Sandy and I have been looking for healthy ways to refresh our weight loss and training. Signing up for lots of races has done the trick for our training, but we have not quite been able to kick the weight loss back in gear.
We’ve decided to give a low-carb eating plan a try, and are looking forward to sharing good and bad with you guys along the way.
One of my (Lloyd) biggest concerns in transitioning to low-carbs is my coffee. I love flavored coffee creamers… most of which are insanely high-carb. Over the past several days, I have been trying out different ways to make my coffee enjoyable with less (or zero) carbs.
The first thing I tried was something we already had on hand.
We really like the Fairlife protein shakes and I had heard of others using these in place of flavored creamers. They work but don’t really lighten my coffee as much as I like. I also got a little sweetener aftertaste when these warmed up in my coffee. I’ve not noticed an aftertaste when drinking these cold. A solid standby, especially since we almost always have them on hand, but not the be all end all.
Next up were some non-dairy unsweetened creamers.
The Super Creamer (Caramel flavor) from Super Coffee was tasty at first, and fairly creamy, but left a terrible artificial sweetener aftertaste, even though it doesn’t use an artificial sweetener. Sadly, this $6 bottle of creamer is getting tossed.
Next, I tried Nut Pods almond+coconut creamer (Hazelnut flavor). This one was very flavorful but like the protein drink, did not make my coffee very creamy using the recommended serving, so I would be concerned about how much I would have to use. But at 10 cal/1 tbsp, this one is definitely on the further consideration list.
Last, but not least was another almond+coconut creamer, this one from our Texas grocery chain H-E-B. I tried the unsweetened vanilla version and it had a pleasing vanilla aroma and flavor, but once again, was not very creamy. I used about 4 tbsp to get my coffee to the lightness pictured (and still not as light as I prefer it). Of course, at a mere 5 cal/1 tbsp, I could use plenty and not feel so guilty… AND since it’s half the price of the aforementioned name brand it would be easy on the wallet as well. I would definitely give the win to H-E-B on this round.
I have also tried various combinations of butter, ghee, MCT oil, and collagen peptides. I know many people either purchase or make Bulletproof coffee, but my concern there is caloric density since I drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day.
There were definitely some acceptable solutions here, but nothing that made my coffee as enjoyable as my favorite flavored creamers. So I’ll keep looking and keep sharing what I find. And if you have found a great solution for creamy, tasty, low-carb coffee creamers please share!
Tips and tricks
- I have found that using a coffee frother to introduce some air into the brew does help with creaminess and mouthfeel.
- A scoop of MCT oil added to any of the above will also give a flavor and creaminess boost.
- Collagen peptides, in addition to being great for your skin, can add some dimension to your brew as well.
Speaking of coffee… seems about time for a cup. Cheers!