Find out Why We Stopped Drinking Coffee Creamer – And why hydrogenated oils are bad for your health. Learn what we use for our coffee instead, and try this delicious recipe for Homemade Vanilla Bean Coffee Creamer.
Are you starting off your day with a hot cup of plastic?
Sometimes I wish I had an IV hooked up to me with coffee running through the tubes.
Yes, I like coffee and I like all kinds. I’m not a coffee-snob. It doesn’t have to be a particular brand or a particular strength. Sure I have my favorites, but if a cup of brewed coffee is offered, I won’t say no.
I sometimes drink it black, but my perfect morning cup includes one cup of coffee and one tablespoon of coffee creamer.
Ack! I’m craving a hot cup as I type this!
Back when I started to seriously re-think what my family was eating, I started to read more labels. When I asked myself, “What’s this stuff made of?,” I realized that 98% of my coffee creamer was made up of 3 ingredients: water, sugar (many also have high fructose corn syrup), and partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil.
What are the Hydrogenated Oils found in Coffee Creamer?
In terms we can all understand, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated and shortening are the “friendly” terms for trans fat.
Manufacturers try to trick us into thinking we’re not consuming trans fat (because why would we think that these differently named items are really the same thing?) and just about every medical organization agrees that trans fat is bad for you.
New York City banned trans fats, back in 2008, from all of its restaurants. But what exactly is the stuff?
How are trans fats made?
A trans fat is a perfectly good (and healthy) fat that’s forced to morph into something icky and in some ways, deadly.
Trans fats are created in a lab. Manufacturers take an oil (palm, kernel, soybean, corn or coconut oil), inject it with a metal (nickel, platinum or aluminum) and this causes the molecules of the oil to rearrange themselves. At room temperature, the end result is either a semi-solid (a.k.a. partially hydrogenated) or solid oil (a.k.a. fully or just hydrogenated).
Can you imagine what your body has to do in order to process this almost-plastic substance through your bloodstream?!
It’s no wonder why trans fat causes all sorts of health problems. It raises your bad cholesterol (LDL), lowers your good cholesterol (HDL), clogs your arteries (imagine soaking up dry flour with a sponge), is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes, and it’s been linked directly to coronary heart disease.
Wowzers.
Now I need to pause for a moment and interject some common sense here. I am not saying that if you drink coffee creamer you’ll get heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol. I’m not saying that at all.
What I am saying is that coffee creamer is comprised of a key ingredient THAT DOES cause heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.
And I do know this: Cutting it out can only be good for your body!
Why We Stopped Drinking Coffee Creamer
And consuming all other hydrogenated oils.
Do I sound a little crazy? Am I going overboard?
I don’t think so. This battle isn’t just about me. I have a family to take care of. The decisions I make today, the decisions I make in the grocery stores, affect these guys.
Here are some of the items I found in my pantry that contained some form of hydrogenated oils:
- granola bars
- cookies
- hot chocolate
- peanut butter (the sweetened kind with more than just peanuts and salt)
- microwave popcorn (even labeled “healthy!”)
- saltine crackers
- butter crackers
- graham crackers
- salad dressings (several brands!!)
- BBQ sauce
- sriracha sauce
Yikes! Eliminating these items also eliminated a lot of processed foods from my pantry. This means that we started to rely on whole real foods to fill us up instead.
What can I use instead of store-bought coffee creamer?
When I first discovered the nasty truth hidden in my cup of coffee, I stopped drinking coffee creamer and I simply went to black coffee. I usually do like it like that. However, there are some days when you need to mix it up.
So I created my homemade vanilla bean creamer. Made with vanilla bean powder, or vanilla extract, and only natural sweetener (maple syrup), this stuff even tastes better than the store bought stuff! You can even make it dairy free with almond milk, for example!
How do I replace store-bought coffee creamer and other hydrogenated items with real foods?
If you’re going through your pantry and removing items with harmful ingredients, then anything with hydrogenated oils needs to go. When you’ve stopped drinking coffee creamer, your best bet is to go black, make a homemade creamer, or simply use ‘cream and sugar,’ (a natural sweetener preferably).
Other items, like tortillas and peanut butter, can either be made from scratch (these tortillas are SO GOOD) or purchased if you are diligent to double check the ingredient list. Here is a list of 25+ real food snacks that are easy to make to help you avoid the processed foods!
Sometimes healthier options are hard to find locally, so online grocery shopping is a good alternative. You can still price check, and ingredient check, when you shop online. I’ve found these sources to be pretty good on price and ingredients:
- Amazon – if you try one month free of Amazon Prime, you get free 2-day shipping and access to Prime Pantry for groceries.
- Thrive Market – Click here to see the Exclusive Offer for Crumbs readers!
- Vitacost – They often have good sales that include free shipping. Click on this Vitacost link to see what’s on sale.
Wendy
Great job! I have done the same thing, I went to 1/2 & 1/2 with one spoon of organic sugar. Then a few months ago I switched to coconut sugar which is way less sweet. it gives just a hint of sweet but lets the coffee flavor still come through. I do, on occasion, still get a Starbucks, but my favorite trick there is to order a grande iced coffee (plain) then you can add a flavor if desired and they have 1/2&1/2 you can add youself, and it is way cheaper than any of their specialty drinks with less junk!
April
I too gave up the powdered and liquid coffee creamer after researching the ingredients. However, I love creamer more than coffee so had to find a substitute. Lots of good recipes for homemade creamer on the web. My favorite is
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 3/4 cup whole milk or half & half or almond milk – your choice of milks
2 tsp vanilla extract
Shake it up and store in frig – goes with all flavors of coffee!
Dolores
How long will it keep in fridge?🌻
Kyare - Team Crumbs
Dolores, 1 week. =)
Joede
I get horrible heartburn when I utilize any of the “fake” creamers. I have been resorting to milk (no condensed milk or cream in the house) and it just waters down the coffee. Today I put a little “fake” creamer in and low and behold within 30 minutes I had heartburn. This was a nice little reminder to just throw it away and go get the good stuff.
Crys
While you’re at it you should look into the splenda garbage you put in your coffee.
Tiffany
Good news Crys – we’ve been Splenda-free for a full year now!
Adam
You can take this whole “ban everything” a little too far. Not only are you going to make your children neurotic nutcases, you can very easily get into that holier-than-thou annoy everyone in your life area. The whole “we eat only dirt and water” movement gets on my nerves. Being healthy is one thing but people go too far.
Tiffany
LOL, it’s funny that you say this Adam because we truly abide by the 80/20 rule. Although I will say that healthy living is comprised of baby steps, one of which being eliminating HFCS and hydrogenated oils. I encourage you to browse Crumbs – you’ll see that we’re far from perfect, don’t ban everything and certainly don’t consider ourselves “holier than thou” 🙂
Dolores
I agree what I haven’t seen and no one has addressed when comes to sugar or syrups that some of us are diabetics and need to be careful when it comes to sugar or syrup.I have tried several stevias
some are better then others but they are all rather pricey and I’m retired on a fixed income and yes I’d like to eat healthier which I pretty much do. What makes me mad is the healthy and organic foods are pricey as well and any moment something new and better for you the price goes up it’s like you can’t win aka catch a break.🌻😔
Stacy
Okay, so you think trans fats are bad for you, but you use Splenda? Have you done your research on artificial sweeteners? That is also made in a lab and really, really bad for your body.
Tiffany
Hi Stacy – I used Splenda at the time of the post, but our house has been a Splenda-free zone for over a year!
CATRYNA
Just make sure that you’re using raw milk and cream, otherwise you are still using useless products that are nothing but chemicals or chemical derivatives.
Tiffany
Hi Catryna,
Raw milk & cream is VERY expensive in my area – $20/gal for milk, and even more for cream. I know that organic milk isn’t the upmost best, but it’s the best we can do for now. 🙂
CATRYNA
$20 per gallon? Whew! That’s just criminal.
Tiffany
Yep. I feel the same way. Trust me, I WANT raw milk, but it requires a lot of cut backs in other areas, or at least a good bit of clearanced meat deals, to free up the funds, lol.
CATRYNA
I hear you. I remember back when I first started using raw dairy in 1970. The price for a half gallon of raw whole milk was 69c. It was still more than the commercial milk, but not like today. Here in our area, it’s $7, per half gallon, which is 10 times more than 40 years ago. But then so is gas. LOL
Tessa W
We ditched our coffee creamer a while back too. I even managed to convince my hubby to give it up! All we do now is cream and sugar (we really like Demerara yum!). Sometimes I add some homemade vanilla extract too. I have also made vanilla syrup with about 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, and 4tbsp vanilla extract. Boil until sugar is dissolved and it has thickened a bit. I keep it in the fridge and it doesn’t really go bad. At least mine never has before I finish it. Then I just pour some of that in with some cream and YUM! I tried the milk based homemade recipes but it was a nuisance to have to make it so frequently. I also like that, with the syrup, I can put it in my (homemade) yogurt too.
Tiffany
Your syrup sounds delicious! And since it’s mostly flavored sugar, you can add just a tiny bit with your creamer. And the yogurt idea is brilliant! Thanks for sharing Tessa 🙂
Maliylou
I just bought creamer from sprouts thinking oh it’s sprouts I don’t have to read the label. Nope all bad so bummed and sick of going into allegedly “healthy” “natural ” grocery stores to find out its crap or its from china. Anyway here’s a great coffee creamer recipe I thought I’d share.
Cinnamon Strudel Creamer
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat. Stir in extracts. Strain through a fine mesh sieve (I didn’t, no big deal), pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. Will keep for 10 days.
Tiffany
It’s a shame, isn’t it Maliylou? Always having to keep up our guard can be tiring, but our health is worth it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your creamer recipe – I’ll have to give that one a try while I still have almond extract in the cupboard! 🙂
Tabatha Elsberry
I am a health and wellness professional and I have a soap box about food labels in general and what they are able to get away with!
Yeah for ditching Splenda as well – also one of my comments until you updated again!
Here is what I learned LONG ago – I would rather have a little less of NATURAL goodies than garbage any day – like 1/2 and 1/2, ice cream, whatever.
AND here is an easy tip for everyone – they flavor processed foods with only 3 things, all cheap – fat, sugar or salt/sodium. SO, if they claim one thing like LOW FAT or FAT FREE, I guarantee you one or both of the other two are higher. I am not certian today, but I think Reduced Fat Oreos is a situation where the lower fat version has more sugar, likely sodium too and ends up being more overall calories! Again, not sure, disclaimer, haha! But it can happen.
So, you have to pay attention to waht issues you are at risk for – sugars, fats, high blood pressure and sodium content? You would indeed be surprised when reading labels, oh my! Good job paying attention in general and TRYING…better than most!
Another thing I can’t stand is the stamps all over – Heart Healthy – American Heart Association, or whoever, typically PAYS to put those things on, partner, everyone is in bed with everyone else -so reading the LABEL helps more than this or that….REALLLLLY??? Fruit Loops are a part of a heart healthy diet??? I think not….
I had my kiddos start reading lables, particularly with cereal, and gave them a sugar gram limit, as well as a minimum fiber amount adn THEY were surprised as to what they thought was healthy and was indeed not…awesome revelations!
Healthy Eating everyone!
Tiffany
Tabatha – if you were here, I’d hug you! 🙂
I totally agree with your soap box issues and would speak out more often, except that it’s a tough box for me to get off of so I just avoid it for now.
I think I saw a vegan experiment documentary where they showed Oreos as being vegan, yet they touted vegan as healthy… so Oreos are healthy? I think not.
Feel free to chat on your soap box more often – I enjoyed reading from another like-minded eater! 🙂
Kim
Giving up creamer is a great first step, but Splenda should definitely be the next thing you give up. Read up on the toxic chemical mess that is and how it was discovered. It is just as bad as the trans fat you are trying to rid yourself of. I have been cutting down my coffee consumption and I have learned to enjoy it “Bulletproof” it is what many people following a Paleo lifestyle drink. Using an immersion blender or something similar, add 1 T Coconut oil and 1 T grass fed butter with a few drops of Stevia. I like Vanilla Cream. Blend. It makes a great creamy treat with good healthy fats. Yum!
Tiffany
Hi Kim!
This post is from last summer, so I should update that I we officially ditched Splenda as of January 1! I’ve been adding NuNaturals stevia with half and half and enjoying it immensely. I’ll have to give your coconut oil/butter/stevia blend a try!
Maggie Streib
I use almond milk. I heat it in a stainless steel pan on the stove while whisking it to a quite firm foam. Heating it takes away most of the almond taste. I pour the foam on the half full cup of coffee. By the time I’m ready to sit down to enjoy my supps the foamhas released some almond milk into the coffee turning a pretty color.
Tiffany
I have some friends who do something similar and they enjoy it that way as well. We don’t drink almond milk anymore, but the slight taste was nice!
Samantha F.
I’m a newer reader but we cut out processed foods at the beginning of the year and then made the switch to a plant based diet in March but before we went plant based this was the recipe I used for coffee creamer. I no longer use creamer just drink my coffee black (as long as it is good organic stuff). If I am at somebody else’s house I add a spoonful of maple syrup.
http://deliciouslyorganic.net/homemade-coffee-creamer
Tiffany
Love Carrie’s site – her pumpkin coffee creamer is one of my favorites! Mmmm…. haven’t tried maple syrup yet, sounds yummy! I think it’s a bit of laziness as to me not making my own. I thought I would eventually, but I’ve been drinking half/half for so long that now I’m just used to it, lol.
CD
How do you that you’re using pure maple syrup or honey? Heard they’ve been manipulating the contents with high fructose! Scarey!!
Kyare - Team Crumbs
CD, the best way to make sure you are getting what you think is to buy locally!
maria
I love my coffee creamer and with a almost 2 year old and another little one due in 2 months I Can’ T imagine giving up coffee yet. I’ll have to try the homemade chocolate sauce and almond milk (lactose intolerant unfortunately)
C Gomez
Vanilla almond milk is great
christie
That is so disguting ! Plain old cream is better for you then that! I may have to throw out the little packets of hot chocolate mix! I bet that is in there! I read recently that you can make your own chocolate syrup and add it to hot milk….
~ Christie
Tiffany
Hi Jim! Taking coffee away from a mom of two pre-schoolers may not go over so well. 😉 Although since we’ve increased our fruit and veggies, we’ve been drinking less coffee each morning!
Mike
Jim – no coffee !?!?
jerilyn
reading that makes me sad… i loooove my coffee. I can drink regular coffee at 7pm at night and have no issues falling asleep at 10pm.
Tiffany
Wow – lucky you! I’ll admit that creamer is tasty, but since switching to half & half, I’m enjoying the COFFEE flavor a bit more and not tasting so much of the artificial flavor. I’m looking forward to the holidays when all the fun flavors of coffee come out!
Constant Companion
I stopped using artificial creamers decades ago..and now–I can’t stand them. Other than a specialty coffee now and then..I use half and half and–thats it. No sweeteners.
Lindel
Just wanted to know yoy can make condensed milk at home. Visit down to earth blog.
Tiffany
Thanks for the tip Lindel!
jerilyn
The only time I’ve used coffee creamer is after my last baby was born when I had to give up dairy. Then when I partially came out of my post baby brain fog I realized that it had dairy in it plus more. So I stopped using it. I use whole cream until recently when I had to give up dairy again, now it’s just a bit of coconut oil.
I’m re-evaluating everything we eat too- very eye opening!
Tiffany
Mmm, whole cream sounds heavenly! I’m a fan of coconut oil, but I haven’t tried it in coffee yet. Very eye opening indeed!!
Brian
Hydrogenated oils (as opposed to partially hydrogenated oils) do not contain any trans fats,
Adam
Your statement is incorrect. You are either misinformed or you are deliberately lying.
a chemist
He’s actually right. the ‘trans’ part in ‘trans fat’ refers to how the hydrogens in a carbon chain are arranged relative to a carbon to carbon double bond. if a fat is fully hydrogenated then by definition it has no remaining double bonds and can’t be a trans fat. You should do your own research properly before calling people out online.
Nick
Also if you read the nutritional information panel that you yourself posted with the article you will notice that it says 0% trans fats.
Duke
This is to Adam…You are so rude!!! You can dispute the answer but in a more mature way than accusing someone of lying. You are an insult to the human race….now I’m being rude…you brought that out in me!
Roy Fullmer
Even though we know that fully hydrogenated oil does not contain trans fat, until legal action is taken to ban trans fats forever, they will probably misunderstand what is at stake and do a sloppy job at hydrogenating.
Dietetic
Actually partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated both are trans fats. You are replacing the double bonds by inserting hydrogen in both cases, whether you are replacing one double bond or every double bond in the case of polyunsaturated fats, it is still considered a trans fat.
Gary Douglas
My son has put it in his coffee and a dab of butter. Why? There is something about what is in both that together wakes you up mentally. He’s got all the science figured out. I’ve tried it and it does work. Approximate measure: A teaspoon of coconut oil and a pad of butter to a full cup.
NoniB
I also recently discovered that a tsp of coconut oil makes a smooth and mellow cup of ‘black’ coffee. I’ve used butter on occasion for a few years, but really like the coconut oil better. I also recycled a maple syrup jug as a ‘coffee-creamer’ container, fill with whole milk and add a TBS of pure vanilla extract to the 16 oz container. I’m just trying to eliminate all artificial chemicals from my diet.
deb
Is there much sugar in whole cream?
Tiffany
There’s lactose in dairy, which is a natural sugar, but there shouldn’t be any added sugar in whole cream.
Susanna
Coconut oil has a sweet to me no sugar needed !
Tina Swilling
Thank you sooooo much! TOSSING IT TODAY! IVE GOT POWDER AND LIQUID! GONE!😪😪
DRS
Please go read Dr. McDougall’s take on all oils, meat, dairy, and food industry.. The Starch Solution is an eye opener. Lots of his videos are on YouTube. Im still surprised how it promotes illness and cancer on a massive scale.
Tiffany
Hello! Good suggestion! We’ve read his research, and like to balance it out with other experts as well. ♥
nicoleandmaggie
Also: it tastes nasty. Unlike half-and-half which is ambrosial.
One thing that really cemented our desire to eat high quality whole foods we recognized was having a toddler in a diaper. After seeing what processed food does on the other end compared to healthy whole foods, it made us wonder why on earth we would willingly put such things in our bodies.
Alexis
Because it tastes good and it’s easy. I don’t have time to make EVERYTHING from scratch having three kids under 3 and now I have to feel like a horrible mother because God forbid my two-year-old twins eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch most days. God knows what my baby is receiving in my breast milk! Instead of blaming us parents/ourselves for trusting that they don’t poison us via our food, we should demand THEY change and regulate all of these toxic chemicals! Especially because you can make your kid eat healthy all you want, once they are old enough to make their own food they will likely take the easy way or order out since that’s what all the kids are doing nowadays.
Kyare - Team Crumbs
Alexis, no one here is saying you are a bad mom or have to make everything from scratch! The fact that you care shows how much of an amazing mother you are. I have one baby girl and man is it hard! As a matter of fact if you want to know a secret… when I am busy my baby girl feeds herself with Gerber snacks or Comforts fruit crisps. Because the honest truth is not everyone is the 100% made from scratch type! The most important thing is that you look at the options you have then do the best you can with all your love and care. I know it is hard not to compare yourself to others, trust me I have been there and probably will be again, but your kids think you are the best mom in the universe and they see the love you put into those sandwiches when there may be days you are worn out and at your wits end.
Carol A Ranney
Another good reason to stop using hydrogenated oils is the destruction of virgin jungle in Indonesia and elsewhere to plant palm oil trees, the source of much of the hydrogenated oils we use. So many creatures are being driven to extinction (ex. orangutans) and the rain forest is essential to climate control.