Healthy Coffee Creamers Suggestions

Hey Everyone. About a month in but updating my food diary. I am currently using about 400 to 500 calories on sugar free coffee creamers that apparently have awful ingredients. Any recommendations? Thank you!
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Replies

  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,123 Member
    Skim milk is my go-to.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    Personally, I'd be more worried about "spending" 400 to 500 calories on coffee creamer than I would about the "awful ingredients."

    But, to address the ingredient issue, you could switch to milk or half and half or light cream* and, if "sugar free" means artificially sweetened, combine with whatever your favorite artificial sweetener is. If artificial sweetener is one of the ingredients you object to, use your favorite non-artificial sweetener (sugar, honey, etc.).

    If you want to reduce the calories, gradually cut back on the amount you're adding until you're OK with the calories you're spending on coffee.


    *If you don't do dairy, you could look for an unsweetened, unflavored
  • PopGoesTheCoyote
    PopGoesTheCoyote Posts: 94 Member
    I use coconut milk if I really want a creamer because I'm lactose intolerant and also allergic to almonds. It's considerably less than 400 calories. But if you're up for trying it, something that helped me was switching to better coffee where I actually enjoyed the flavor black. I never really considered myself a coffee drinker or a coffee snob, and didn't think that I would ever enjoy black coffee. I get beans that I grind myself, which helps significantly, and I look for better quality coffee. I'm fairly frugal, so I don't have to go that expensive. 8 O'Clock brand is the cheap one around me and okay enough for me to drink black. If you don't want to grind your own beans, it's good enough to use the grinder that the store has, if it has one, and just grind the whole bag there.

    Coffee has like two calories, which is a significant reduction. When it doesn't taste like burnt death and instead like nutty, fruity, and smoky tea, it's something I don't want creamer to interfere on.

    But black coffee aside, maybe try getting some monk fruit packets and skim milk.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    I use 6 g of sugar, 1 teaspoon half & half, and 70 g 1% milk for 59 calories per one cup of coffee.

    I have one cup of coffee in the AM, then switch to tea, for which I need half the sugar, 1/4 of the half & half, and no milk.
  • KNoceros
    KNoceros Posts: 324 Member
    I may be weird, or it may be a UK thing, but I’ve only ever used milk. Semi skimmed (2%), about 50ml. Adds 25cal per mug.
  • Nicole_Darling00
    Nicole_Darling00 Posts: 32 Member
    I use vanilla protein powder! The kind I use is already rather sweet, and one day I tried it and I’ve never gone back to creamer. Nice bonus of protein for the day!
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    I only drink cold brew (unless I'm sick I just don't enjoy drinking hot things) but I add about 18-22 g of half and half to my coffee each morning, or regular whole milk if I'm out. When I started weighing my usual pour was closer to 40 g, but I've worked it down over time and it tastes mostly the same. Lately I've been having two cups so the total calories for my coffee daily is about 50, and they are well worth it.
  • CycleMomOf3
    CycleMomOf3 Posts: 336 Member
    I drink my coffee as a protein shake in the morning. A scoop of protein powder, some cold brew (or day-old refrigerated) coffee, a cup of unsweetened almond milk. I usually blend it with some ice and it's a decent breakfast/meal replacement for me.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,515 Member
    I just use heavy cream in my coffee. And then if I want it sweet and/or flavored, I use the Skinny Mixes Syrups.
  • kosseychick
    kosseychick Posts: 244 Member
    I drink my cold brew with no sugar coconut milk.. if I want a bit of sweetness I add a 1/2 tsp of maple syrup
  • dviolin1982
    dviolin1982 Posts: 17 Member
    5% cream, 1 tbsp. is 15 cal. I drink tea and that's all I add to it.
  • ITSpartan
    ITSpartan Posts: 3 Member
    Sorry for the information. So my 400 - 500 calories is 3 x 20oz Cups a Day. I use 5 Tablespoons of Non-Dairy Creamer which is 20 to 25 cals per Table Spoon. So the calorie amount was not in one cup :) I think I gave goal06082021 a panic attack. Thank you for the response!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,907 Member
    I have one cup a day and I have it the way I want it. Life's short. :)
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    A quick Google tells me that most sugar-free coffee creamers come in around 20 cal per tbsp. 400 calories' worth of that is more than a cup. If you're using half a pint of creamer in your coffee, at least one of these three things is true:
    • You don't actually like coffee, if you need to use that much creamer to make it drinkable. You don't have to drink coffee if you don't like it, you could stop doing that thing.
    • The coffee you buy sucks. I'll second @PopGoesTheCoyote, buy better coffee. If the grocery store is your only source for beans, whole bean will always be better than pre-ground, even if you do grind the bag at the store.
    • You're drinking way, way too much coffee - if 10 fl oz of creamer is working out to a sane proportion of creamer to coffee, you must be drinking close to a quart of coffee per day. I'm not a doctor but that seems like it's probably bad for you.

    There is also a fourth possibility that just occurred to me. If you have a drip coffee maker, where the carafe sits on a warmer/hot plate after it's done brewing, like most people probably do...You're making too much coffee at one time, it's sitting on the warmer for hours and hours, and by the time you reach the end of the pot it's gotten really bitter and unpleasant so you need to load it up with creamer to make it palatable. Make less at a time, or get a different kind of coffee maker. (I highly recommend a French press.) If you continue to heat brewed coffee it gets really bitter and gross - this is why diner coffee is Like That, because they have the carafes sitting on hot plates after it's brewed.

    I mean. I arguably don't like coffee. I use 8 ounces of some kind of creamer (actual milk or milk replacer) per 12 ounces of coffee.. Except I like it that way a lot. If I used the 20 cals per tbsp that'd get me to 600 calories with a couple of cups. I won't because that amount of sweet would not be my favorite).

    I also only do one caffeinated cup a day and another couple of decaf.).
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,344 Member
    edited August 2021
    Had a lot of oat milk left over from a visitor. 120 calories a cup. Ack!!!!

    Til I realized it makes a great, creamy, slightly sweet creamer for coffee and tea and only requires 1/4 cup (60gr on my scale).

    I can live with 30 calories.

    BTW have begun using decaf coffee granules as a flavoring in smoothies, pancakes, BBQ, etc. really brings depth to the flavor for no calories.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,983 Member
    KNoceros wrote: »
    I may be weird, or it may be a UK thing, but I’ve only ever used milk. Semi skimmed (2%), about 50ml. Adds 25cal per mug.

    I only use milk as well. I'm in the U.S., and it is not as common here. A co-worker who is from Ireland was shocked to see me putting milk in my coffee. he says everyone else thinks he's weird for doing it.