Kristina Wright Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I almost have my best friend convinced to try a Whole30 with me in August (as much Whole30 as we can do living at home with parents who foot the food bill and think we're crazy), but she absolutely hates her coffee black. She sent me a recipe she found for a homemade hazelnut creamer made with soaked hazelnuts, water, coconut oil, and sweetened with pureed dates and asked me if she could have it on the Whole30. My assessment was that while the ingredients are legit, this creamer would not be Whole30 because it isn't in keeping with the spirit of the program. It is clearly SWYPO for a person who loves their flavored coffees, and its purpose would be propping up the craving for sweetness, having the same effect and satisfying the same brain tantrum as just adding sugar would. To me, it would be tantamount to eating Larabars for dessert (which was my SWYPO during my first W30). In my understanding, sugar is sugar, dessert is dessert, and sweetened creamer is sweetened creamer, but I wanted to present this to the experts as a case study. Am I correct in judging this creamer non-compliant? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 IMO, you are correct. It's SWYPO. Part of the Whole30 philosophy is moving away from the need to sweeten anything, including coffee. Maybe your friend could try coffee with compliant coconut milk, coconut oil, or (my personal favorite) coconut oil and ghee mixed with a hand blender, and see if she likes that instead? Or she could explore compliant herbal teas (avoiding those with soy and stevia leaf). That all being said, according to this recent article (The Official "Can I have ..." Guide to the Whole30), they say, "Technically, we suppose, you could do this (make Paleo creamer to take the place of cream and sugar) and still stay compliant, but we really wouldn't recommend it. Instead, we'd encourage you to take a look at why you need this at all. Do you really like coffee, or are you drinking it for the hit of sugary flavor?" http://whole9life.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HealthyForPNG Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 In the "Can I have__" post they say it is technically okay, but they would prefer you didn't. I personally was a huge fan of a little coffee with my flavored creamer pre-Whole30. I've been mixing one can coconut milk with one banana and using that in my coffee. It is nothing like the sugar hit I used to get, so for now I am comfortable with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I think this could go either way. If you think this is the thing that will prevent her from doing a W30, maybe she should just have her creamer. She should still see a lot of improvements (depending on how her current diet is), and who knows...maybe she'll be so happy/impressed with this way of eating that she'll stick with it and do another one later following the spirit as well as the rules of the W30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted July 10, 2013 Moderators Share Posted July 10, 2013 Anytime someone is working so hard to find a substitute, something is wrong and should be faced. I think your friend should stop drinking coffee during her Whole30. Replace it with herbal, green, or some other variety of tea. Or crio bru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallulah Wolf-Angel Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I put Trader Joe's canned coconut cream in my tea, both Earl Grey and an herbal rooibos blend. I like it so much in both, I am unlikely to ever go back to cream after Whole30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bet Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I usually like a little coffee with my half and half , but I usually only drink it on weekends. Weekdays I make tea with some pasture whole milk. But that is out too. I bought some nice tea, but black it was still BLECH. I did pick up the creamed coconut. Just a smidge in it was enough to make the tea not too bitter to drink. You can't adjust your taste buds if you keep masking the taste of everything with sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 If you switch to black coffee, your tastebuds will adjust to it, honestly. The big advantage of drinking black coffee is that it's available everywhere. I've lost track of the number of times I've been out, maybe shopping with friends and they want to pop in somewhere for a coffee or for lunch. There's hardly ever anything compliant I can eat, but I can always enjoy a black coffee and not even look weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjjgrrl Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 If you switch to black coffee, your tastebuds will adjust to it, honestly. The big advantage of drinking black coffee is that it's available everywhere. I've lost track of the number of times I've been out, maybe shopping with friends and they want to pop in somewhere for a coffee or for lunch. There's hardly ever anything compliant I can eat, but I can always enjoy a black coffee and not even look weird This is totally true. Also, if you're at someone's house and they offer coffee, it's generally drinkable black, no HFCS creamers needed. Also, as a former "little coffee with my half and half" drinker myself, I'll say it again: great black coffee is the result of good beans and a good preparation method. And a good method -- e.g., Chemex, French press, Aeropress, cold brew -- can make even cheap beans/grounds taste good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtandi Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I agree with everything said above, but I would also like to add that doing a whole30 with adding this creamer will still be better than SAD. is it ideal? SWYPO? it's not ideal and I would say pretty borderline SWYPO, especially for someone with sweetened coffee issues, but my personal suggestion would be to have her drink her coffee with this creamer starting now, then gradually add less dates if she is starting with a large amount. personally I make a creamer similar but I only have coffee a couple times a week. anyways, I do love Robin's post: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/5580-dont-over-think-this/ we do not have to fix all our problems in one swoop. we have to work towards an ideal. maybe this whole30 she uses this creamer, her next whole30 she decides to be more vigilant in addressing her coffee addiction. just my 0.02 - I am not a moderator!! just someone who has worked towards (and made) huge changes who is still on my long long journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtandi Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 wanted to add, after reading your post again, that you had Lara bars as desserts during your first whole30, I bet you learned quite a bit and made some amazing progress!! I am just thinking of myself...throughout my first whole100 and again this past whole30 I did my absolute best. I had times of Lara bar love. what I learned is that I am a tiny bit judgemental of friends for some reason when they do a whole30. I even find myself doing it on the forum. I'm not saying this is what you are doing at all, it just brought it up for me. I have a co worker who decided to do a whole30 and I found myself assessing what she was eating as if it were my business. she was compliant and knows herself and her path better than I do, and she knows what issues she wants to tackle ASAP and which ones aren't that important to her at the moment. the fact that we can talk anyone into making these changes is amazing and you are a wonderful friend for introducing her to this way of life!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 For me, I just need something to cool the coffee off so I can chug it down. I make coffee ice cubes. It workss for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Yesterday I felt awful, and part of me wanted to make something similar- more as a "comfort" thing, as I'm perfectly ok drinking coffee with some CO or coconut milk and no sweetener. I decided against it as I'd just be having it to fill an emotional need...not a fuel/nutrient need. Unsweetened coffee does take a bit of getting used to, but its not impossible. The CO or milk takes the edge off enough I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristina Wright Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thanks for all the thoughts. I'm not especially fretful about my friend's choice of caffeination, the question was a philosophical one. In fact, she said straight up that she "just doesn't like black coffee." Fair enough. I figure if an emotional need for coffee creamer is the only unhealthy psychological relationship you have with food, you're doing pretty darn well for yourself. Alongside boredom eating, stress eating, eating associated with mundane activities, and craving sugar at night, black coffee was by far the EASIEST part of Whole30 for me. I started drinking my coffee black during my last no-fat, count-every-calorie diet. It was skim milk and Splenda or nothing, I'd already sworn off Splenda, and skim milk in coffee is just gross. I dropped it like it was hot, and just kept drinking it black until I couldn't stand my coffee with anything in it. It took maybe a week, tops, and I've even graduated to drinking a Starbucks dark roast black (I consider this a high achievement). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I never used to like black coffee either. I started having it black during a comp prep, with stevia or a hot choc mix available here with stevia and erythritol. Until I realised the choc mix was giving me issues, so that went. I started having milk again a little while ago - only a little, too much gave me stomach issues as well. Did black with stevia for ages, then started adding coconut oil. Dropped the stevia for whole 30 and its not so bad. Anyway - anything is possible if you want it, including growing to like coffee black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlynn918 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Can't stand black coffee either. Im on day 14 and I tried it for almost a week, hot cold, whatever. I finally was deperate enough to make my own coconut milk and found that it was not only EASY but tastes GREAT! Shredded coconut and hot water in a blender. Strain through cheese cloth. And now I have coconut flavored coffee! YUMMY! I bought some plain original unsweetened almond milk too (no carrageenen! yay!) and I find I like that as well. Iced, btw. But thats preference, its summer in New England. Sticky and hot! Good luck to your friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerina Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Apologies in advance for the derail... Kristina, when I read the title of your thread, it made me grin. Because as soon as I read "A technically correct coffee creamer," I instantly heard the voice of Bureaucrat No. 1 in the "How Hermes Got His Groove Back" episode of Futurama. ("You are technically correct! The best kind of correct!") It kind of made my morning. So thank you for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Urban Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 FYI, we've just adjusted the language of the Can I Have... article to reflect that Paleo creamer (made with dates or date paste, designed to replicate the taste and sweetness of Coffeemate or some other chemical-laden creamer) is not okay on the Whole30, under the SWYPO rule. Use coconut milk or compliant almond milk, but not this sugar-laden junk food in disguise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjwaggon Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I am, btw, currently loving an iced coffee made with cold brew concentrate and the compliant Silk unsweetened cashew milk, for those doing a summer Whole30 and looking for an alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WholeMama623 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I am, btw, currently loving an iced coffee made with cold brew concentrate and the compliant Silk unsweetened cashew milk, for those doing a summer Whole30 and looking for an alternative. I can't wait to try this. I've been drinking black fine (and I was an avid cream/sugar gal) but I wouldn't mind adding something else to it sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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