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Coffee Without All The Junk

healthy cold brew coffee

My coffee has evolved over the years. I use to brew my coffee, sweeten it with sugar or sometimes artificial sweeteners (I know, yikes!) then add french vanilla creamer to it.

Then I couple of years ago I decided to try a different route. I started making my own cold brew. I would blend that with a couple of dates, a tbsp of coconut oil, and coconut milk. This was high maintenance as it required a blender. I also wasn’t happy with consuming all the sugars from the dates so early in the morning.

So for the last year I have been drinking my coffee like this: my cold brew, coconut water (I like to use a high quality one like Harmless Harvest), and my homemade coconut milk. I never measure it out. I just pour some coconut water in, then coconut milk and then fill up the rest of my glass with cold brew. It’s completely customizable and delicious. The coconut water adds sweetness, the milk makes it creamy and the cold brew is smooth and strong. It’s dairy free, gluten free, soy free and sugar free. It’s how I start every day!

Cheers!

Panang Chicken Curry

panang chicken curry

I love Thai food, it’s full of flavor and never boring. I’ve never had a Thai dish that I didn’t like. Over the last couple of years I have realized the importance of knowing the ingredients that goes into my food.

When it comes to sauces and oils at restaurants it can be a crapshoot. It is amazing where they can slip in soy, gluten, dairy, and sugar in places you wouldn’t even think to look. Because of this we cook the majority of our food at home. This year we decided we wanted to learn to make curry. We did some research and decided to purchase this curry paste (affiliate link). I carefully checked the ingredients and knew what they all were. It didn’t have any of the things that I try to stay away from. We purchased it and a few days later we were on our way to having delicious Panang Curry.

We chose to make it with chicken but you could use any kind of protein you like. Beef, Shrimp, or even just vegetables would be great! This is completely customizable you could add any vegetables you like. We chose to use onions, snow peas, carrots, squash, and broccoli. 

Panang Chicken Curry
A sweet and spicy dish that is gluten free, soy free and dairy free.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 TBSP Panang Curry Paste (We use Mae Ploy Thai Panang Curry Paste - 14 oz jar)
  2. 2 1/2 C Coconut Milk
  3. 1/3 C Water
  4. 1 C Onion (sliced)
  5. 1 C Broccoli
  6. 1/2 C Snow Peas
  7. 1 Yellow Squash (sliced in chunks)
  8. 1 TBSP Coconut Sugar
  9. 2 TSP Salt
  10. 2 TBSP Coconut Oil
  11. 1 LB Chicken Breast (cut into chunks)
Instructions
  1. Using coconut oil as needed, work in batches to stir-fry the chicken and vegetables in a wok. Remove from wok when finished.
  2. Use 1 tsp of coconut oil to stir-fry the curry paste.
  3. Then add coconut milk and water to the paste and bring to a boil while stirring to incorporate the paste.
  4. Add the chicken and vegetables back to the wok.
  5. Stir together well and let it cook together for 2 minutes and then you are done!
  6. Serve over rice.
Notes
  1. This can get pretty spicy, so feel free to add extra coconut milk or water to tone down the heat a bit. Conversely, add a little more curry paste if you want more heat.
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Hot Molasses Milk spiked with Cold Brew Coffee

molasses milk

Something that has been hard for me since I started being more mindful of my food sensitivities is not being able to pop into coffee shops and get a mocha, or a caramel macchiato, or a fun seasonal drink that sounds delicious. The reason I try to stay away from those is because beforehand I look at the nutritional value, and it’s absolutely appalling what they put in them. Just take a look at the sugar, it is insane. Many coffee drinks have more sugar than you should have in an entire day. Then, if you keep looking at the ingredients, you will almost always find soy. Soy is a trigger for me and should really be avoided by most people. Carrageenan, corn dextrin, and vitamin A Palmitate is often in the ingredient list. Anyway, once I look at all this the it kind of frustrates me because I do not want to put that kind of crap in my body, and definitely not on a regular basis. So, basically, I rarely buy coffee drinks out anymore. I love making my own cold brew and I love knowing exactly what I am putting into my body.

This brings me to Molasses Milk! I stumbled upon it a good while back. At first I would make it cold and I loved it. It was so rich and coffee like, without any coffee. Now with cooler weather coming I knew I wanted an option for something warm to drink so I decided to try making it hot and add a splash of my cold brew to it. I was blown away guys! It really elevates it to the next level. I knew right then that this would be my happy drink all Fall and Winter! I get a little excited just thinking of cozying up with a cup! 

Note: This drink is dairy, gluten, and soy free. It also contains no refined sugar.

Molasses Milk with Cold Brew
Serves 1
A healthy delicious alternative to sugar filled expresso drinks. Rich, robust flavor with ingredients you can feel good about putting in your body! Dairy free, Soy free, Gluten free, and Refined Sugar Free.
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Prep Time
1 min
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
2 min
Prep Time
1 min
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
2 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup of coconut milk (or milk of choice)
  2. 1/4 cup of cold brew coffee
  3. 1 tbsp molasses
  4. 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  5. pinch of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a small pot and heat on the stove over low heat until it is heated through. Slowly stir for about 1 minute. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!
Adapted from godairyfree.org
Adapted from godairyfree.org
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Dark Cherry Coconut Antioxidant Smoothie

My mornings typically start with a smoothie for breakfast. I change up the ingredients everyday but this is one of my favorites. It’s full of antioxidants, healthy fats, and protein. I hate it when I have a smoothie and then an hour later I’m starving. This one isn’t like that, it keeps me feeling fuller much longer and gives me lots of energy. 

Dark Cherry Coconut Antioxidant Smoothie

There are quite a few components in this smoothie but they all work together to give you a rich, smooth, delicious flavor. One of my favorite things about this particular recipe is the antioxidants it contains. First, you have the dark cherries. Not only do cherries taste absolutely wonderful they are incredibly healthy. Cherries contain powerful antioxidants like anthocyanins and cyanidin. Sweet cherries also contain a small amount of quercetin, which is among the most potent in terms of antioxidant activity and a wide range of other health-promoting properties (mercola.com).

Cherry Antioxidant Smoothie

Golden Paste

I love to keep a container of golden paste in the refrigerator at all times. I usually make it about once every 2 weeks. I use it in a variety of recipes including all my smoothies. It’s so easy to make, you can find a recipe here. Combining the turmeric, black pepper, and coconut oil together allows the ingredients to work together so that they can be better absorbed by your body. Our bodies have a tough time absorbing turmeric alone but by adding a little black pepper it boosts the bioavailability by 2000%. You may be asking, why do I need turmeric anyway? Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It is an anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant, boasting a wide range of benefits. 

Coconut water is a good source of antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, copper, and cytokinins — it always makes a good addition to any smoothie.

Coconut oil and almond butter provide healthy fats and the collagen peptides are a wonderful source of nutrient-dense protein.

I like to add a little Vitamin C powder to my smoothies, especially in the winter and spring months when everyone seems to be passing around sicknesses. It definitely bumps up the immune system and keeps me from getting colds when everyone else seems to have them.

Dark Cherry Coconut Smoothie
A dairy free, gluten free smoothie that is rich in antioxidants and flavor and will keep you energized all morning long!
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 frozen banana
  2. 1/2 cup frozen dark cherries
  3. 1 tbsp coconut oil
  4. 1 scoop of collagen peptides (or protein powder of choice)
  5. 1 tbsp almond butter
  6. 1 tsp golden paste
  7. 1/4 tsp vitamin C powder (optional)
  8. 1/3 cup coconut water
  9. 3/4 cup of water
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth! Enjoy!!
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