Rethink Your Coffee Ritual: Top picks for plant-based creamers
I love really good coffee. But I’m also looking to shift to plant-based food and drink when possible. Whether you’re looking to dial back on animal-based saturated fat or simply incorporate more plant-based alternatives, making the swap from traditional half & half to plant-based half & half can trim two grams of saturated fat from every ounce.
I tested out eight different plant-based half & half options on store shelves that all have a clean label with no sugar added – all of the stuff we do want, and none of the stuff we don’t want. Texture and flavor vary wildly, though, so below is my ranking of each, based on our informal taste test with real-world coffee lovers!
Traditional Dairy Half & Half: 2 tablespoons provide 40 calories, 3 grams fat, 2 grams sat fat, 1 gram carb
Top Picks For Flavor + Texture
Picnik | Vegan Creamer, unsweetened
Ingredients include cashew milk, coconut cream, MCT oil, acacia gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 20 calories, 1.75 gram fat, 1.5 gram sat fat, 0.5 grams carbs, 0 sugar
Califia Farms BetterHalf | Coconut Cream & Almondmilk, unsweetened
Ingredients include almondmilk, coconut cream, acacia gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 15 calories, 1.5 gram fat, 1 gram sat fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
Forager | Half & Half, unsweetened
Ingredients include cashew milk, coconut cream, dates, acacia gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 20 calories, 1.5 gram fat, 1.5 gram sat fat, 1 gram carb, 0 sugar
Runner Up Options
Califia Farms Almondmilk Creamer | Almond & Coconut Cream, unsweetened
Ingredients include almondmilk, coconut cream, locust bean gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 20 calories, 1 gram fat, 0 sat fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
Nut Pods | Almond + Coconut Creamer, unsweetened
Ingredients include coconut cream, almonds, acacia gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 20 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 sat fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
milkadamia | Macadamia Creamer, unsweetened
Ingredients include almondmilk, coconut cream, acacia gum, gellan gum
Per two tablespoons: 20 calories, 1 gram fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
Not Our Faves…
Laird Superfood | Superfood Creamer, unsweetened
Ingredients include coconut cream, Aquamin™ (calcium from marine algae), organic mushroom extracts (chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps), organic acacia gum
Per two tablespoons: 30 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 1.5 grams sat fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
MALK | Oat + Almond Milk Creamer, unsweetened
Ingredients include organic oats, almonds, flaxseed, and Himalayan salt (no gums)
Per two tablespoons: 15 calories, 0.5 gram fat, 0 sat fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar
For more strategies to make the transition to plant-based eating as seamless as possible, check out my FUELED Wellness + Nutrition podcast here.
Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD is a registered dietitian and nutrition journalist in New Orleans and founder of Ochsner Eat Fit nonprofit restaurant initiative. Tune in to her podcast, FUELED | Wellness + Nutrition and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @MollyKimballRD. See more of Molly’s articles and TV segments at www.mollykimball.com.