Upgrade your coffee for an extra healthy boost to start your day.

I love the smell of fresh coffee.  It takes me instantly to a warm, cozy cafe. I’m more of a social, ‘cawfee tawk’ kind of a coffee drinker but when I do drink coffee, I want it to taste really, really, good and contain high quality ingredients.

Coffee is and has been a controversial subject.  Is it bad, is it good, is it good and bad?  The latter is most likely true. Most studies show that a cup or two a day is not harmful.  The major issue (assuming you are in the 1-2 cup a day range) is the quality of the coffee and the things we add to coffee – like cream, non-dairy and powdered creamers and sugar.

Upgrade Your Cup A Joe:

1. Harmful toxins are used in the production of coffee so organic is best.
2. If you need sweetening, replace white sugar with a more pure, natural option like maple syrup or raw brown sugar.
3. Consider almond milk or canned full fat coconut milk as a substitute for cream.  Coconut milk is surprisingly creamy. I recommend Native Forest brand.  They use a BPA-free liner in their cans.  What’s wrong with ‘normal’ cream? I used to love cream in my coffee or tea but now do my utmost to stay away from dairy.  There is absolutely no reason health-wise to consume dairy and there are a plethora of reasons to avoid dairy if you are an animal-lover.
4. Take your Cup A Joe to another level by adding anti-oxidant rich superfoods like raw cacao, the plant species from which cocoa – and chocolate – is derived, and cinnamon.
5. Purchase a reusable to go container and make your own. Homemade is healthier, tastes (in my opinion) so much better in your own fancy cup than in a styrofoam or paper cup and saves you $$$$!
6. If you are a coffee addict and drink 4, 5, 6+ cups a day, consider switching out one or more of those cups with organic green tea, or hot chocolate.  Here’s a quick healthy and delicious hot chocolate recipe: in a small pan on medium heat, whisk together almond or coconut milk, a tablespoon raw cacao, a dash of cinnamon and a tablespoon of maple syrup.  Sounds so good, I’m going to go make one right now!

Why not make your next coffee break a dessert break?  Here’s my Coffee/Banana Break recipe.  It takes about all of one minute!

Tip for the corporate workerbee-
In my office, we have a community Nutribullet purchased by the firm (bless them!). I have a Nutribullet at home as well so I throw the above mentioned ingredients (save the liquid) in the Nutribullet, screw on the cap and put it in the refrigerator at the office. When I’m ready for my coffee/banana break, I add water or coconut milk and blend.