A Delicious Morning Start....

I have forever been an avid coffee drinker.  Straight coffee, mocha's, lattes, anything, I just love the stuff! Starbucks to me is just a little heaven on earth. I always say to my husband, forget the diamonds, coffee = love. He and his wallet should be eternally grateful ; ) 

So needless to say, it was quite distressing when I started realizing that despite my love for coffee and lattes, that my body no longer did. Sad, sad day. I tried to fight it, but I would start to feel sick every time I drank a cup, so I needed to find an alternative. You know as well as I if you have tried alternatives, it is not pretty. Come on, rice milk and chicory root "latte"?! It's pretty much a sin to even stick the word "latte" in there! And it tastes about as good as it sounds. So anyways, I have been on the hunt forever for something satisfying and still "latte-ish" since my morning hemp shakes were really not hitting the spot.

*Enter Coconut Milk Mocha*

My new love.

Extremely satisfying and dairy and sugar free. Coconut milk is a new discovery for me and I'm obsessed now. I have been drinking almond milk for a year or so, and I do like it, but to put it in coffee or make a latte with it is like just adding water. No good. The coconut milk on the other hand is suuuper creamy and delicious, and has the consistency of cream (with out the side effects!)

Here's the recipe, you can play around with the amounts but this is what I have found I liked the best

3/4 cup or so coconut milk
1/4-1/2 cup water

1 tbsp carob or cocoa
10 drops stevia (sweeten to taste)

1-2 tbsp espresso ground beans
a little dash of vanilla

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a small pot on stove top and bring to medium heat for a few minutes til warm/hot, but not boiling.
Then drain all the ingredients (to get rid of coffee grinds) through a small colander or tea strainer (or something similar) and pour drink into a mug to enjoy!

Now the ground espresso beans are optional, I added it in to give the drink more flavorful and a little extra kick, but if you can't handle caffeine try decaf espresso OR just leave it out and make it a hot cocoa. 

This seems to go over well for me. Espresso, despite it's strong flavor actually has less caffeine than a cup of coffee does. So if you are trying to watch your caffeine intake, this is a pretty good compromise. It has a little bit of kick but not the same amount of caffeine as a cuppa joe.

So there is my new delicious way to start the morning! A satisfying dairy free, sugar free, gluten free (and maybe decaf if you choose) drink! 

Anyone else trying to kick the coffee habit or go dairy or gluten free? Have you found anything that works for you AND is deliciously satisfying? Tricky combo isn't it :)

Love and warm espresso-y goodness,

                                                                              Sarah