The Lambert Branding Company, also known as the school store is one of the most popular campus locations during lunch. The store sells a variety of goods like Lambert merchandise, freshly baked cookies and seasonal drinks. In collaboration with HOSA, the school store is releasing a new drink in February, a replication of their popular mocha latte with a hidden healthy twist.
The idea for a protein dense coffee first began with three junior HOSA members, Naisha Sinha, Neha Rajagopa and Nila Ilancheliyan. They were inspired to create this drink after noticing the unhealthy diet norms around their peers.
“We’ve seen a lot of kids drinking energy drinks filled with a lot of sugar, which is definitely a big contributing factor to diabetes in youth,” Sinha described.
Diabetes can be caused by having too much glucose in your bloodstream, which leads to the body not being able to make enough insulin to counteract all of that sugar. Unfortunately, sugary and processed foods and drinks are often the most popular amongst teenagers, and their impact can clearly be seen through the numbers. According to the American Diabetes Association over 300,000 adolescents have diabetes in the US, a staggering statistic that propelled Sinha, Rajagopa, and Ilancheliyan to take action.
The team’s main goal was to create a drink that tasted just like a regular latte while having ingredients better for student’s health.
“Overall, it’s the exact same recipe as the mocha latte except it’s one pump less of their caramel syrup and instead of water, it’s protein milk.” Rajagopa explained. “With those replacements, the drink will have about 15 grams of protein and then 50% less sugar than normal coffee.”
The protein coffee will have the same flavor as the caramelly mocha latte students know and love, but without a sugar crash, and with the added benefits of protein. By creating this healthier option at the school store Sinha, Rajagopa and Ilancheliyan hope to spread awareness about diabetes in adolescents and provide a diet friendly option for kids who have diabetes at Lambert.
Making healthier food options for teenagers is a trend seen all throughout Lambert in recent years, such as more diverse cafeteria food, healthier options in vending machines and the introduction of the school store’s protein coffee. The goal of this increased variety of food choices is to protect student’s health in the long term, ensuring that Lambert students can still enjoy their favorite snacks and drinks without the negative consequences of highly processed and sugary foods.
