The Millennial Nutritionist

View Original

What Coffee Creamer to Use for Weight Loss

Vanessa Carrillo

Although the summer is still on its way out, the pumpkin spice latte is officially available at Starbucks! A pumpkin spice latte to reign in the autumn season never hurt anyone, but this 390 calorie drink can halt weight loss progress if it becomes a daily ritual. That’s where these yummy, fall flavored creamers can come into play and save the day! I’ve done research on some popular low-calorie creamers that incorporate nutty, autumnal flavors and what exactly makes them creamy and tasty without the calories. 

Walden Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer, 0 calories

Walden Farms is well known for their calorie-free salad dressings, condiments, and now coffee creamers! This creamer has no fat, carbs, or sugar, giving it its calorie-free profile. How can something with no energy (calories) be creamy and flavorful like a coffee creamer? I want to highlight two ingredients that give this creamer its liquidy, soothing properties. Gum acacia is a food emulsifier that improves the texture of a product without affecting the taste. Sometimes, food labels count this product as dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is great for digestive health and managing disease risks (Food Ingredient Facts). Outside of this coffee creamer, Gum acacia is found in wines, yogurt, soups, baked goods, and sugar-free candies. Another ingredient that provides the sweetness of this calorie-free coffee additive is stevia. Stevia is a zero calorie sweetener extracted from leaves of the Bertoni plant (Food Insight). These sweeteners are 200-350 times more sweeter than regular sugar, therefore they have great sweetening power for zero calories. With ingredients like gum acacia and stevia, this coffee creamer is keeping its flavor without any calories. 

Coffee Mate Fat-free Hazelnut Liquid Coffee Creamer, 25 calories

Coffee Mate is a popular coffee creamer brand and remains a consumer favorite. With many loyal customers, their fat-free hazelnut creamer should be no less than a crowd-pleaser. Fat typically serves the role of ensuring the creamer maintains its smooth texture, but in this coffee creamer there are traces of fats that uphold that duty. Vegetable oils along with monoglycerides and diglycerides serve as the emulsifier in this beverage, but since their total value per serving is less than 1g of fat, they are not reported on the label. Although there technically is fat present in the beverage, it is not an alarming amount. Unlike the previous example, this coffee creamer is flavored with 5 grams of added sugars which equates to 21% of the daily recommended amount. If you’re caving a hazelnut vibe for your morning cup of joe, this is a great low-calorie option to try. 

Nutpods Pumpkin Spice Almond and Coconut Creamer, 10 calories

Yet another pumpkin spice flavored creamer. This nutpods creamer is only 10 calories per serving and is sugar-free. This creamer uses sunflower lecithin which emulsifies the liquid ingredients and is associated with lowering cholesterol. This ingredient is also high in choline which promotes brain health (Efting). Sunflower lecithin is commonly seen in plant-based butters, milks, and cookies. Like the Walden Farms creamer, this product also utilizes gum acacia for its ability to promote a favorable texture without the altered taste or added calories. With over 1,000 reviews and a 4.3 star rating on Amazon, Nutpods must be a fan favorite.

Califa Farms Caramel Apple Crumble Creamer, 20 calories

Yum! Just the name of this product has my mouth watering. Although a typical caramel apple flavored treat would be high in calories, this creamer only has 20 calories per serving. This beverage enhancer has only 1 gram of fat per serving from sunflower oil and 3 grams of sugar from caramel and cane sugar, 6% of the daily recommended value. Having authentic cane sugar caramel should help nail that fun flavor and keep this creamer sweet and yummy. Other components that maintain the texture of this product are guar and gellan gums. Guar gum is processed from the endosperm of a cluster bean and is used in foods for its stabilizing properties and as a source of fiber (Mudgil). Guar gum alters the behavior of water and allows it to mesh well with oil and promote a favorable texture (Mudgil). Gellan gum is derived from glucose or other carbohydrate sugars like lactose when it is fermented by a type of bacteria (Begum). This food additive serves to thicken and gelatinize foods. Gellan gum promotes creaminess and can help products stay longer on the shelf without unnecessary calories (Begum).

Silk Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk Coffee Creamer, 25 calories

Of course we couldn’t end without another pumpkin spice flavored creamer! Silk is a well-known and trusted plant milk brand, therefore I expect high quality creamers. This creamer has 1 gram of fat, 4 grams of added sugars, and 15 mg sodium per serving. The ingredients list is brief, but there are two interesting ingredients mentioned: pea protein and baking soda. Similar to the other creamers, plant oils serve as the fat source that emulsifies the beverage and provides the standard creamy texture. Pea protein enhances this process by being soluble and having the capacity to hold oil to promote a gelatinous, viscous, creamy liquid (Shanthakumar). This ingredient is found in plant-based meats and milks, animal diary, soups, sauces, cereals, and baked goods. Baking soda is not typically associated with coffee or coffee creamers, but is a common coffee additive. According to Nicole Turner of Roasty Coffee, adding baking soda helps neutralize the bitterness in coffee and makes the beverage easier on the stomach. Sodium bicarbonate, the scientific name of baking soda, is an acid neutralizer, giving it the power to help with heartburn and acid reflux (Romano). Even outside of the pumpkin spice vibe, this coffee creamer might be a great addition to your morning coffee for its acid-neutralizing effects!

With fall on its way in, a warm or iced autumn coffee is a great way to start the day. These creamers are all great, calorie-smart options to taste some comforting pumpkin spice without using up your daily calories. I hope that learning more of the food science background on these items was interesting since it's perplexing how creamy, sweet liquids can be only 25 calories per serving! All of the ingredients aforementioned help keep the calories low and the coffee experience elevated. If there’s any ingredients you come across when viewing the nutrition label you aren’t familiar with, a quick search online can help you learn more; there are plenty of food and ingredient databases to view. Happy sipping and enjoy a fall-themed coffee for me!

See this gallery in the original post

Sources: