As fall drifts in and winter is near, I find that I crave coffee more and more. Although, I do love Starbucks and their multitude of delightful java drinks, I have tried to minimize my consumption ever since reading The Food Babe’s investigation into the quality of their food & coffee. It also proves to be quite a money saver when I make it at home, although I’m not an every-day coffee drinker.
Which brings me to this post. Sometimes it’s not the coffee that’s bad, it’s what we add to the coffee. Enter Coffee-mate…..yum, right? I have used it MANY times and it used to be a staple in my fridge for the occasional cup of coffee. Not anymore. Especially when there are great organic options available (even at Publix).
.jpg)
.jpg)
The first ingredient in Organic Valley French Vanilla Creamer is MILK (imagine that!) instead of water and oil. Also, the sugar and vanilla is organic and sourced via Fair Trade (BONUS!). Compare that to the ingredients in the Coffee-mate Vanilla Creamer (taken directly from coffee-mate.com):
INGREDIENTS: WATER, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, AND LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, COLOR ADDED, CARRAGEENAN.
Honestly, could you imagine adding all of this stuff to your cup of coffee one-at-a-time in the morning? Hmmm, I think I’ll add a spoonful of cottonseed oil, and maybe a sprinkle of color, oh, and don’t forget the diglycerides (food additives used to keep oil and water from separating, also just a fancy way of listing additional refined oils that can be made synthetically or from animal or vegetable products). Seriously? I think I would rather have the extra 1.5 grams of fat in my coffee from real milk & cream, than this toxic, overprocessed, pretend-food.
And if you’re really motivated, making your own creamer is REALLY easy (and you can use your own RAW milk if you’re so inclined). You can add whatever flavors you like (pumpkin spice anyone?). Check out some ideas here from Deliciously Organic:
Click here for Paleo creamer. Click here for Pumpkin Spice, French Vanilla, Peppermint, and more!
