We have lots of zero-calorie options for sweeteners when it comes to coffee. My personal favorite is Truvia, because it feels like sugar but dissolves like Splenda, and has a fruity aftertaste instead of a chemically one. (I've discovered that too much at once sours my stomach, though.)

I cannot drink my coffee black, the bitterness is not palatable to me. I'd take creamer over sugar given the choice, as far as flavor goes. But what's a poor eating-disordered girl to do, with all those extra calories added - and fat ones to boot?

So I've been using Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk at home, and skim milk when I go to a cafe and there's nothing else available. But I feel like I have to add MORE of these to make up for the missing taste of cream. So then it occurred to me: can I use the same number of calories with a better flavored creamer and get better results than a more watery kind?

I'll show you what I mean:

Now if I thought I could get away with adding two teaspoons of Almond Milk to my coffee, then I would be saving like a million calories, right? But I'm adding, god, at least an eighth of a cup, maybe a quarter, in order to remove the coffee's bitterness. Would a teaspoon of cream maybe taste better even using the same caloric amount?

So I'm going to do a taste test. I seriously think my theory is going to be proved correct. As long as I make sure to measure my amounts properly and not just dump it in, using cream or half & half is going to have the same calories as something supposedly "lighter" and provide a better taste. I'll post the results once I've tried them all.

(I'm lucky that I don't have the fear of dietary fats that some of us do. You're stuck with skim milk or powdered skim milk, if that's the case. Or maybe some non-dairy kinds, I'm not sure. Even almond milk is almost pure fat.)

I also hear tell that there's a zero-calorie creamer out there. I've also heard that it's both pricey and doesn't do the job very well. The creaming job. You know. But I have yet to find and try it.