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Powdered Creamers vs. Liquid Creamers

I’ve already talked about how powdered creamers pack more calories and fat than it would seem from reading the misleading food label. So how about liquid creamers, are they any better?

Fat chance! (Emphasis on the fat!)

The powdered Coffee-mate creamers, as mentioned in my previous post , are made with coconut and palm kernel oils, but any kind of liquid Coffee-mate is made with partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil. That means it has trans fats.

Yes, the label says 0 grams of fat, but you know by now that doesn’t really mean much. More misleading food labels! All varieties of Coffee-mate but fat free and sugar free have 0.46 grams of trans and 0.31 grams of saturated fat. Both of these round down to zero on the label.

So if you use two tablespoons of creamer you end up with 1.86 grams of saturated fat and 2.76 grams of trans fat. Experts recommend as little trans as possible, and certainly no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day.

Too bad, you just blew it all for creamer in ONE cup of coffee.

So what can you use if you like creamer in your coffee???

There’s always milk. It contains NO trans fats, and from 0 grams saturated fat in fat-free milk to 0.6 grams in whole milk. Plus there are only 10-20 calories in two tablespoons.

But if you’re looking for a richer taste, try Land O’Lakes (and some store brands) Fat Free Half & Half. There are no trans fats, and only an estimated 0.3 grams of saturated fats. Even better, it’s only 20 calories in two tablespoons, or about the same as whole milk.

Milk or Fat Free Half & Half… now you’re closer to health foods!

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