Hi Guys!
I am so excited for today’s recipe. But first let me tell you about an article I was reading about non-dairy coffee creamer and about how bad it is for you. I don’t want to say the brands, but just about all of those flavored coffee creamers are not good for you. It’s made of chemicals, and get this trans fat! Trans fat is the worse fat you can consume!! The government requires that a company puts the trans fat on the label, but lower than one-half gram can be listed as zero grams of trans fats! So why is that so bad? Serving size is the answer. If you have something that contains one-half gram fat (listed as zero), your still consuming one-half gram, however, if you have coffee creamer that has 63 servings in a bottle and you use it all in a week, you just consumed 31.5 grams of trans fat! Hello!!! That’s a lot!!! Don’t do it!! Trust me I know how hard it can be because I was one of those non-dairy coffee creamer drinkers! So what did I do to combat the need for coffee creamer? I made my own and you know what it is creamer, thicker and more delicious than the stuff in the bottle.
I love my coffee creamer! It takes a few minutes to make and it’s all natural. It contains 4 ingredients, half & half (milk & cream), non-fat milk, sugar and vanilla extract. All natural things. Yes it contains real sugar, but real sugar your body can process, it can’t process fake sugar. If you don’t use table sugar, you can always use maple syrup or honey. I will gladly have my creamer any day and to boot it’s cheaper to make then buying coffee creamer.
I didn’t want this post to get into a lecture, but I really feel the need to share my new-found information with you. So how do you know if something contains trans fat? It will contain one or all three of these ingredients; “partially hydrogenated,” or just “hydrogenated,” and “canola oil.” Here is the label from my Husbands Vanilla Coffee Creamer.
Look at the first 3 ingredients. Sugar and partially hydrogenated soybean. In the sugar-free creamer the first three ingredients are water, corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean. More trans fat! Please guys, make your own creamer and skip this stuff! Or just use half and half and sugar. Half and half is better for you than chemicals.
Ok, enough lecture of trans fat, let’s get to the good stuff, coffee creamer. My coffee creamer is easy to make. I just add all the ingredients, except the vanilla to a pan, heat it until the sugar is dissolved, let it cool and enjoy! The creamer lasts a week or longer in the fridge. I have made this three times and I simply love it. It really does make my coffee creamy, and gives it the most wonderful vanilla flavor. I didn’t add that much sugar to mine, but please add more to your creamer if you like. I feel if I need more sugar in my coffee, I just add a teaspoon. But honestly I haven’t added any additional sugar. Oh and to add some zip to my coffee, I add a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to my cup of coffee, than my creamer, give a mix and oh boy chocolaty perfection!!!
- 1 cup half and half
- 1½ cups non-fat milk
- 2 tbsp. sugar or maple syrup or honey
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- In a medium sauce, over low heat, add half and half, milk and sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and bubbles start to appear on the sides of the pan; about 10 minutes.
- Take pan off of heat and whisk in vanilla extract. Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will last about a week or more.
- Adjust sweetness to taste.
I look forward to waking up every morning and having a cup of coffee with my creamer. I plan on trying this basic recipe with different flavors. Oh the sky is the limit on where you can go!! Oh and I almost forgot to tell you, the serving size is 2 tablespoons, which is less than sugar-free and regular coffee creamer. 😉
So go relax, and grab a cup of Joe!
Have a great day!
Toodles,
Jennifer
