Need a love potion?
On Valentine’s Day or any day – Here’s a love potion of epic proportions — Buttered Coffee. When I got my first issue of Paleo Magazine in the mail I was instantly and enthusiastically ushered into the world of nuts, treats and grass-fed meats. Who knew I would get a love potion, too? It’s great to find a new food that pleases my palette and sense of adventure. It’s both sexy and full of good nutrients! Share this with your beloved, or someone who might become your beloved…
Inside the front cover was a large ad for coffee butter to make a western/paleo version of the yak butter tea drunk in the Himalayas for centuries. Yak butter tea is well-known to be amazingly satisfying and sustaining in that harsh, low-oxygen climate. Maui may be off the beaten path in many ways but millions of visitors from all over the world bring all the latest trends here and we are quick to take up anything that purports to be both healthier and delicious. I looked closer at the ad and saw that the “paleo butter coffee” offered was made of grass-fed organic cultured ghee (clarified butter) and MCT oil. I didn’t have any MCT – whatever that is [1] – so I went to look up a recipe on-line to see if I could make the drink with what I had on hand.
Blending is critical!
I’m not a habitual coffee drinker, but since it was my day off and I was game for something new. I made a batch of 100% Maui (organic) coffee that I get from my local farmer’s market. So to 2 cups of French-pressed coffee, I added 2 Tbs of butter, 2 Tbs of coconut oil and blended it in my blender. If you just stir in the oil and butter into hot coffee, it will float on top and you will get a greasy, undrinkable mess.
Bulletproof is delicious
Dave Asprey, who registered the trademark, Bulletproof Coffee says: “It’s important to blend the butter into your coffee rather than stirring it because blending the butter breaks it up into something called micelles, which allow your body to use fat for energy. Your bile produces micelles, too, but the more of them you have, the more fat your body can use. This means blending butter into your coffee assists your body in using fat as a source of energy.”
I like the idea of emulsifying the fat in the coffee and the drink is definitely delicious and satisfying. Nowhere did I read anything about its aphrodisiac effect or it being a love potion but that’s exactly what I experienced. On this day before Valentine’s day, I wanted to let you know about it.
Both my man and I had a large mug of this fabulous drink and as we drank, we commented on how warm and yummy it made us feel from tip to toe. Before we’d even finished, we were back in bed. All our plans for the day evaporated as we suddenly had the energy and focus for only one thing… for many hours, repeatedly – not to put too fine a point on it. Neither of us had any doubt that that spontaneous burst of conjugal energy came from the buttered coffee. Here’s the recipe: (Of course, we doubled this for two of us.)
Buttered Coffee Recipe:
1 cup of hot coffee (organic, fair-trade, local…the higher-quality the better)
1Tb butter or ghee (grass-fed, unsalted or lightly salted)
1Tb coconut oil (whole, virgin oil; not MCT or fractionated)
Blend in a blender – very important!
Enjoy the boost!
Of course the cleaner the ingredients, the better your results. The butter is meant to be from grass-fed cows and unsalted; the coconut oil, whole and virginal; and the coffee the best, organic you can find. I didn’t have grass-fed unsalted butter on hand but I had good coffee and coconut oil and I was entirely satisfied. I agree that blending in a blender is important.
Dave Asprey insists that his “Bulletproof Coffee” has helped him and his followers loose weight by substituting breakfast with this delicious high-fat energy drink.[2] I had already eaten breakfast when I made the buttered coffee so I had plenty of fuel in my system. Try it to find out how it affects your system. Substituting it breakfast may or may not work for you.
I don’t always have the time to make love for hours but the next time I do, I’ll brew up some coffee and add the butter and coconut oil! Yum yum. 😉
Happy Valentine’s Day, however you spend it. 😉
notes
#paleotreats #valentinesday #aphrodisiac #butteredcoffee
[1] Brian Shilhavy of HealthImpactNews.com warns that MCT oil (medium-chain triglycerides) is machine-extracted from whole coconut oil and is less healthy than natural whole coconut oil. I have experience with fractionated coconut oil – which never goes rancid – and love it to mix with my pure CPTG essential oils for topical use, but I prefer to eat coconut oil whole, as nature makes it.
[2] AuthorityNutrition.com warns against routinely making buttered coffee your entire breakfast. Even though it may temporarily increase energy and suppress your appetite, it will leave you missing important nutrients in the long term.