Vanilla Spice Coffee Creamer

I have been religiously making my own coffee creamer ever since I wrote this post a couple weeks ago  If you haven't checked out my original post on homemade coffee creamer, be sure to give it a look-sie.
After a couple weeks of drinking this goodness and I've decided to experiment with a new flavor.  I've also decided that the original recipe may not have been creamy enough for many of you, especially if you are weaning yourself off of that nasty, thick, syrupy crap from the store.

Store bought creamer officially grosses me out!  I hate to be the nutrition freak that tells you to read your labels, but if you haven't read your creamer label yet, I DARE YOU!  You'll be confused and disgusted....there's no cream to be found in most of them.  Ok I'm going to shut up.

So here's a new recipe that does a few things.......:
A) It makes more creamer!  Between Greg and I, we've been going through it like toilet paper!  It's that good.
B) It is creamier, with a few additional calories & fat, but very little (see nutritional info in original post).
C) It has more flavor!!  I added cinnamon and more vanilla to this for a chai inspired flavor.

If you are feeling extra wild, sneak a sip of while it's still hot.  It's SO yummy alone, too!

Here goes:

Vanilla Spice Coffee Creamer

1.5 cups half & half
1.5 cups lowfat milk
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (the real kind, please!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Bring all ingredients to a simmer, stirring often.  Remove from heat and cool.  Remove film off top, if one forms. Pour into a mason jar or other container to store in fridge.  Splash into your coffee and enjoy!

PS...I totally recycled the last photo from the original post.  Please forgive me.
xoxo, D

Homemade Coffee Creamer

Holy moly, I am so excited about this post.
Don't you just LOVE your morning coffee?
Do you have a favorite coffee creamer?
Have you ever read the ingredient list on your creamer?
If you look, you'll find things like palm oil, sugar, corn syrup, dipotassium phosphate, salt, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium castenate, artifical color & flavor......
Do I really need to go on?
It's called coffee creamer, but it usually a non dairy product full of nasty oils, flavors & sweeteners. It's pure junk!!

This all came about because I weaned myself off of the "junk" and resorted to a splash of milk or black coffee.  Well, this doesn't work for Greg because he likes the flavored stuff, so I started buying "Natural Bliss" by Coffee-mate.  It doesn't have any of the nasty stuff in it, it's simply cream, sugar & flavor.....BUT it has full fat cream and "natural flavoring" that tastes really fake.
After reading the ingredient list on the "Natural Bliss", I was like...."why the heck don't I just make it myself, it seems pretty dang easy."  So I did it and OH MY!  It's amazing.
My goal for making my own creamer was to have it taste great, not all artificial-ly AND to have it be low fat.  It was a complete success.



For my milk product, I used ultra-pasteurized 2% milk.  You can find this at most grocery stores and the benefit to this, is that it lasts longer without going bad.  Ultra-pasteurized simply means that it was heated to a higher temperature than most milk is to ensure that ALL the bacteria is killed.  The expiration date on ultra pasteurized usually goes out at least a month.  I thought this would be best, in case I didn't use the creamer quickly, it would have a longer life.
For example, I bought milk today 2/24 and it expires on 3/26.
(If you have a problem with dairy, feel free to sub in your "milk" product, rice/almond/soy/etc).

Please use GOOD vanilla!  No imitation!  Trust me!  You can't imitate good vanilla.

Here's the simple recipe:

2 cups ultra-pasteurized 2% milk
2 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons vanilla (ONLY THE GOOD STUFF! NO ARTIFICIAL/IMITATION!)

Bring milk & honey to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Once it comes to a simmer, remove from heat and add vanilla.  Cool and pour into a refrigerator-friendly container.  My favorite is a mason jar.  Enjoy with your coffee.

NUTRITION FACTS: 
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Calories 10
Fat 0.3 g
Cholesterol 1.2 mg
Sodium 6.3 mg
Carbs 1.3 g
Protein 0.5 g

If you want your creamer to be creamier, sub half of the milk for half & half for only an additional  6 calories and 0.5 gram of fat.

Here's the comparable nutrition info for "CoffeeMate French Vanilla"
Serving Size 2 tablespoons
Calories 80
Fat 4 g
Carbs 10 g
(The fat-free version has the same # of calories/carbs)

Looks like all that crap they put in there to imitate milk, didn't work out so well.

Finally, the comparable nutrition for "CoffeeMate Natural Bliss Vanilla"
Serving Size 2 tablespoons
Calories 70
Fat 3 g
Carbs 5 g

If you want a creamier recipe with a little more flavor, check this one out--> Vanilla Spice Coffee Creamer
Whatever floats your boat....

Granola

I was going to post this really great salad dressing today and I got on The Pioneer Woman's blog this morning and she posted salad dressing!!!  Then I got on Tasty Kitchen and they had a salad dressing on their homepage, too!  So in order to be as original as possible, I will save my dressing for another day and instead post a different healthful recipe.  I don't want you all getting bored :)

I am still super excited about today's recipe.  I got the idea from my mom, because she had homemade granola at her house when I was visiting over the holidays.  Since I polished off all of her granola, I decided to make some of my own and try to decrease the sugar, fat and calories... 3 things that hide in so-called "healthy" granola.  Many are well over 400 calories per cup!  

This recipe makes about quart jar and a half; you can easily double the recipe if you end up liking it and want to keep more on hand for you and your family.  Many granola recipes call for some funky ingredients, but this one is pretty simple and many of the items you may already have in your pantry.  This recipe has been a hit with Greg (the hungry Lineman!), his mom, my mom and many more.  It's definitely a keeper and "granola cruncher" approved!  

I was lucky enough to take these photos in my Mom's kitchen that has wonderful lighting (with my new camera).  Enjoy, because any upcoming posts will be back in the trailer, with not so great lighting!!

Can you tell yet that this post is a little unorganized?  I forgot to take a photo of all the ingredients!

Here are the dry ingredients:

Oats (not the quick cooking kind)

Wheat Germ (could also use oat bran, ground flax, etc)

Chopped Pecans (feel free to use your fav nuts)

Craisins (or raisins)

Dried Apples (or any other dried fruit)

Cinnamon

Add above dry ingredients to a large bowl.

Here are the wet ingredients:

Honey

Vanilla

Applesauce (unsweetened)

Canola Oil **(optional, helps the "crunch" factor)

Put honey in medium sized microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds to liquify.  This makes it easier to combine with other ingredients.  Add applesauce, oil** and vanilla to warn honey and stir well.

Stir the dry ingredients thoroughly, so everything gets some cinnamon spice.

 Add the wet ingredients to the big bowl of dry ingredients.

And stir that baby up really well.  You want every single oat to have a little love on it from your wet ingredients.  This will also help you achieve that "crunch" we associate with granola.
Hello Granola Crunchers!!!

Pour mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheet and spread evenly.
(**If you haven't got a roll of parchment paper yet, DO IT!  It's the best)

Place in preheated (325*) oven and bake for 15 minutes, then stir.  Continue to bake another 20 minutes or until edges become golden brown.  Once edges turn brown, it should be done.  It may not feel "crunchy" yet, but this will happen upon cooling....but if you like really, really crunchy, allow it to cook a few more minutes.

You may need to bake an additional 5-10 minutes depending on your oven, placement of your oven racks and how "crunchy" you really like it.  Mine took 25-30 minutes total.

  

***Be careful not to overcook though.  Granola will go from perfectly golden brown, to over-done in a matter of minutes.  So check it often towards the end of bake time.

There's those golden edges I'm talking about.  It's done!
Oh and if you like clumpy granola, refrain from stirring during baking.
Allow to cool completely on baking sheet.  Once cooled, your granola should be crunchy!!

I forgot to mention that while this is baking, your house will smell absolutely heavenly!  Like the best apple-cinnamon scented candle or Scentsy that you've ever encountered!
I'm serious, it's ama--azing.
Make it before you have company.  They will be captivated and thoroughly impressed!!!

 Sprinkle over yogurt.

Have it with milk.

Put it in a baggie for a quick snack.  

Put it in a mason jar on display.

Get crunching on this deliciousness!

xoxo -- "D-Trash"

Granola

3 cups oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. wheat germ

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. craisins

1/2 c. dried apples (or other dried fruit)

2/3 c applesauce, unsweetened

1/4 c. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1 TB canola oil**

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper  (or nonstick cooking spray) and preheat oven 325*.  

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl.  Put honey in medium sized microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds to liquify.  Add applesauce and vanilla to warn honey and stir well.  Add wet ingredients to the large bowl and stir until all dry ingredients are coated.

Pour mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheet and spread evenly.  Bake for 15 minutes; stir.  Bake an additional 15-20 minutes and check again.  Replace if edges haven't turned brown yet, checking avery few minutes. Once edges turn golden brown, it's done.   Granola firms (gets crunchy) upon cooling.  Allow to cool on baking sheet then pour into airtight container for storage.

(This recipe is roughly derived from this recipe on Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body blog)

**You aren't imagining it, I added a TB of oil to this recipe.  It seems to turn out even better.  But if you are going for "lowfat" feel free to leave this out. 

"The Usual"

Greg and I spent an awesome weekend in Boise.  I must say, I'm in love with that town.  I think I could live my life there.
Anyways, we went to all of our favorite hotspots for dining (Red Feather, Protos, Java) and even tried out some new places (Fork, Bittercreek Ale House).  They were all to-die-for!  We also went to the farmers market.  I really should have taken some pics because Boise has a really impressive farmers market.  This is the best time of the year to get all your produce locally.  Boise has their market twice a week, which is even more convenient!  You can stock up on your weekly goods or even buy in abundance and preserve.  This is the time of year that we have a bounty of goods!  So take full advantage of this little sliver of time, where we can have fresh, local food.  Here's some of the loot I picked up at the market:

Ahhh, fresh, homegrown tomatoes.  They are heavenly, but I haven't always held this opinion.  Growing up I thought people who ate raw tomatoes had a serious problem.  Well like most things edible, I have learned to love them.  BUT the junk we can buy at the grocery store does not do a tomato justice.  So stock up on some local tomatoes and stay tuned for some stellar recipes this week.

I'm going to break it to you gently.  I stocked up on tomatoes at the market, for one major reason.  I wanted to re-create "The Usual," which is a breakfast you can order at Java Coffee in Boise.  It's simple, delectable, and addicting.  So as soon as you can, try this out!
Here's what you need:

Fresh tomato

Fresh ground pepper

Cream cheese ( I use lowfat/neufchatel)

 A bagel, I used whole wheat but "everything" bagels would be delish, too (This is what Java uses).

Simply toast that yummy hunk of dense bread, spread with cream cheese, top with sliced tomato and fresh ground pepper.  There's breakfast.    You could also play around with an herbed cream cheese.  Trust me on this one, you will love it.
Cheers! D