Homemade Dairy Free Coffee Creamer = Sad Face

I am known for keeping it real…some may say "keepin’ it sucka free" so let’s be real folks…this creamer is subpar in comparison to the name brand stuff.  If you can go totally John Wayne with your coffee and I mean straight up black, then this might be ok for you for a small amount of flavor.  I however am trying to give up lavishly good tasting food AKA all the bad stuff and eating for nutrition instead…so here I am with my non-dairy homemade creamer review.

I was graciously given a recipe to make my own creamer to use in lieu of the fattening but oh so delicious name brand dairy creamer.  Before making it I read the recipe ingredients and the reviews posted by others who gave this a shot.  Danielle Walker who is the author of “Against the Grain” said this is her version of a homemade Coffeemate coffee creamer.   So I thought what the heck, let’s give it a go!

The first time I tried to make it I failed epically…it’s not hard, I’m just a bonehead sometimes and it tasted really bland.  So because it is relatively simple I tried it again, this time the way the recipe called for and I have to say…still not impressed.  Nothing against her version of this creamer, but I thought I was getting something a little tastier than what I actually made.  It’s still bland and tastes nothing like vanilla as the recipe states even though you purchase expensive vanilla beans.  I was highly disappointed. 

Having said this I think that if you modify her recipe a bit and use a vanilla almond milk instead of regular almond milk then that might help give back some of a more vanilla taste than the vanilla bean alone.  I would say that this is definitely a way more expensive alternative than actual dairy creamer, but we all know that eating healthy costs a bit more.  If you do not have all the ingredients at home already and you need to purchase them then I would say you can bet on spending between $15-$20 to make this creamer.  The vanilla beans alone are around $6 for only two beans. 

I am going to try this one more time after I finish the bottle I made, but this time using vanilla almond milk or maybe even trying a vanilla extract.  Below is a link to Danielle’s recipe if you want to give it a try.  I think it is definitely worth trying for the simple fact that my take on it could be completely different than yours.  If you do try this then let me know how it works out of you.

 

As in all things in life you should try to find the silver lining – my silver lining for my coffee situation…I’m drinking a heck of a lot less coffee daily!

 French Vanilla Coffee Creamer (Dairy Free)

Day 1: Is there an intervention program for creamer junkies??

So I’ve been working out a solid three months now, really watching what I’m eating, and cutting out really bad stuff like soda & sugar.  After three months in the gym, only going about 3 days a week I have actually put on four pounds…WTH??  It’s been frustrating and really discouraging.  To me it’s like if I am cutting out all this bad stuff and still gaining weight then what the heck is the point of even working out or eating healthy?  Shouldn’t I just enjoy my life and eat all the bad?  Needless to say I’ve gone through about a solid month of self deprecation and self loathing; I feel the worst for my boyfriend.  He is such a good guy and has only been supportive, but at some point he is going to kill me!

My current “diet” before today has not been an actual diet…I don’t believe in those.  I have just been trying to eat right by only eating lean meats, fresh fruits and veggies, and smaller portions throughout the day.  My downfall I do believe is dairy products.  Oh dairy, you sweet temptress of life with your cheeses, milk, ice creams, and oh so wonderful coffee creamers.  Why so many creamers???  It seems like my weakness is that I hang off the teat of sweet creamers and crave them in my umpteen cups of coffee per day.  Damn you dairy gods!! 

I’ve been reading up on different diets, fads, and other slightly cultist things that have worked for other people.  One diet that has really caught my attention is the Paleo diet…to be honest, the only reason it’s caught my attention is because of the success I have seen it have on one of my friends.   Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t stand dieting, but if I can adopt some of the really helpful habits on top of kicking up about 20 notches in the gym then I should hopefully see some results, right?  So instead of doing a full blown Paleo diet I will just take on some of the major selling points, you know the ones that suck really bad…like eliminating dairy and other personal favorites to see what happens. 

For the next 30 days I am completely cutting out dairy (including my favorite coconut creamer), grains…including rice, hopefully I don’t off myself on that one, bread…shouldn’t be an issue for me, at least not today, pretty much all sugars…all of them & beans…yep, beans.  That apparently, according to my source includes all of them, even green beans & peas.  That will be a hard one for me, I love green beans!  I am willing to try anything to just live a healthier lifestyle and not suck down all the horrid things the FDA has to offer.  My goal is to see if I can drop some belly fat…if so I will totally revamp my actual “diet” and by diet I mean what I ingest on a daily basis.  My goal is just to eat right and live a healthy lifestyle.  I will share my findings and copy links to this blog on some of the research I find as well as share my workouts and my meals via Instagram.  Wish me luck, actually wish those around me luck as they may need it more than I.