Culinary yoU: Liquid LCHF Flavored Coffee Creamers

I guess I could survive the morning without having any coffee if I had too, but I don't have too, and to be honest I love a good cup of coffee. Not just any coffee mind you, I have been accused of being a 'fru-fru' coffee drinker. That is to say, I like my coffee with plenty of cream and generally the flavored kind. Don't get me wrong, I can drink it black, and have on many occasions, but only when necessary. One of the great things about the low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) eating program is that I discovered that heavy cream is far more beneficial and has less carbohydrates (0.42 carbohydrates per tablespoon) than the Great Value powdered creamer I was using (3 carbohydrates per tablespoon). BTW, that's 7 times less carbohydrates in the heavy cream, than the cheap powdered coffee creamer. Because I was using 2 tablespoons of powdered creamer (6 carbs per cup), the first step in making my coffee not only healthier for me, but making it more enjoyable was to switch to using 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (0.84 carbs per cup).

Now, on to the 'fru-fru' part. Before I was diagnosed as a diabetic, I loved to use International Delights flavored coffee creamers in my coffee, because they contained enough sugar that all I had to do was add the creamer to my coffee and like a miracle it was not only sweet, but flavorful, and creamy. I would like to officially blame 7-11 for my addiction to these creamers as I used to buy a 24oz coffee for $1.19 and load it up with 'French Vanilla' flavored creamer when I worked in the big city when I was quite a few years younger. The problem with these creamers is that they contain 5 carbohydrates per tablespoon, all coming from sugar. So if I only used 2 tablespoons (and I probably used more) it would contain 10 carbs, and that's half my carb intake goal for the day, Yikes!

So I gave up the flavored coffee creamers a few years ago, but I always enjoyed them, and decided that there had to be a way that I could make my own version of these flavored creamers that contained a minimal amount of carbohydrates. After all, the biggest hurdle is to find a suitable zero calorie substitute for the sugar. If you have been reading our blog, then you will know that in the last few months we have discovered liquid sucralose and began introducing it into our diet as a substitute for the granulated Splenda and we love it. Once I had a good liquid sugar substitute, I knew I could make my own flavored coffee creamers.

In this article, I will show you how to make my versions of many of the popular flavored coffee creamers available from Coffee-Mate, as well as International Delights. I am not going to claim that I am a pioneer in making my own creamers, in fact, I based my initial trial recipes off a blog post that used sweetened condensed milk as the base for the creamers, but as we know sweetened condensed milk is loaded with sugar. From there a simple substitution of heavy cream and some tweaking of the flavorings and after a few trial runs I believe I have the recipe down.

The Recipe

The recipe for all of the flavored creamers in this article start with a 'creamer base'. This creamer base is simply 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 to 4 drops of liquid sucralose added to it for sweetness. To this base you simply add the flavorings of your choice to make a specific type of creamer. We buy heavy cream in the 1 quart container, and make a couple of different one cup (8 ounces) flavors of creamer at a time. You could scale up this recipe to make a bulk creamer base, and then add your flavorings to make a whole quart of one specific flavor, just remember you need to increase the amount of both the sucralose and the flavorings. Having said that, I personally believe the one cup batch is the most versatile, and this is how I make my flavored creamers.

LCHF Creamer Base

1 cup heavy cream

3 – 4 teaspoons liquid sucralose

Take your creamer base, and add one of the following flavorings and place in a jar and shake well to mix the ingredients and your ready to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.

Chef's Note – I use liquid sucralose (25% concentration) as my sweetener of choice, the ratio is 1 drop of sucralose equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. You can of course use liquid stevia, but I never have. According to stevia.net, it takes 3 – 4 drops of liquid stevia to equal one teaspoon of sugar. Therefore you would need 9 – 12 drops of stevia to make this LCHF creamer base.

LCHF Creamer Base

Per Batch – Calories 821, protein 1 gram, fat 88 grams, carbohydrates 6.6 grams

Per Tablespoon - Calories 51, protein 0.31 grams, fat 5.51 grams, carbohydrates 0.42 grams

Coffee Mate French Vanilla

Per Tablespoon - Calories 35, protein 0 grams, fat 1.5 grams, carbohydrates 5 grams

International Delights French Vanilla

Per Tablespoon - Calories 35, protein 0 grams, fat 2 grams, carbohydrates 5 grams

The Flavorings

We use the following recipes to make some of our favorite coffee creamers. They are listed alphabetically, not by preference just to make it easier. Remember the ingredients listed in these flavor variations is to flavor one cup (8 ounces) of the creamer base. You will note that in some of the following flavorings we use the Torani flavored syrups, make sure you get the sugar-free ones, they are made with liquid sucralose. Doing this keeps the carbohydrate count effectively zero.

Almond Joy

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon almond extracted

Bailey's Irish Creme

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Butter Toffee

½ teaspoon butter extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

French Vanilla

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Hazelnut

1 teaspoon Hazelnut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Peppermint Patti

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

¼ teaspoon coconut extract

Somoas

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

2 teaspoons Torani caramel syrup (sugar free), or ¾ teaspoon caramel extract

½ teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate Macadamia nut

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon macadamia nut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Now, there are a wide variety of other flavors some more popular than others. Including the seasonal varieties of that you could make and there are quite a few recipes for making your own flavored coffee creamers out there on the internet. Now that you know how to make the LCHF creamer base, it is simply a matter of adding the necessary flavorings that you like.

Using Powdered Flavorings, Spices, and Sweeteners

Using powdered flavorings, spices, and or sweeteners (Erythritol, Xylitol, Splenda etc...) requires a few more steps as you need to make sure that the powdered or granulated ingredients are throughly dissolved in the creamer as you do not want a gritty cup of coffee. Because of the milk proteins in heavy cream, it should be heated gently and slowly in order to avoid a scorched flavor and or film forming on the top or bottom of the pan. While you can heat your heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stove directly on the burner, you will have less problems if you use one of the following methods when making your flavored creamers using powdered spices and flavorings.

The Double-boiler Method – Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add your LCHF creamer base, flavorings, spices, and sweeteners. Heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the heavy cream. Stirring frequently will prevent a film layer from forming. Once you are satisfied that all of the powdered spices and flavorings are completely combined, then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Pour into a container of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

The Microwave Method – Pour the LCHF creamer base, flavorings, spices, and sweeteners into a microwave-safe container and microwave on medium-high (70%) power, and heat for 15 – 20 seconds at a time, just until steam begins to rise from the bowl. Be careful not to overheat the heavy cream as it will curdle. Once you are satisfied that all of the powdered spices and flavorings are completely combined, then remove the bowl from the microwave and allow to cool. Pour into a container of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

Chef's Note: The times and power settings are based on a smaller 700-watt microwave oven. If you have a more powerful microwave then you will need to adjust cooking times to suit your particular microwave.

Chocolate Coconut

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

1 teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Hazelnut (Frangelico)

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

1 teaspoon hazelnut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnabon

½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon imitation butter extract (optional)

Double Chocolate Fudge

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Nog

1 teaspoon rum extract

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Pumpkin Spice Latte

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

The Competition

Just in case you are wondering, Coffee-Mate and International Delights both make a limited run of sugar-free versions of some of their popular flavored creamers using sucralose, but they also contain maltdextrin and some corn syrup milk solids. So while the are sugar free, they are not totally carbohydrate free.

Coffee Mate French Vanilla Sugar-Free

Per Tablespoon - Calories 15, protein 0 grams, fat 1 gram, carbohydrates 2 grams

Coffee Mate French Vanilla Sugar-Free

Per Tablespoon - Calories 20, protein 0 grams, fat 2 grams, carbohydrates 1 gram

Cost Analysis

Well I am going to tell you up front, that it is not cheaper to make your own flavored coffee creamers. At the time that I am writing this article, one quart (32 ounces) of Great Value heavy whipping cream is $4.14 at my local Walmart. A quart of International Delights flavored creamer sells for $2.98, a quart of Coffee Mate flavored sells for $3.18, and a quart of Great Value flavored creamer sells for $2.48. In addition, you will need to purchase some flavor extracts and or Torani sugar-free syrups to make a variety of flavors, increasing your end product cost even more. I estimate that it costs me about $4.50 to make a quart of flavored creamer at home. That's about 40 to 50% more to make my own flavored creamer. Having said that, the cost-benefit ratio to me is invaluable.

DIY LCHF 32 ounce flavored creamer $4.50 ($0.14 per ounce)

Great Value 32 ounce flavored creamer $2.48 ($0.08 per ounce)

Coffee Mate 32 ounce flavored creamer $3.18 ($0.10 per ounce)

International Delights 32 ounce flavored creamer $2.98 ($0.09 per ounce)

So, while it does cost me more money to make my own flavored creamers, they contain seven times less carbohydrates than the commercially prepared creamers, and they do not contain any preservatives, and they contain up to 60% more fat which, which wait for it….is good for those of use on a LCHF diet, including people that are diabetic.

Conclusion

The bottom line, making your own flavored creamers is an excellent way to limit the number of extra carbohydrates that most people fail to think about when they are having their morning coffee. If you are diabetic, then making your own flavored creamers is a great way to add not only flavor to your coffee, but also allows you to control the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that you consume. Making specialty flavors using powdered spices, flavorings, and sugar substitutes does take a bit more time and work as you have to heat up the cream in order to make sure the powdered and granulated ingredients are throughly dissolved, but for many, they effort is well worth it.

With the right favorings and extracts, the combination of liquid creamers that you can make is only limited by your imagination. I have included some of my families favorites here, but there are definitely more combinations than I have listed in this article. So I encourage you to experiment and enjoy. As always, if you have found this article informative and useful, we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on our Facebook page CulinaryYou LCHF, or add us to your circle on Google+ so that you can keep up with the latest articles from our blog.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Liquid LCHF Flavored Coffee Creamers

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