Non-Dairy Creamer
Posted by terrepruitt on September 28, 2010
It has been two weeks since I gave up my non-dairy creamer. I am not talking about liquid, I am talking about that white powered stuff so many people don’t like. Well, SOMEONE must like it because they keep making it. I tried to give it up before but without it my coffee lost its joy. Really it was just a matter of me being used to the taste of coffee with that stuff in it. I have been drinking it that way since I started drinking coffee, so that is how I like it. That creamer is full of all the stuff I don’t like.
I threw away the container before I got a picture but I have a copy of an old label from a nutrition class assignment. The first ingredient is corn syrup solid, the second is partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Yeah, two of the ingredients I try to avoid. One of the reasons I avoided those ingredients like the plague was because of this habit. I thought, “I am getting enough of that stuff in my coffee, I don’t need to have it in anything else.” Well, it is really hard to avoid—especially if you eat out . . .so many things have them it it. . . HFCS is bread for heaven’s sake so even if I am having a sandwich, I just don’t know. So . . . . I decided to try again to see if I could find joy in my coffee with out my beloved spoonful of chemicals and stuff I can’t pronounce and don’t even know what it is.
I have made it longer than the last time I tried. I am surviving. It is fine. I am using milk. I drink 1% so that is what we have in the fridge, so that is what I am using. Whew. I feel good getting that off my mind. Like I have said before, I am not perfect in my health habits, but I am trying to be healthier and help give others ideas and a place to share. So here’s to better health and better eating.
Have you taken anything out of your diet that you want to share about?
(Ha, I put this in the “food” category but I am not really convinced it is food. Oh, I also hope to stop by the store tomorrow to see if I can get a picture.)
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
niachick said
And “non-dairy” means it can contain anything but dairy (and probably does).
I’m delighted to know that you’ve given it up. Processed foods/substances are not good.
And ya know I love ya.
Jill
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terrepruitt said
Jill –
I know. I DOES contain everything but dairy. It is gross. That is why I hesitated catagorizing this post as “food” because it really isn’t, but sadly it is in today’s society. It was a habit. Like smoking—–I LIKED it (drinking that stuff). Smoking isn’t good for you, but people LIKE it. I LIKED that not-healthy-taste-of-powdered-chemicals. Ewww, I know, but I did.
You never know, I am not “using” now, but I could have a relapse. Processed foods are not good. But it is a work in progress. 🙂 As am I.
Thanks for the love. I do know, but I love “hearing”/reading it.
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Dr. J said
Absolutely right… processed foods were no good. it is better to buy fresh foods. I mean, i used to buy leafy veggies… 🙂
I like this Nia dancing. I don’t know how does it works but i think this is good for the health. it is another form of exercise..
I love reading your blog. Hope to come back here for a post. I like your ideas and I like the way you handle your blogs and comments, i saw you have lots of replies.. 🙂
Check out Denver Chiropractor for our healthy tips and wellness.
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terrepruitt said
I SAY “processed foods”, but then some people point out that ALL food is processed. So I really mean OVERLY processed foods, or more specifically foods with a lot of chemicals aren’t good. So as you said, “fresh food is better.” But sometimes it is difficult to buy fresh. Even “fresh” fruits and vegetables might not be so FRESH.
Why did you “USED TO” by leafy veggies? You don’t any longer?
Nia can be a practice as is Yoga . . . . you can take it into your life and use it through out your day and life. But it is also a workout, as is Yoga. But it is a cardio workout, as is Zumba, but we do it in bare feet and there is a bit of thought and concentration involved, as in Pilates. It is a well rounded body-mind type of workout. Nia is HUGE in Colorado, there is a link to the main Nia site on my site and you can look through there.
I hope you come back to read and comment more too. It is nice when people return and just don’t use my blog to promote their own site and blog. 🙂
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Melisa said
Hi Terre–
My first thought was why not switch to actual cream or at the very least good, organic, whole milk? It’s real food, after all and it tastes SO much better than “creamer” or 1% milk. There’s a lot of research out there that says that you need the fat to get the the nutrients. With all your activity, you don’t have to worry about a little milk in your coffee causing you to gain weight. I find that the more good, healthy fat I consume, the less hungry I am and the more my body fat turns to muscle. And I never skimp on organic, pastured butter 🙂 OK–that’s the end of me real food-healthy fat lecture.
I’ve always had a pretty healthy diet (thanks, Daddy!) but some health issues in recent years have caused me to reexamine what I eat. When I was found to have high mercury levels, I had to look at my seafood consumption. Luckily I’ve never had a taste for shellfish because it’s super high in mercury. I’ve always loved albacore tuna but now I only buy Wild Planet brand because they use the smaller, less polluted fish but at $4 a can it’s an occasional treat. And I’ve gotten much choosier about the salmon I eat, recently buying a share from the Illiamna Fish company so I could be guaranteed excellent quality and and a steady supply–I have 12 big fillets in my freezer! I try to stay away from things with seaweed (carageenan, kombu, etc) so I don’t eat much in the way of Japanese food and anything with MSG, or artificial dyes and preservatives is a no no. I’ve also had to add IN lots of raw veggies from the brassica family which usually become juice. You haven’t lived until you’ve had my kale-carrot-apple-melon juice!
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terrepruitt said
Yes, I have thought of switching to cream, but I HAVE the milk so I just use it. And, I do believe that cream or milk is better to consume than that “stuff”, but that is kind of what I am doing here—-confessing. I know that stuff is not good. It is just chemicals and stuff I can’t even pronounce. I don’t know what it is . . . .but it was a habit. Something I have used since I began drinking coffee 20+ years ago. And I grew accustom to that flavor. To me that was yummy and how coffee should taste. I LIKED it.
Lately I have not been as active as I would like but even so, I try to keep my saturated fats consumption down. I get my fat via olive oil—yum!
So you are saying that the less you eat the more fat you lose and are able to gain muscle? Yeah, that works. That is one of the things some people state is bad about HFCS, it doesn’t allow people to feel satisfied so they keep eating.
Love yourv”lecture”, which it was not, it was SHARING!!! Yeah. Thanks.
I need to conquer my fish loathing. Ewwww. Just thinking about it grosses me out!
So, this was somewhat of a confession and a reminder that I am not perfect. I coud use to improve all kinds of things, but that is one reason I blog . . . . to remind MYSELF. AND to get others to share stuff. So thank you.
And . . . don’t be teasing me with saying you make some yummy juice, I still want some of your Challah!
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Melisa said
OK, Terre, here’s a promise. Next time I head down south, I am bringing you some challah–and hopefully dancing with you as well!
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terrepruitt said
Oh, if I had to choose between one or the other I would take dancing!!! 🙂
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suzicate said
I’ve heard that black coffee is an aquired taste. I always drink mine that way. Extremely rare occasion I will use creamer, and then I count it as a dessert!
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terrepruitt said
For awhile a long time ago I drank it without any cream or sweetener, but that changed. Your idea sounds perfect! That would mean I would start my day eating dessert!
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j said
I love how you put it in your post – that the joy went out of drinking your coffee. There is something to that, I think. Eating (or drinking) healthier shouldn’t have to be a choice between joy and sustenance. Recently, I’ve been cutting meat out of my diet. Not altogether, but 6 days a week, I make vegetarian dinners, and I rarely eat meat during the day. The recipes I’m finding (and people are sending me) are delicious. I haven’t felt cheated at all. If I had, I suspect I wouldn’t have stayed on this track.
I don’t see myself becoming vegetarian completely, but I am liking the healthier, more planet-friendly lifestyle.
And for the record, I’m with Melisa. Real cream in my coffee. Every morning. 😉
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terrepruitt said
Yipee! A J comment!
Oh, eating health does not have to be without joy and if that is what is happening then I would say it is being done wrong. Ha!
Funny, I make it a point to put meat in my diet.
I think that people feeling “cheated” is a huge deal. I think if others around you are eating things you “can’t” eat the tendency is to feel cheated. Funny, when you think about it.
I was recently told (just yesterday in a very quick conversation so I could have misunderstood) it is not meat that is unfriendly to the planet, but the way we “grow it” and transport it. So in other words if cows (as the example) could eat like they should (grass/grazing) it would be better for the environment, and if we ate local that would help to. It was an interesting enough topic that I hope to re-visit it. But we started it during our “good-bye” (do you know how that is? You are saying goodbye and bring something up just as you are departing? Geez!)
Right now I am drinking coffee with hardly any milk at all. When I first filled my cup I put milk in it then I have just kept refilling my cup with coffee and no more milk. It is fine.
Thanks for stopping by! Yay for you on your new veggie adventure!
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Becky said
I had to stop by and see what you were talking about!
Healthy stuff — yay!
I love it when you talk healthy.
Since I changed my life/eating/exercise/creative/umm…/everything style, I have felt not only physically better but also clearer minded.
I think there is a definite mind/body connection (or so I heard somewhere) that can’t be denied.
I wish I liked coffee so I could tell you how you should use real creamer — *sigh*
Thank you Terre!
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terrepruitt said
Hello, B!
I believe there is a mind body connection with out nutrition. There has to be since our food is what gives us energy for our body to work.
Thanks for stopping by!
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White Powder Free « Terre Pruitt's Blog said
[…] a picture of the non-dairy powdered creamer. Since I never got back to putting the picture in my original post about my powdered creamer I decided to add the picture here to a new post giving you an update. Its been about a month and […]
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