Coffee tricks?

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soup78
soup78 Posts: 667 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, so we're all trying to cut calories...My worst culprit seems to be in my morning coffee. And there's NO WAY I'm ridding myself of it altogether. So, I love flavor like hazelnut or cinnamon and a liitle(just a little sweet; sugar). Lately I've been using a certain -mate- hazelnut creamer, but it has 40 calories in 2 tsp. I have at least 2 cups, ocassionally 3. I just feel so guilty afterwards!!:cry: I've tried fat free creamer with a tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, but that adds up to 25 cal. It's just not any "good".

I guess I can go back to green tea, but I don't want to!!!:sad:

Any suggestions, PLEEEEASE......

Replies

  • soup78
    soup78 Posts: 667 Member
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    Okay, so we're all trying to cut calories...My worst culprit seems to be in my morning coffee. And there's NO WAY I'm ridding myself of it altogether. So, I love flavor like hazelnut or cinnamon and a liitle(just a little sweet; sugar). Lately I've been using a certain -mate- hazelnut creamer, but it has 40 calories in 2 tsp. I have at least 2 cups, ocassionally 3. I just feel so guilty afterwards!!:cry: I've tried fat free creamer with a tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, but that adds up to 25 cal. It's just not any "good".

    I guess I can go back to green tea, but I don't want to!!!:sad:

    Any suggestions, PLEEEEASE......
  • SoupNazi
    SoupNazi Posts: 4,229 Member
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    I use skim milk and splenda....but that is an acquired taste.:ohwell:

    Have you tried it that way yet?
  • emikarls
    emikarls Posts: 1,058 Member
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    Cinnamon is actually good for your blood sugar! I put it in mine too. :drinker:
  • soup78
    soup78 Posts: 667 Member
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    Good morning, queen Soup!

    I'm not a splenda kinda girl...tried it in the past. But, it has been a while(since my Atkins stint about 5 yrs ago) so I'll have to give it another shot. I know taste buds can change with time.

    I'll give it a try, Thank You:flowerforyou:
  • SoupNazi
    SoupNazi Posts: 4,229 Member
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    Good morning, queen Soup!

    I'm not a splenda kinda girl...tried it in the past. But, it has been a while(since my Atkins stint about 5 yrs ago) so I'll have to give it another shot. I know taste buds can change with time.

    I'll give it a try, Thank You:flowerforyou:

    Good morning to you too Princess Soup!

    *sending subliminal "you love Splenda" messages :bigsmile:
  • MFS27
    MFS27 Posts: 549 Member
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    I used to be like that - I liked a little bit of coffee with my sweetener and cream! :laugh: :laugh:

    I started drinking black coffee with 1/2 cup skim milk, and sprinkle of cinnamon last year (I don't do splenda or artifical sweeteners anymore), and now I can't drink anything else - the sweet stuff is WAY too sweet (even plain sugar is too sweet in my coffee). :drinker:

    p.s. I also LOVE hazelnut and vanilla - so I get flavored coffee beans and grind my own in the morning for the "nutty" flavor.
  • dcuster143
    dcuster143 Posts: 1
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    Try adding cinnamon to the grounds when brewing and avoid Artifical sweeteners. Sugar 1 teaspoon is only 15 calories I buy Packets of suagr to keep me from over doing the sugar bowl scoop. Also thoses creamers unfortunately are not the best thing for you. I use organic half and Half or organic whole milk. And count the calories I love My coffee and I won't give it up but I have run the gammut of trying the others And I can't sacrafice taste I love what I eat and If it means better portion control so be it. Best of luck
  • Lavendersunday
    Lavendersunday Posts: 458 Member
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    Measure out your flavored creamer and sugar in tsps. Then cut back each day by just a tiny amt...say

    1/4 tsp. at a time. That will give your taste buds a chance to adjust to using less or none...which is

    entirely up to you. I :heart: coffee too but like Soupnazi take it with skim milk and splenda. I was

    contemplating giving splenda up months ago but haven't made the plunge yet.


    If something bothers you....there is usually a good reason for it....so change when you are ready! :wink:

    ~Namaste :flowerforyou:

    ~Mi
  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    Good morning...I can't live without my morning coffee. I like Hazelnut flavored coffee with Sugar Free International Caramel Creamer 1 Tbsp. It's only 15 Calories. It's so yummy:tongue: I have 2 cups a day. I should add cinnamon now too:happy:

    P.S. Yes...I just saw on "you are what you eat" that cinnamon is good for you: I just googled this:

    When you think of cinnamon, you might conjure up images of hot apple pie or warm-from-the-oven oatmeal cookies. And of course, there wouldn’t be cinnamon toast without it. You’d probably never imagine, though, that cinnamon has health benefits. In fact, researchers recently discovered that this warming spice can actually help lower your blood sugar. Some of the natural compounds in cinnamon have the ability to mimic insulin, helping glucose get into cells, where it can be used for energy, and significantly lowering blood sugar in the process.

    One study involving 60 men and women found that taking as little as 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered blood sugar by 18 to 29 percent. It also reduced bad LDL cholesterol by 7 to 27 percent in people with diabetes.

    You probably also wouldn’t guess that cinnamon is a good source of fiber (although actually, it’s not so surprising when you consider that it comes from the bark of the cinnamon tree). Two teaspoons provides 2.5 grams of fiber—more than 1/2 cup of raw cabbage or bell peppers or two dried apricot halves.

    Cinnamon also contains the mineral manganese, which may help improve the way your body uses blood sugar. Just 2 teaspoons can set you up with more than one-third of the manganese you need for the day.

    Health Bonus
    The natural chemicals in cinnamon can help prevent blood platelets from clumping together and forming dangerous clots that can trigger a heart attack. And studies show that a mere whiff of cinnamon can boost brain activity and improve concentration.
  • soup78
    soup78 Posts: 667 Member
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    p.s. I also LOVE hazelnut and vanilla - so I get flavored coffee beans and grind my own in the morning for the "nutty" flavor.

    Yeah! :drinker: I forgot I had some beans in the freezer, YUM! Great alternative that's filled with flavor.

    Thanks, MollyK! :happy:
  • soup78
    soup78 Posts: 667 Member
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    Try adding cinnamon to the grounds when brewing and avoid Artifical sweeteners. Sugar 1 teaspoon is only 15 calories I buy Packets of suagr to keep me from over doing the sugar bowl scoop. Also thoses creamers unfortunately are not the best thing for you. I use organic half and Half or organic whole milk. And count the calories I love My coffee and I won't give it up but I have run the gammut of trying the others And I can't sacrafice taste I love what I eat and If it means better portion control so be it. Best of luck

    Kinda like "your own" flavored beans! Nice trick!!! Much appreciated!

    I do measure everything now, my eyeball guess is waaaaaay off when it comes to food. Maybe I want it to be, ya know!?! :laugh: :laugh:
  • soup78
    soup78 Posts: 667 Member
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    Miss Lavender, I think your scaling back method just might work for me.
    Great advice, Thank You:flowerforyou:
  • neurogirl
    neurogirl Posts: 706 Member
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    Also, for the sweetner and flavor of it all, Splenda now makes flavored sweetner specifically for your coffee. I had gotten few free samples of the Hazlenut Splenda, although I wish I could tell you I've tried it (don't even own a coffee maker, just have it on occassion). I will have to tell you how it goes after I get myself a cup of joe, but it's another way to go without the guilt.
  • blindwebguy
    blindwebguy Posts: 50
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    This one is awesome...

    I was already doing the slimfast ultima for breakfast before my 1st coffee at work. I take all of my supplements with the SF in the morning because it helps mehold them down when I take so many pills at once.

    So then I decided I would bring my Slim Fast to the office and use about 1/3 of the can as creamer / flavor for the coffee.... it was calories I was already consuming, so I thought, kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

    I usually warm up that coffee about 3 times to stretch that original cup... gets a little stronger along the way untill my last cup but I don't need the creamers or sugar that way.

    By the way, the cinnamon works well too - I have 3 Natures Goodness Cinnamon caps with me every day and 1 usually ends up in a coffee. Great for controlling the sugar cravings!

    Just began using this site... I have a long way to go. :)
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I love my coffee so much that I just count it in. I have it with half n half, and sometimes a tiny pinch of brown sugar. It's worth it to me and keeps me from cheating with something else.

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