For most of us, the one essential thing that can’t be missed in our kitchen in the morning and throughout the rest of the day is coffee. Let’s face it, how good does it feel to start your day (especially during autumn and winter) with a tasty cup of coffee? But oftentimes coffee has a lot of calories in it – especially from cream. But not adding cream isn’t as easy as it sounds. Have you ever wondered how to stop putting cream in coffee?
We have! That’s why we’ve put together this useful article to help you stop putting cream in your coffee. Sometimes all you need is a routine or quick fixes to break a habit such as putting cream in your coffee.
The easiest way to stop putting cream in your coffee is to stave off gradually. We recommend measuring out how much cream you usually add each morning, then slowly reducing the amount you add by a teaspoon each day. After two weeks or so you won’t be adding any at all!
But that’s just one way to do it. For those of you who are on a diet or thinking that they’re consuming too many calories, we’ve got even more solutions for you. In this article, we’ll go over the best ways to stop putting cream in your coffee, as well as many healthy substitutes you can add instead.
Let’s jump in.
Why You Should Stop Putting Cream in Your Coffee
One tablespoon of cream in your coffee in the morning it’s not so bad for you, however, adding too much can be bad for your health. In fact, many of the creamers we love so much have a high level of sugar. Most creamers have around 5 grams of sugar. This amount of sugar is bad for your health and it also increases the possibility of heart disease and obesity.
Author Note: The best thing for our bodies would be to avoid adding any sugar – but as I’m sure you know, this is easier said than done. In addition to natural sugar, a lot of creamers have a high level of artificial sweeteners that are also not good for.
Artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain, as well as tend to make us crave sugar even more.
Other Options You Can Add to Your Coffee
If you can’t stop using cream all of a sudden there are a few ways to do it gradually.
- As mentioned earlier. Start using less cream gradually. You can also use a half portion of creamer and half of skim milk to water it down.
- Replace the creamer with one or two tablespoons of sugar and milk; then start adding less and less sugar.
- Replace the creamer with half and half, then mix half of the half and half and some milk until you’re able to only drink it with milk (almond would be a great choice if you’re looking to reduce calories even further).
Switch to Drinking Black Coffee
Another option is to switch to drinking black coffee immediately. This might be harder for some, but if you like the flavor of coffee it can work. You’ll get all the same caffeine benefits as coffee with creamer too.
Studies have shown that drinking black coffee actually has health benefits as well.
- It can improve cardiovascular health.
- It can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Black coffee contains a lot of nutrients – such as Vitamin B2/ B5/ B3, potassium, and magnesium.
- It can reduce the risk of cancer – it’s still uncertain how is that possible but the closest answer is that black coffee is high in antioxidants and that’s why it has this effect.
- It helps prevent Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, alongside a healthy eating habit and some exercise, it has been shown that coffee helps to keep our brain active and increase memory power.
- Black coffee helps burning fat because it increases your metabolic rate by 3 – 10%, if you drink a cup of black coffee after a meal the chlorogenic acid present in it will slow down the production of glucose.
- Many people actually drink a cup of coffee before hitting the gym for a boost of energy.
What to Put in Your Coffee Instead of Creamer
For those of us who don’t like the flavor of plain black coffee, there are lots of other low-calorie options you can add to your coffee. Here are some of our favorite non-creamer ingredients you can add to your coffee to make it taste better.
Organic Cinnamon
It helps to cover up the bitter taste of black coffee and can add a warm holiday-themed flavor. Definitely worth a shot!
Canned Pumpkin
For those of you who are wondering, this is a lot making a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks – which I bet you all had one at least once. Simply add a tablespoon of canned pumpkin, a pinch of cinnamon, vanilla extract, and there you go! If you want to add a little sugar too it can make a big difference.
Almond or Coconut Milk
These two types of milk are a great alternative to coffee creamer. Almond milk contains vitamin B-12 while coconut milk has a high level of iron and calcium. It’s also denser than almond milk and will give your coffee a similar mouthfeel as adding cream.
Author Note: Both are very easy to make at home, but if you decide to buy coconut milk at the store try to buy the one with fewer ingredients (mainly just coconut and water). You can also add some vanilla, cocoa, or cinnamon to give your coffee extra flavor.
Honey
If you are ok with adding additional sugar to your coffee, we recommend trying honey. Honey has a lot of health benefits that most people forget about since it has so much sugar in it.
In fact, it is rich in antioxidants, easier to digest, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory.
Vegan Cream
You can also make your vegan cream at home – you’ll need raw cashews and water (if you want to make it tastier you can add a pinch of vanilla or cinnamon). First, you soak the cashew in cold water (leave them for two or three hours) or hot water (for five or ten minutes). Then drain, rinse, and put them in the blender. Blend until the mixture becomes creamy.
You can then store it in your fridge for a week or two, or put in your freezer if you want it to last even longer.
FAQ
How Long Does Creamer Last?
Liquid creamers have to be stored in the refrigerator if opened. If they are unopened, however, you can keep them in a room-temperature cupboard. The mini cups, the one that you can find in a hotel room too, can be kept at room temperature before and after the opening.
As for the powdered creamers, you can keep them at room temperature (like all the other powdered milk products) as long as they’re sealed tight.
Can I Put Cream in My Coffee and Still Lose Weight?
As we said before, using too much cream in your coffee will increase your caloric intake. If your goal is to lose weight, we recommend sticking to drinking black coffee. If you can’t give up on the sweetness of your cream, you can always try using non-dairy, low-fat, or sugar-free options (but be careful with the trans fat that they contain).
Drinking one cup of coffee with creamer in the morning won’t affect your diet that much since one tablespoon of cream is about 10- 20 calories. If you drink a lot of coffee during the day it would be best to switch to unsweetened almond milk or one of the options mentioned before.
So, we’ve seen why we should stop putting creamers in our coffee and the best options to replace it. Ideally drinking black coffee would be great for your health (think about all the benefits that come from it) but don’t worry, as I’ve told you, there are plenty of options for those of you who can’t stand the bitterness of it.
Sometimes it helps to change the kind of coffee beans you use for your coffee. You should try buying several different types of coffee, as every coffee has a different taste. Maybe the one you’re drinking right now isn’t the perfect fit for you!
Popular Types of Cream People Add
Generally, the cream we use most in our coffee is called half and half (it has around the same percentage of whole milk and heavy cream which is why it’s called half and half).
Author Note: Non-dairy cream is also very popular, especially for vegans since there isn’t any milk in it. Oftentimes they do have milk-derived proteins. Some of these creams are “seasoned” with cinnamon or vanilla to give an extra taste.
Conclusion
Learning how to stop putting cream in your coffee is often just the first step. The harder part is sticking by your decision and not being tempted to add cream back to your daily routine. That’s why we listed out many different options for you to try if you’re wanting to stop putting cream in your coffee.
We hope you found this article useful and now know the different ways you can stop putting cream in your coffee. If you have additional methods you would like to share with us, feel free to shoot us a note in the comments below. And with all our articles, take what we recommend with a grain of salt. We are not medical professionals and are not responsible for any health conditions you might get from taking our advice.
Taking on any health challenge can be difficult, but we believe in you! Good luck sticking to your routine, and remember:
Stay caffeinated friends!