Homemade Coffee Creamer

One of the things that I wanted for my blog when I started it way back when, way back when it was “Bringing Good Home” on WordPress, was to blog about “good things.” The blog title came from the verse that’s on my header right now: “She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” I wanted to blog about bringing “Good” into our home. Lately, I’ve blogged mostly about homeschool. And that’s a good thing. But there are other good things — recipes, etc– that have fallen by the wayside. That’s partially because there’s been a little bit less of that thing around the house lately, and partially because there’s been an increase in homeschooling with three kids in school now (which is why there’s been a little bit less of the other good stuff.) And when I find time to blog it’s mostly for homeschooling blog posts.

But this past week I set a goal to cook more stuff from scratch again. I knew it was going to take some time and planning (and it DID) but it has been worth it! On Saturday I went to my mom’s house and while we canned some pinto beans I also made some granola bars (which turned out Y.U.M.M.Y!) and some homemade coffee creamer. The results of which, were also Y.U.M.M.Y.

The best part is that it doesn’t have loads of artificial junk in it. I typically avoid foods with any kind of partially hydrogenated anything in it but I’ve always made an exception for my coffee creamer. I turned my head and looked away because I didn’t want to look at this:

INGREDIENTS: WATER, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, AND LESS THAN 2% OF NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, COLOR ADDED, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, SUCRALOSE.

Pretty, isn’t it? I mean, pretty long and complicated and not-so-healthy. But it’s my COFFEE. And I’m not willing to drink it black. So, I didn’t.

I kept drinking it. Even after I started suspecting that it was making my slightly sick to my stomach (because I didn’t get the same feeling if I just used cream and sugar.) Yup. I kept drinking it. What can I say?

Which is why I was so excited when I found this recipe for homemade coffee creamer! Can you imagine how happy that made me?? I want to leap for joy. Not only is it tasty but it’s really, really easy to make.

REALLY.

And the ingredients look better, too:

Cinnamon Strudel Creamer: whole milk, heavy cream, maple syrup (NOT maple FLAVORED syrup), ground cinnamon (splurge on some good cinnamon, not the generic “ground cinnamon,”*) vanilla extract, almond extract.

Doesn’t that sound so much better?? Yes, it’s whole milk and heavy cream. It has fat in it. Our bodies need some fat. Some healthy fat. And that flavored liquid creamer I was buying? It’s non dairy. It doesn’t count as a milk. It has no calcium. This has real milk, calcium, healthy fat and is sweetened with a little bit of maple syrup, whereas “sugar” is the second ingredient on the storebought label.

It’s just all around a better deal. It’s probably a little more expensive, I didn’t do a cost analysis on it, but it didn’t make me sick to my stomach so that’s worth something, too, right?

One more thing. Check this out…

Nutritional information for one TBSP of the storebought stuff:

• Calories – 35
• Total Fat – 1.5g
• Cholesterol – 0mg
• Sodium – 30mg
• Total Carbohydrates – 5g
• Sugars – 5g
• Protein – 0g

Nutritional information for one TBSP of the homemade stuff:

• Calories – 37.9
• Total Fat – 3g
• Cholesterol – 10.8 mg
• Sodium – 7 mg
• Potassium – 11.6 mg
• Total Carbohydrates – 2.3 g
• Dietary Fiber – 0.1g
• Sugars – 1.9g
• Protein – 0.4g
• Vitamin A – 2.3% DV
• Vitamin B12 – 0.2% DV
• Vitamin B6 – 0.1% DV
• Vitamin C – 0.1% DV
• Vitamin D – 1.7% DV
• Vitamin E – 0.2% DV
• Calcium – 1.7% DV
• Copper – 0.1% DV
• Folate – 0.1 % DV
• Iron – 0.4% DV
• Magnesium – 0.2% DV
• Manganese – 5.1% DV
• Pantothenic Acid – 0.2% DV
• Phosphorus – 0.5% DV
• Riboflavin – 0.5% DV
• Selenium – 0.1% DV
• Thiamin 0.1% DV
• Zinc – 0.8% DV

With as easy as it is to make my own coffee creamer and with the healthier ingredient list, I’d be silly not to keep doing this. It was easy to double the recipe, but I split it with my mom so I’m already getting low on creamer. Looks like it’s time to get some cream and get back in the kitchen, right? = )

*Ceylon cinnamon is the best, called the “true” cinnamon. It’s not as bitter, has better flavor and is apparently healthier. It is also more expensive. Saigon cinnamon is a decent alternative, not as good as the Ceylon, not as bad as the Cassia and Burmanii and not too expensive to break the bank. More info.

** Recipe found here. Nutrition was calculated here. Storebought creamer info found here. Creamer can be stored in pint jars and kept in the refrigerator, for a length of time as of yet undetermined due to rapid consumption in short time frames. ; )