Guess the Food: Sugar Water!
For today’s issue of Guess the Food, let’s tackle a product that’s very familiar to me.
I used to be completely addicted to this stuff. I used it daily and still like it on occasion although now I realize that it is basically sugar water.
Nobody’s perfect right?
Anyway, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of the nutrition and ingredients information and see if there are any hints that can help you guess the “food”!
A Big Hint
Normally, I like to take photos of the actual nutritional panels for Guess the Food posts, but I just couldn’t do it for this one.
I tried and tried to photograph (and photoshop) the real label, but there was no way to hide what the food was. People would’ve gotten it immediately!
That, in itself, is probably a pretty good hint and the only one you’re going to get.
The Nutrition Facts
Well, this is obviously something that you are supposed to use in short supply because the serving size is in tablespoons.
Note that I said supposed to use in short supply. In my experience, a lot of people (including myself in a previous life) glugg this stuff.
When you just glance at this, 35 calories seems small. But for one tablespoon of something, that’s actually a pretty high amount of calories.
Just for a reference:
- A tablespoon of sour cream has 30 calories
- A tablespoon of whole milk has 10 calories
- A tablespoon of ranch dressing (the real stuff) has 80 calories
So this tablespoon falls somewhere between sour cream and ranch dressing.
Besides sugar, a pinch of salt, and some saturated fats, there’s really nothing else going on here.
Let’s move onto the ingredients!
The Ingredients
Again, I had to copy this from the website because it was just too obvious on the packaging.
Let’s dive in!
Water - With water as the first ingredient, I think it’s pretty safe to say this is a liquid.
Sugar - See all that sugar in the nutritional info? Had to come from somewhere! I would almost guarantee that this would be high fructose corn syrup if this were made in the US, but this is actually a Canadian company (hint hint).
Hydrogenated Coconut Oil - Oil extracted from the meat of a coconut. According to Wikipedia (not always a perfect source), when you hydrogenate this you automatically make trans fats, but obviously there isn’t a large amount of them here or they would have to be listed in the nutritional info.
Sodium Caseinate - Casein is basically a protein from dairy. There seems to be some controversy surrounding it these days. It’s a very common additive in foods (as well as in other things like wood glue).
Flavour and Artificial Flavour - I really wish we spelled flavor as flavour here in the states. It just seems more classy. Anyway, this isn’t helpful obviously if you are trying to guess this food. I’ll tell you that the one that I bought is, I think, there most popular flavor.
Dipotassium Phosphate - A pretty common food additive that is basically a salt that easily dissolves in water. Interestingly, it’s also used as a fertilizer.
Salt - Just plain old salt.
Monoglycerides - An emulsifier that is effective in very small amounts.
Acetylated Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono and Diglycerides - Well, that’s a mouth full! Another emulsifier. As an aside, I found this awesome dictionary that the Canadian health department produces that lists every single food additive that’s allowed in Canada and what the additive is used for. Cool stuff!
So, there are some tips there… it’s a liquid. It’s Canadian. It’s in a container that’s impossible to photograph without giving it away.
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my guess is coffee “creamer”
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Nick replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 1:13 pm
Yep!
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I agree… Coffeemate or a similar brand. Why do they have to taste so good but be so bad?
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Nick replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 1:14 pm
Yep. Nailed the brand!
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I’d go with flavored nondairy creamer.
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Yeah, I’d guess it’s the artificial coffee “creamer” as well, probably International Delight French Vanilla.
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Nick replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 1:14 pm
French Vanilla is correct although not International Delight. It was Coffeemate.
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I’m guessing flavored non-dairy creamer, too – I recently saw some of it in my parents’ fridge and made the mistake of looking at the ingredients.
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Has to be Coffee Mate French Vanilla, been drinking that stuff by the tablespoon(s!) for years!
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Nick replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 1:14 pm
Exactly right!
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Maple syrup?
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I’m definitely gonna say coffee creamer. I use this stuff daily!
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Well I thought non-dairy creamer too, the oil & water seemed to point that way. Ick. Give me good ol’cream when I’m feeling decadent please! BTW, on behalf of your Canadian readers, thanks for the shout out! I’m quite proud of Canada’s general food & drug policies being tougher then average (including the US, sorry!) and giving out info like that to the general consumer is something that can really help with making healthy choices. Thanks, eh?
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Pippy replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 12:52 pm
Woot Woot!
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Yes, Boss! Its something I don’t use, guessing like everyone else, a coffee creamer. I know a lady who has her chia made with some milk then turns around an adds powdered dairy creamer to it. That one I don’t understand. Enjoy reading your posts.
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I think it is CoffeeMate flavored creamer (liquid). Yeah, that stuff is definitely not good for the body but tastes yummy!
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I agree; it’s artificial coffee creamer
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I’m also thinking coffee creamer of some sort… never knew it was Canadian though?
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Nick replied: — January 24th, 2012 @ 1:15 pm
Yea. It’s a Nestle product.
http://www.nestle.ca/en/products/brands/Coffee_Mate/liquid_french_van.htm
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