Monthly Archives: October 2013

Jambalaya or Gumbo Low Carb Knock Off

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My friend, Anne, wrote me and told me that she makes a sausage and shrimp dinner that her family likes.  I never would think to put those two things together, but she likes it.  She puts in vegetables and salad too.

The name of the sausage is Open Nature Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage.  

Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

 

I found sausage and shrimp jambalaya and gumbo recipes on the internet, but I finally found one that is low carb.  I will include that at the end of this blog. Don’t eat the jambalaya or gumbo the way it is done–too many carbs.  I am glad Anne does it a low-carb way.

The carb count on the sausage is pretty good.  1g of carb per link.  Protein is 16g.  So that part is great, but then there is the sodium.

Points to remember:

1.  Sodium is not such an issue in losing body fat, but it is an issue in retaining water weight and if you have high blood pressure.  One link is 570mg.

It is recommended that adults under age 51, have less than 2300mg of sodium per day and over 51–1500mg.  So, one link is a third of an older person’s recommended intake.  What if you ate two links and had more sodium in the day too?  Sodium hides in many things.  You have to be aware that most canned and frozen foods are high in sodium.

To compare, a slice of medium bacon, known to have nitrates and sodium has 185mg of sodium in it.

If you have blood pressure or heart issues, or edema issues, you especially have to watch your intake of sodium and it also stores a lot of water weight.

She also has it with frozen shrimp.  Just a note: 3 ounces of fresh shrimp is around 140mg of sodium vs. 300mg for frozen shrimp.  But, there are no carbs in shrimp.

2.  Put more veggies on the plate and only 4 ounces total of the shrimp and sausage, and it is important to weigh or measure.

The meal looks delicious, but since it is high in sodium, make it a once in a while treat or you will retain water and it will show on your scale.

3.  It is best to buy fresh.  Fresh sausage and shrimp will probably save at least half of the sodium in frozen foods.

Low Carb Sausage and Shrimp recipe

½ lb cleaned and deveined shrimp
½ lb Kielbasa sausage
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large cloves garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chicken stock
Pinch of dried hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over med-hot heat. Add the kielbasa and brown on each side. Add the garlic, lemon juice, chicken stock, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 3 minutes.Add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are pink. Remove from heat. Place on serving plate and pour sauce over shrimp from the skillet (or serve on the side for dipping).

Sautéed some asparagus with garlic powder and season salt as a side dish. (10g net carbs)

shrimp and kielbasaThat is on the internet with the low carb recipe….and here is my friend’s plate:

annedinner

 

 

Low-Carb Chicken Piccata

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My sister-in-law sent me this low carb recipe for piccata.
You can make it with turkey or chicken. It is actually quite good.
This particular time, I forgot to do what she suggested and cut
the fillets in half. Next time–makes for cooking through the
center of the meat faster. My husband ate a cutlet and he really
liked it. Consider serving with veggies, salad! Low
Carb Piccata (about 4g of carbs per cutlet) •4
turkey or chicken cutlets (about 5-6oz each) •1/4 teaspoon! salt
•1/4 teaspoon ground pepper •1 tablespoon olive oil, divided •1
tablespoon butter •1 1/2 cup chicken broth •2 tablespoon shallots,
chopped •2 cloves garlic, minced •1 teaspoon flour •1 – 2
tablespoons lemon juice •1 tablespoon capers, drained •1 tablespoon
flat leaf parsley Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Heat a
large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add
cutlets and cook 2-3 minutes per side or until done. Remove and
keep warm covered with a sheet of foil. Add remaining olive oil and
1/2 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add shallots and garlic cooking
for 1 minute. Stir in 3/4 cup broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 2
minutes, scraping sides of pan. Combine remaining chicken stock and
flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add to pan and bring
to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.
Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter, lemon juice, and
capers. Pour sauce over turkey and garnish with parsley.
Nutritional Information Calories: 298
Fat: 10g Saturated fat: 4.1g Monounsaturated fat: 4g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.6g Protein: 43.3g Carbohydrate: 4.5g Fiber:
0.6g Cholesterol: 83mg Iron: 2.7mg Sodium: 414mg Calcium: 19mg
My Pictures

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Losing Weight Means Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone–COOKING!

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On Saturday, I went shopping and bought supplies so that I have decent things to eat next week, things which are low-carb, but delish.

Why?  Because I love myself and I love my family.

Cooking is love made visible Thoughts and Images along the Way

I bought organic chicken breasts from Trader Joes and made chicken tenders–enough for the whole week (4 ounces a day).  I used the recipe that was on my blog and added hemp seed to it (found it at Costco, actually and it is low-carb, high protein).  https://skinny-rules.com/2013/08/27/low-carb-almond-and-flax-seed-chicken-tenders/

I never cooked.  I spent the first 30 something years of my life only baking.  Baking is fun and smells good.  Baking is easy.

I have stepped outside of the comfort zone that made me fat and ill–and I am forcing myself to learn.  I have started with easy recipes and if I need help, I ask for it.  It isn’t hard.  The first few times is hard, but what isn’t at first?  Having children or a job is hard–did that stop you?  Are you conditioned by your family to go out to eat?

Comfort-zone

Low-carb chicken tenders, made from almond meal, flax-seed meal, hemp and Organic chicken is WAY healthier than getting some Who-Knows-What-It-Is-Made-Of and high sodium bread encrusted so-called chicken from a fast food place or a restaurant.  I know so many people, especially parents who don’t take the time to learn to do these things at home for the love of themselves or their children.  Saying you “love” and showing that you “love”–are two different things.

Cooking this is so easy–dipping the pieces in the meal and coating them, placing them on tin foil, baking for 10 minutes, turn them, and 10 more minutes and then you can heat them up over the week because you can make a batch of them.  And you then know what you are putting into your or your kid’s body.  How much love can you have for yourself or your child if you are putting nothing but antibioticed non-organic chicken, encrusted with Frankenwheat and carbs in their mouths?

I just did a batch and they are cooling.  They taste good and it wasn’t hard.

Step outside of the box, and start cooking basics like this one.  I will put up more easy recipes from time to time, or Google them.  When was the last time  you ever even tried to turn on your oven and cooked fresh foods that didn’t come already done or out of a box?  Or the last time you cooked at all because you bring in (unhealthy) food all of the time?

Could this be part of the reason someone in your home might have medical or weight issues?  Think about cooking with love, for love.  (And save money too!)

comfortzone

 

Prevent Halloween Holiday Weight Gain

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The holidays are upon us.  This usually means that people start to eat things that are higher-carb and they will put weight on themselves.   The “traditions” of the holidays–are man-made–and perhaps should be modified, as our society gets bigger and bigger.  I am not sure who came up with the idea that on Halloween–that we need to give a bunch of sugar items to children all night long.  I know their teachers are usually not too happy about it the next day because those kids are all wired from the whole event and the toxic poisoning of all of that sugar.

The carb-fest at Thanksgiving and Christmas is a whole other Oprah.  Let’s talk about Halloween though.

Here are some guidelines to follow if you are trying to lose weight on Halloween:

halloweencandy

At home:

1.  Buy candy you don’t like so it will be easier to resist temptation.
2.  Purchase candy at the last-minute so you won’t be tempted to sample it.
3.  Keep in mind that you will need to walk nearly a mile to burn off that 90-calorie “fun size” or “snack size” candy.
4.   Get out and walk with the kids or look at neighbor’s homes so you aren’t tempted to eat candy in your house.

At work:

1.  Do not bake and bring Halloween muffins, cookies, etc to work and when they are at work, stay away from them.  Have your healthier snacks available to you so you will not be hungry.  If you have to be standing or sitting near those sugary items, then eat your snacks before you are there and near them.

2.  There are recipes online for low-carb baking items and you should consider that if you need a treat.  There is also low-carb chocolate out there.  Eat a Power Crunch bar or a Nature Valley Protein Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate bar as a replacement of a regular candy bar.

11 Ways To Deal With Cravings When On A Diet!

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I hear this all of the time and I went through it too. I sometimes still do. How do you get through cravings, especially at home at night. or mid-day?

11 Ways to get you through cravings:
1.  You have to set a goal.

I told myself every morning that I was on a MISSION and that mission had to be done, no matter what.  I set a goal to lose a certain amount of weight.

2.  Recognize that cravings mean something and fix the problem before it becomes a problem.

First off, sometimes you will crave things because you are deficient in a vitamin or mineral.  People who crave steak are low in iron, bananas–potassium,chocolate-magnesium, etc.  So, take a MULTIVITAMIN AND MULTIMINERAL all through your diet and after to help with unnecessary cravings.

3.  Go shopping and only buy the foods you are going to eat on the diet.  Do not buy junk.


Royalty-Free Stock<br /> Photography by Rubberball Oh, you have kids?
You want junk for the kids and you are afraid you will eat it too? Well, I have something controversial to say here. Screw that!
That junk hurts your body and mind, and it is not only BAD for your kids (they need white flour and sugar like a hole in the head), but you are also setting them up on a path of weight gain in their future too by allowing them to get hooked on pure sugar crap!  Teach them to enjoy healthy, tasty options for their snacks.  Nuts, fruit, cheese, protein bars.  The Nature Valley Protein Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bar (for instance) or their other Protein bars or any of the Power Crunch bars are low in carbs, high in protein.  What the heck is wrong with those options?  Cheetos, Doritos, Tortilla chips, candy, cheese balls–are all BAD, BAD options and will only make you sick. Buy low-carb baking books, look it up online, buy low carb food books, buy low-carb options at the market or online at places like netrition.com or low-carb stores online.  Some items are at speciality stores.
low carb 4. Stop baking BAD stuff (look up better low-carb options online.

No more baking crap white flour nonsense in the house.  Just knock it off. You don’t need it.  Oh, your kid enjoys it?  Well, too bad.  You all need to find a healthier hobby or learn sugar-free options for baking and look at number one (set a goal) and go shopping (rule 3) and get new stuff to bake. Having bad food baking and wafting through the house is torture on a diet.  It will just pull you back into the dark side of bad fattening food. If it is made with white flour–NO! You or your kids have to find recipes using coconut, almond or flax meal and make those things.  Step outside of your fattening comfort zone and learn new tricks.  Teach your loved ones to eat better WITH you.

YES!  YOU WILL HAVE CRAVINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT THE FIRST WEEK AFTER GIVING UP SUGAR AND SIMPLE CARBS.  IT IS THE BODY DETOXING.  YOU WILL GET THROUGH IT.  JUST KEEP DRINKING WATER (COFFEE WAS MY SAVIOR).  IT WILL EVENTUALLY STOP.  YOU WON’T DIE.  AFTER AWHILE, YOUR BODY WILL JUST CRAVE THE GOOD FOOD.  IT IS LIKE GETTING OFF OF ANY DRUG.  PEOPLE ARE ADDICTED TO SUGAR.  IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU AND IT IS MAKING YOU FAT AND UNHEALTHY.  GROW SOME BALLS AND DEAL WITH IT.  🙂

5.  Tape a picture of yourself looking fat on the refrigerator so that you will be reminded why you are on the diet in the first place.

6. Throw out the bad food or give it away.

If it is there, you are gonna eat it!

7. Drink water and have lots of sugar-free options to drink.

Drink every time you are hungry, to help stop cravings.

8.  If you are desperate and it is in between the time of 3-4 hours from your last protein meal (out of six for the day), then have a protein “hit.”

 

food-cravings –a piece of low-fat string cheese, a slice of turkey, an egg, a protein drink with few carbs in it–but have a protein “hit”, so you get through the cravings, until your next meal.

9.  Find a distraction.

Read, get online, call a friend, or go exercise.  Exercise or walking the dog helps me. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week, not only burns calories, it helps reduce cravings. So, move!

10.  Find ways to de-stress.

Meditation, yoga, listening to music.  Anxiety can make people eat.  They have “emotional” eating.  Most emotional eating is from anxiety.  This is why I love yoga–between the exercise and the wind down meditative time, I am pretty chill. Take an L-Theanine 200 mg (a totally natural amino acid that
lowers anxiety like nothing I have ever tried and there are NO side effects.  Look it up.)

11.  Keep a diet journal showing what you ate and the number of carbs per meal and tally it all up daily.  Also, use that journal to write when you are emotional and try to process what is bothering you instead of eating.

Consider therapy or a group like Overeaters Anonymous.  Or, if you must eat, follow rule number 7 and avoid so-called, “comfort” foods.  Those foods will only make you feel UNcomfortable tomorrow when you gained weight!  

Eating Eggs for Breakfast Makes It Easier to Lose Weight

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There is proof that eggs should be the first thing you eat every morning in order to be skinny.

There were a few studies on having eggs first thing in the morning. One study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition determined that an egg the first thing each morning could help with limiting calorie intake throughout the day. The study reported that leucine, an essential amino acid that is found in high quality protein such as eggs, can give a weight loss advantage when dieting by helping to decrease loss of lean tissue, increase loss of body fat, as well as stabilize blood glucose levels.

study story

Breakfast Skinny Rules

If you eat 6 low-carb, protein meals per day, as part of the Skinny Rules, you should start your day with eggs. Until you reach maintenance, and you are still losing, stick to one egg in the morning or two egg whites, scrambled, omelette, etc. I put spinach and mushrooms in mine. I also get hard-boiled eggs and always have them available to pop in my mouth, if I am running out the door, with no time to cook.

What kind of Eggs?

There are many different ways to prepare eggs. frittata, scrambled, over easy or hard, omelette, and even deviled eggs. Here is the recipe for low-carb, delish devils eggs, poached, etc. You can double the amount of egg if you use egg whites. These are also sold, ready to our from cartons.

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a Couple of Good Low-Carb Egg Recipes

I just found a recipe for low carb egg muffins. They look fantastic and I hope to make them soon. If anyone beats me to it, tell me what you think.
egg muffins

The deviled eggs:
deviled eggs

Frozen Yogurt: Good Replacement for Ice Cream in a Diet?

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I decided to blog about frozen yogurt.  I know a LOT
of people who eat it and think it is a weight loss tool.  But,
it isn’t.  It is all a sham!  And you have to do your
research before you just eat stuff.  “But, it is good for
you.”  Not really.  It has sugar and a lot of things you
can’t even pronounce in it.  It just tastes good and has
probiotics. carbolite Keep in mind.  To
lose weight, you should stick between 50g and 100g of carbs per
day.  IN TOTAL, for the WHOLE DAY! First off.  Even if it
is non-fat frozen yogurt, that doesn’t mean anything.  Fat is
actually a good thing for the body.  And usually, there are
more bad things added to make up for the lack of fat in food.
 So, some frozen yogurt that is non-fat has more sugar and
carbs than low-fat frozen yogurt. Let’s compare and
contrast:  Most smalls everywhere range from
30g to 54g of carbs for frozen yogurt!  A lot for a snack.
 Leaves little for dieting the rest of the day.
Yogurtland:
 Gluten-free, kosher and has probiotics.  That is good,
but half a cup has anywhere from 17 to 27g of carbs (much of that
is sugar) and you will eat MORE than half a cup.  A small is a
full cup.  So, you could be eating 34 to 54g of carbs just in
the yogurt.  And then, if you use toppings….you are eating
MORE carbs and sugar.  The lowest in carbs are nuts and fruit,
from 2 to 6g of carbs per topping.  The most was in gummy
bears and cereal (high 20s).  And carob chips have more carbs
than the actual chocolate.   I see NOTHING at Yogurtland that
I can eat.  You could end up eating just under 100g of carbs
if you order a larger amount than a small (8 ounce size) and get
more than one topping.  You could have had a double
cheeseburger and fries for that! http://www.yogurt-land.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/nutritionals.pdf
Many of the other yogurt shops are comparable in those numbers.
 PLEASE NOTE THAT THEIR NUMBERS ARE BASED ON HALF A CUP!
 THAT IS TO FOOL YOU BECAUSE A SMALL IS A FULL CUP.  SO
NUMBERS MUST BE DOUBLED. Some places have really low-carb no sugar
added frozen yogurt.  Menchie’s has a few flavors, like
Chocolate Peanut Butter at 11g of carbs per half cup.  So, a
small is about 22g without toppings.  Their non-fat is about
22g of carbs per half cup (44g of carbs per small), about 26g of
carbs (52g for a small) for low-fat and tart.  And the sorbet
is about 19g of carbs per half cup (38g for a small).
Yozen Frogurt:
 Regular frozen yogurt small is 30g of carbs, non-fat is MORE
at 36g of carbs and their no-sugar added is 14g of carbs.
My low carb choices:
I get Carbolite, Dream Delite, Wow
Cow or any other specifically
designed low-carb product.  Not all stores carry this.  I
go to Yogurt Cinema or Yogurt Zone in Woodland HIlls, Ca. and they
have it.  It is basically about 2g of carbs per ounce.
 So, for an 8 ounce cup, it is 16g of carbs and I do no
toppings. The website for Carbolite says it is 4g of carbs per half
cup, so actually if they are right, then my 8 ounce cup of yogurt
is only 8g of carbs.  Sweet! http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/carbolite/frozen-yogurt
If you go to the market and get Breyer’s
Carb Smart ice cream, the carb amount is
about 18g of carbs.  Very low.
  Skinny-Cow is not so skinny.  Many of
their frozen desserts are about 30g of carbs. IN
CONCLUSION: So, if you eat ice cream
(even low fat), you are eating anywhere from 34-38g of carbs per a
8 ounce cup vs. 34-54g for regular frozen yogurt.
And watch out for places like… –Cold Stone. The carbs are about
the same as the store bought ice cream, but it has a lot more sugar
and that can’t be good for your diet or health. — Carvel.  A
Carvel ice cream cone (that is with the cone) is in the 30s of the
carb grams, but more than double with a waffle cone.  And
their chocolate flying saucer is also in the 30s.  I don’t
know about you, but if I was to eat that many carbs (30s), I would
rather have a Carvel soft serve cone than eat a small frozen
yogurt.  This is why you have to research! In a
way, you are better off eating regular ice cream than frozen
yogurt.  It is less carbs, unless you go with the low-carb
versions of either product. …STICKING TO MY
LOW-CARB FROZEN DESSERT CHOICES! frozenyogurt

Sugar Addiction Worse Than Heroin Addiction?

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What?  Sugar is an addiction worse than heroin?

Many articles have come out about how certain foods are designed to be addictive to the human brain.  (One example: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2349007/Food-really-addictive-Study-finds-brain-activity-similar-heroin-users-eating-certain-processed-foods.html)

The articles basically says that studies have shown that food could be as addictive as class-A drug heroin and nicotine in cigarettes.  They found substance abuse and food with a high glycemic index – such as white bread and potatoes – may trigger the same brain mechanism tied to addiction.  And that eating highly processed carbohydrates can cause excess hunger and stimulate brain regions involved in reward and cravings.

No, not the Oreos!

oreoeat

Another study came out last week about Oreos.    (One example:  http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/16/oreos-may-be-as-addictive-as-cocaine/?iid=nf-article-trend-now)

The articles about Oreos basically explain that Oreos are as addictive as cocaine with lab rats.  According to the new study,  eating Oreos activated more neurons in the rat brain’s “pleasure center” than drugs such as cocaine.

oreosstuffRead more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/16/oreos-may-be-as-addictive-as-cocaine/#ixzz2iCLeTJXs

If you read books like Salt, Sugar, Fat, by Michael Moss,  http://www.amazon.com/Salt-Sugar-Fat-Giants-Hooked/dp/1400069807, you will see how those companies learned how the brain reacted to the combination of those three items and how to “hook” their customers.  Whether you like it or not, Coca Cola, General Mills and the like–are all drug pushers and you, the addicted one, are their junkee.

Here are the signs if you are a sugar junkie:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-sugar-addiction?ecd=wnl_wlw_101913&ctr=wnl-wlw-101913_ld-stry&mb=XIrxC%40bWr0GXHmtrgs5c0eHnVev1imbCQlyzenL1KWg%3d

If you want to go through detox and stop being a junkie, here are some ways to do it.
Detox:

3 day Detox:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2392930/The-Three-Day-Sugar-Detox-How-banish-sweet-stuff-life-look-younger-AND-lose-weight.html

21 day Detox: http://www.rosecole.com/handouts/21DaySugarDetox.pdf

One you have detoxed, then you can really start to cut back more on carbs like Quinoa, oats, wheat, and rice–in order to lose more weight.  It is hard to lose a lot of weight if you eat more than 50g ot 100g of carbs a day and those things have a lot of carbs.  But, your first focus should be to DETOX and you will still lose weight because your body is obviously getting less carbs and sugar from eating less of the junk carbs.  So, detox and then look at any of my other blogs on losing weight the low carb way and reaching your goal weight.  (Example:  https://skinny-rules.com/2013/10/18/the-rules-for-losing-weight/)

I will go into more depth on next week, in case you need a breakdown.  Now, go detox!  Find a friend, detox together.  It is easier to do it with a friend.  There is also Overeaters Anonymous meetings.  Those are free and for those who can’t stop eating foods that they want to stop eating…..

A Weight Loss Product Line With Many Choices. Delish, and Low-Carb Proteins

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Heard of Jenni-O?

They make turkey patties, sausage links, turkey breast slices, turkey breast meat, low sodium versions, taco-seasoned turkey meat of all kinda, Italian-seasoned turkey meat of all kinds, , turkey steak, turkey bacon, turkey meatballs, etc, etc.

http://www.jennieo.com/products/

Some days I make the meatballs, some days I cook the breakfast sausage.

Today, I bought some taco-seasoned ground turkey meat and just threw it in a pan and cooked, turned and cooked it until it was done. 5 to 10 minutes. Now, I can have it by itself as a snack, with some cheese and/or guacamole on it, with some salsa, tomatoes, and/or in a low-carb tortilla. Easy and tasty, and sometimes I need something more than eggs that is easy to do or have in the fridge.

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The meat is 2g of carbs per 4 ounce serving. So, this one out of the six daily proteins you should eat to keep your metabolism going is very low in carbs and tastes great. And it is inexpensive and easy to do. And when you need a snack, it is tasty. I can also put it on a salad at lunch and have a taco salad. Melt some cheese on it! Yum.

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A Taste Of Fall in Your Coffee

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My sister-in-law recommends International Delights Sugar Free Creamer in Pumpkin Pie Spice
(in the refrigerator section) – “you just need a splash to have a taste of Fall !”

1 Tablespoon 20 cals, 2 g fat and 1 carb

You have to get the sugar-free one – the regular has 6 carbs per tablespoon!!

They also have a sugar free version in Coffee Mate,bench she tasted and it was far too spicy for her. She said that this one is much smoother than than Coffee Mate.

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Thanks, Denise!

Where to buy it: where to buy it

Be careful when buying flavored creamers. Look at labels. Most are laden in sugar and carbs and you could be putting on weight with flavored drinks. There are sugar-free versions with little to no sugar and carbs.