the carton. Check the nutrition label on the back for "grasso" O.
Same for cartons of milk, although that can be a bit harder to find, it is available.

Posted by
19 posts

I forgot to mention that some brands of yogurt say 0,1% (comma not decimal point). When I first saw that I thought one percent, but it is not. Just a slightly more honest description of non-fat. The cartons of milk I mentioned are not refrigerated.

Posted by
466 posts

Can't you just let your diet go while in Italy????? You'll have more fun!!! and the cappucinos and much smaller in Italy then they are here!!! Enjoy yourself!!!!

Posted by
19 posts

People sometimes choose to eat in a certain way for reasons of health...in some cases not optional. You never know. Don't make such judgemental assumptions.

Posted by
28 posts

Check on roninrome, he wrote about coffe drinking. If I remember right, cafe hag is decaf but am not sure about fat free.