This Dairy-Free Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer is the perfect way to pump up your coffee without all the extra additives of the creamer you buy in the store.

Ok, it’s no secret that I’m a coffee lover. Coffee is the first thing I consume when I wake up before most of the world is awake, and it doesn’t stop at just one mug. About 3-4 mugs in, and I’m finally feeling like I can conquer the world.

But when it comes to my coffee, I can’t just pour coffee in a mug and be good to go. It’s more like some stevia, about half a bottle (give or take) of store-bought froo-froo creamer, and only then is it to my liking. Okay, obviously half a bottle is an exaggeration, but the point is, I like my coffee doctored up so it doesn’t taste a whole lot like coffee. Oh the irony.

Here’s the thing though – I’ve actually started becoming acutely aware of each and every thing I put into my body and the effects they have on my physical health, well-being, and even my weight.

With this, I came to the realization that I was consuming 150-200 calories just in my morning coffee every day!

For someone trying to manage their weight through the pure science of calories in vs calories out, these 150+ calories were taking up way too much space in my allotment for the day, and something had to be done about it.

Besides, I have to say that it didn’t quite make sense for me to continue to use dairy-creamer when I don’t drink cow’s milk or eat cow’s yogurt anymore. I’ve been drinking almond and soy milk for almost 10 years and soy yogurt for the majority of the last 6 months.

Coffee creamer has been one of the last things I’ve been hanging onto when it comes to dairy products. And I sure as heck wasn’t about to give up my beloved coffee.

And then there’s cheese, and well, I have quite an obsession with cheese, and I don’t see myself giving that up in this lifetime. Melty cheesy sandwiches. Cheese on my pizza. Cheesy quesadillas. Cheesy Nachos. All.the.cheese!

I digress.

Once I realized how much coffee creamer was taking up space in my calorie count, I knew something had to be done. But it had to be something that was equally tasty. Equally sweet. Equally creamy. Equally chugg-able.

So I started experimenting. It took me about three tries.

I started with just almonds. Not creamy enough.

Just cashews. Not the flavor I was going for and definitely not sweet enough.

And then I found the sweet sweet combination that will forever be my base for exciting dairy-free creamer flavors to come!

Half almonds. Half cashews. A splash of vanilla. Some dates and agave for sweetness. And there you have it. Nothing crazy. Nothing weird. Just pure real ingredients that take my 150+ calories to about 20.

That leaves so much room for more cheese!!

[Tweet “This #dairyfree coffee creamer has totally changed my life – now I can drink #allthecoffee! {permalink}”]

How do you take your coffee? Would you consider making your own creamer?

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Dairy-Free Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer

Yield: 0 makes about 2 1/2 cups

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 4 pitted dates
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons agave
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, soak almonds, cashews, and dates in water. Be sure that the water is covering all the nuts and dates. Let sit for 8-12 hours.
2. Once they're done soaking, drain the nuts and the dates and rinse with clean water.
3. Place in a high-speed blender with 2 1/2 cups of water and blend for about a minute or two until everything is as smooth as possible.
4. Pour mixture into a nut bag that's placed over a bowl or pitcher. Squeeze out all the liquid, reserving the remaining nut meal to use in recipes such as muffins, cookies, and quick-breads.
5. Pour the drained liquid back into the blender, add vanilla, agave, and salt, and blend on medium speed until completely combined.
6. Refrigerate in a pitcher or glass jar. Will keep for about 5-7 days stored in the refrigerator.

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Looking for more dairy-free recipes?

Coconut Milk Strawberry Ice Cream – Happy Food Healthy Life
Homemade Coconut Milk – Tried & Tasty
Lightened Up Coconut Coconut Caramel Ice Cream Pie – Happy Food Healthy Life
Whipped Coconut Cream – Tasty Yummies
3-Ingredient Strawberry Citrus Sorbet – Happy Food Healthy Life

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