What's a substitute for coffee?

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tomatoey
tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
edited May 2015 in Food and Nutrition
I have to stay away from coffee (and probably black tea, too) for a while for gut reasons. This is a huge problem because I LOVE coffee. I drink Turkish coffee (same as Greek, more or less) - i.e. the sweetest, best, yummiest coffee. I usually only have 1-2 cups a day, in the morning, and I look forward to it. I don't feel my day really starts without it. I also need it to wake the fk up and feel like a human being. Also did I mention I love it?

This is going to be really hard :(

(I'm staying away from citrus, too, so I can't have like a glass of hot water with lemon or whatever, either.)

Super sadly yours,

tomatoey

ps no caffeine allowed in general
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Replies

  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
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    oh maybe i can have a lactose free hot chocolate with fake chocolate, which i can't really have either. awful :(

    (elimination diet to identify triggers, is the reason.)
  • Gingerspice45
    Gingerspice45 Posts: 137 Member
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    If it is the caffeine that is giving you trouble, can you just drink decaf coffee or tea or is it the acid? What about chai or cappuccino?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Gingerspice45 wrote: »
    If it is the caffeine that is giving you trouble, can you just drink decaf coffee or tea or is it the acid? What about chai or cappuccino?

    Decaf is just as bad, I don't know why :( I think chai and cappuccino are out, because they also have black tea or coffee in them :( Thank you for replying, though :)
  • Gingerspice45
    Gingerspice45 Posts: 137 Member
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    warm almond or soy milk?
  • donnamcnulty
    donnamcnulty Posts: 12 Member
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    Apple cider?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Gingerspice45 wrote: »
    warm almond or soy milk?

    That could be ok :) Thank you!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
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    donnamcnulty wrote: »
    Apple cider?

    I can see where you're going, thanks for the suggestion :) No fruits or juices or related for now, I should have said, sorry :/ (Basically all I can have this week is rice and rice products and eggs and chicken and fish. After that I'm going to test different things out to see what's causing the problem.)
  • melodyis4reals
    melodyis4reals Posts: 186 Member
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    Morning thunder by celestial seasoning.
    Yummy caffeine free tea, made with chicory.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
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    melodyis4reals wrote: »
    Morning thunder by celestial seasoning.
    Yummy caffeine free tea, made with chicory.

    Ha, yeah well you see it's funny you mention that....

    It sounds great :) I think it has black tea in it though (just googled it). Thanks though :)

    I think the warm soy / almond milk is going to be the answer. Thank you, @Gingerspice45 !!
  • myfatass78
    myfatass78 Posts: 411 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Dandelion Tea worked for me. Also Caro, if you can get it. Both are caffiene free
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    myfatass78 wrote: »
    Dandelion Tea worked for me. Also Caro, if you can get it. Both are caffiene free

    Thanks! Will look into those :)
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Roobios tea. Or green tea, maybe jasmine or herb tea?
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited May 2015
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    softblondechick wrote: »
    Roobios tea. Or green tea, maybe jasmine or herb tea?

    Green tea has caffeine as well, so I wouldn't suggest that.

    Do you have to eliminate tannins as well, or is it just the caffeine in the tea? Because if you don't, you can get decaf black tea.

    ETA: What about turkish apple tea? It's sweet, warm and fulfilling and decaf, and it tastes great on it's own, so you don't need to worry about adding milk to it.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Water?

    Sorry tomatoey, I feel for you. I stopped drinking coffee (and beer and wine...) when my wife was pregnant with our first. That was hard. I also love coffee. I think if I couldn't drink it I might still grind some beans fresh in the morning just for the smell... intoxicating and ritualistic and delicious. Ugh.

    Yup, I feel for you.

    I drank a lot of water that first pregnancy and not much else. Cold water. Hot water. Just. Plain. Water.

    It's funny but hot water out of the kettle is something you can get used to and even enjoy even if it is no substitute for... well, you know. :smile:
  • jorinya
    jorinya Posts: 933 Member
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    Fruit teas and herbal teas are naturally caffeine free. You can check out this link for info on tea:
    learn-about-tea.com/herbal-tea-benefits.html

    My favourite is Cranberry and blood orange. Each fruit and herb has its own benefits.
    Have fun tasting them. Little tip: if you want to have a more flavoursome tea, leave it brew for longer. You can even drink it cold with ice.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Some good and well-meant suggestions, guys, thank you! They're appreciated :)
    aggelikik wrote: »
    I do not know where you live, but there are substitutes for Greek coffee. In my opinion, it is clear you are not drinking coffee, but they exist, and I know people who drink them. I have seen substitutes based on barley, carob or chickpeas. I do not know where you live, but there must be online stores selling them, maybe try amazon?

    I'm in Canada! We have all kinds of things, in all kinds of stores, it's just that my guts won't let me consume them just now. I'm trying a low-everything diet to work out IBS issues. (Did my writing come across as more foreign than that? Interesting.) For the moment, I'm staying away from non-white carbs, but I'll look at those drinks if it turns out I'm in the clear for grains/legumes :)

    I think I probably should have said upfront that this is an IBS thing :/ But you know :/ I don't know if fruit/herbal teas are ok, but I will look it up!
    mwyvr wrote: »
    Water?

    Sorry tomatoey, I feel for you. I stopped drinking coffee (and beer and wine...) when my wife was pregnant with our first. That was hard. I also love coffee. I think if I couldn't drink it I might still grind some beans fresh in the morning just for the smell... intoxicating and ritualistic and delicious. Ugh.

    Yup, I feel for you.

    I drank a lot of water that first pregnancy and not much else. Cold water. Hot water. Just. Plain. Water.

    It's funny but hot water out of the kettle is something you can get used to and even enjoy even if it is no substitute for... well, you know. :smile:

    I kind of hate the content of the advice you've offered, but I'm willing to consider it, given the tremendous empathy with which it was given :) Someone understands! Did water work for you?? I guess it did... Ok, I'll try it! Thank you!
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    Cocaine? wakes you up and makes you loose weight in the long run....
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I second a warm up of soy or almond milk. Can you put in a little vanilla extract or cinnamon?

    Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope it helps with the IBS.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    I second a warm up of soy or almond milk. Can you put in a little vanilla extract or cinnamon?

    Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope it helps with the IBS.

    That sounds delicious! I think the vanilla extract should be ok, and it's as close as I can get to yumminess :) Thank you! :smiley:

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