Creamy Coffee Goodness

I've been drinking my coffee black ever since I went paleo. It's something I never thought I'd be able to do, but now I've come to love it. 

In the paleo community, a lot of people rave about bullet-proof coffee. Call me crazy but the thought of adding butter to my coffee makes me want to...not drink the coffee. Whoa, that's crazy talk...not drink the coffee!! 

Then I came across a recipe for coffee with coconut oil! Well, now you're talking. I've been cooking with coconut oil forever. It adds a very mild flavor to foods that most people can't even taste.

Coconut oil has some amazing health benefits, too. It contains medium chain triglyceride (MCTs). Most of the fat in a typical American diet is from long chain triglycerides (LCTs). 

The advantages of a shorter chain:

• It is more rapidly absorbed and metabolized into the body. Where long chains are stored as fat, shorter chains are quickly used as energy. This is exceptionally important to athletes looking to increase endurance. 
• Not only do they have a lower caloric content than LCTs, MTCs have also been shown to enhance fat burning. (1) In a study performed on rats to compare the effects of diets consisting of MCTs verses lard, the MCT-fed rats lost significantly more weight than the lard-fed rats although their calorie consumption was the same. (2)

• One 2009 study found that women who consumed about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks had lowered amounts of the stubborn abdominal fat that contributes to heart problems. (3)
  
• MTCs will help reduce your appetite. (3) 
• They have immune boosting properties. (2)

As you can see, finding ways to increase your consumption of coconut oil is incredibly beneficial not only to your health but also your weight. 

I suggest using unprocessed or virgin coconut oil. If you are new to using coconut oil, it is solid at room temperature until your room gets above 75 degrees or so. So the summer months are much easier to use the oil. When you need a liquid consistency, such as in recipes, heat the amount you need in a pot first, then add it to your other ingredients.   

Coconut Oil Uses: 

• Substitute for butter in recipes.
• Sauté with it instead of olive oil.
• Add it to smoothies.
• Drizzle it over cooked veggies.
• Use it in your beauty regime as make-up remover, skin softener and hair conditioner. 

Now I'll show you how to add it to your coffee.

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Creamy Coconut Oil Coffee:

1. Brew a cup of your favorite coffee. I enjoy adding a bit of cinnamon and/or raw cacao powder to the grinds before brewing.  
   
2. Place one tbsp. coconut oil in blender. 
3. Pour coffee into blender and cover with lid. (Add sweetener such as Stevia if desired.)   
4. Blend on high for 30 seconds.

Enjoy your frothy goodness! 

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References: 
1) Baba, N., Bracco, E.F., Seylar, J., Hashim, S.A. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in response to overfeeding with diets containing medium chain triglycerides. J Am Soc Clin Nutrition, 1981, 34: 624.
2) Kaunitz, H., Slanetz, C.A., Johnson, R.E., Babayan, V.K., Garsky, G. Nutritional properties of the triglycerides of medium chain-length. J Am Oil Chem Soc, 1958, 35: 10-13.
3) Lipids. 2009 Jul;44(7):593-601. doi: 10.1007/s11745-009-3306-6. Epub 2009 May13.
4) Stubbs RJ, Harbron CG. Covert manipulation of the ratio of medium- to long-chain triglycerides in isoenergetically dense diets: effect on food intake in ad libitum feeding men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996 May;20(5):435-44.