Rad Recipes: Coffee Hacks

Confession: At one point in my life, I was drinking quite a lot of coffee every day. Like, A LOT. We’re talking all day long, so maybe 8 cups… or more!

What’s worse is that I wasn’t even enjoying it (except for the first cup); no, I NEEDED it.  Coffee had become my drug of choice. It didn’t even have to be good coffee, hell, I would reheat a half-finished cup of crappy gas station super sweetened garbage coffee in the microwave and clutch it in my trembling hands like it was The One Ring… my preeeeciousssssssssssss!

That, my friends, is too much coffee.

I just hate being owned by anything. Acid reflux, heart palpitations, stomach and gut issues, insomnia, bad breath and a short temper were becoming my squad, so I decided at that point to give it up cold turkey for Lent one year. Yes- for the first few days I was pretty miserable, jittery, exhausted and a total bitch to be around.  My body had to go through a serious detox. By the end of week 2, though, I was actually feeling pretty great! I was sleeping better, my skin was looking healthier, my breath was sweet and fresh, my teeth were whiter. I made it through the entire 40 day coffee-fast, nobody died, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.  This was probably about 8 or 9 years ago.

Nowadays, I can actually enjoy a quality cup of coffee when I feel like having one (maybe 1 or 2 a week). Total turnaround!

I’m not all militant anymore about avoiding coffee from the local Starbucks, CBTL, or Peet’s, but I do generally avoid getting their foo-foo sweetened coffee drinks. My body feels better when I don’t drink that shit. When I do brew my own, I prefer supporting small batch farmers, organically grown and sustainably raised crops, and producers who are making the world a better place. I opt for whole beans that I grind myself for the richest flavor. I’ve also ditched adding sugar or sugary creamers and started trying some really interesting add-ins instead  to make that hot cuppa work FOR me. Here’s some for you to try:

• Organic filtered whole milk.
• Organic Ceylon Cinnamon
• Organic Cardamom
• Pure organic coconut milk
• Organic Ginger
• Organic Turmeric
• Organic unsalted butter
• Organic vanilla

RAD RECIPE: Swedish Egg Coffee (sounds gross but it’s amazing and smooth)

• INGREDIENTS
  

  1 ¹⁄₂ cups of your favorite ground coffee

  1 egg, lightly beaten

  Instructions

  In a small bowl, stir together coffee, beaten egg, and ¹⁄₂ cup cold water and mix into a paste. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, and add the coffee/egg paste; boil, stirring, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and ladle coffee through a fine strainer (no paper filter needed). Njut av! (Enjoy!)

RAD RECIPE: Irish Coffee (nothing healthy about it, but a damn fine treat on a cold, rainy Sunday morning!)

• INGREDIENTS

  2 2/3 oz (4 parts) Hot coffee, 1 1/3 oz (2 parts) Irish whiskey, 1 tsp. Brown sugar, 1 oz (1½ parts) Fresh cream

  Instructions

  Heat the coffee, whiskey and sugar; do not boil. Pour into glass and top with cream; serve hot.  Cheers!