Coconut Milk Latte

Here's an easy way to Paleo-ify yourself - try coconut milk in your coffee instead of cow's milk!

Paleo people have their reasons for not eating dairy. For me, I discovered I was lactose intolerant at an early age... that is, until I stopped eating grains! It was just shy of miraculous that I could eat dairy products again. However, now that I am paying more attention to my diet, I have decided that I can live without milk (maybe not the occasional ooey-gooey slice of Brie or a nice Roquefort or California ripe chevre, but most of the time, yes).

So, if you're not eating dairy and you still want something creamy in your coffee, what do you do?

Well, for Paleo folks, bean-milk (soy) is out. So is rice and oat milk (grains!). Hemp milk would probably be OK, because it's a seed, but I have noticed that most of these milk-substitute products that come in Tetra-Paks also have added sweeteners (bleh), and sometimes weird ingredients in them, to boot!

Hence the coconut milk.

Now, I did experiment - I tried first using full-fat, canned coconut milk in my coffee one morning. It turned to a syrupy sludge (all the fat in the milk, I suspect). It would be amazing poured over a snow-cone, but not for me as a morning beverage. Seriously. I could have scooped it out of my mug with a spoon.

So the next day, after work, I stopped in at Whole Foods and bought a half gallon of So Delicious Unsweetened coconut milk (in the refrigerated case). It ain't cheap - here in Seattle, it set me back $4.69, but I think that is on par with some of the more exotic milk-substitutes (or raw milk, which is highly delicious, lasts about 3 days before curdling, and runs about $5-6 a quart in these parts).

The flavor is... great! It's a very subtle coconut flavor that is just barely noticeable, which I suspect that the manufacturer's removed some of the coconut's natural fat and replaced it with some stabilizers. I don't entirely agree with that, but they did maintain a pretty good profile of fats in this product. They also added a bunch of vitamins, which... whatever. I'm neutral on that.

The texture is slightly viscous, and it gives a mouth feel of having used half-and-half. I am sure the Original or Vanilla flavors are much more tasty, since they both have added cane sugar, but I am pretty happy with the Unsweetened. Plus, the Unsweetened has the best (i.e. no sugar!) nutritional profile out of the three (check the website for yourself).

I have a Starbucks Barista espresso machine in my condo, and I steamed the coconut milk in preparation for a latte a couple of days ago, and it was great! I took the coconut milk to 150 deg F, my standard temp for cow's milk, and nothing happened - it didn't curdle or separate or do anything weird.

So now I can enjoy my latte and be Paleo, too!

* I even went so far as to dump the remaining quart of organic, pasture-fed cow's milk down the drain... that is saying something!

Useful Stuff: Thermos

I have this problem. Or, rather, I used to have this problem: I would go to the trouble to make a latte before I left the house, then I would get to Crossfit, and then drive to work, and by the time I got into the office and settled down to drink the coffee, it would be sorrowfully cold.

Clearly, I needed assistance.

Enter Coffeegeek.com, a heady resource for all things coffee related. Well, I entered "thermos reviews", and came across the Thermos Nissan backpack bottle. Reasonably priced, and it appeared to be well constructed.

I love it. It keeps my coffee pretty much at the temperature I finish making it (roughly 150 deg F), until I am ready for it.

It doesn't leak, at least not if you screw on the lid correctly. That is an important note - make sure you do it right! There is a little metal loop that lets you hitch it over the top part of the lid and it keeps the leakproof lid shut even if the spring-release button gets pushed inside your bag.

Conclusion? $30 well spent.

Eat Your Veggies: Virgin Bloody Mary

Now, I should qualify the title to this post. Yes, Bloody Marys are based in tomato juice. But add vodka, and it's all over!

So, the solution? Squeeze it's legs shut, and make it a virgin! (ha).

A disclaimer: this is not equivalent to eating, say, a bowl of spinach or kale or roasted beets. BUT it's vegetables, and far better than not eating anything at all!

I made one tonight as part of my Lazy Woman's Paleo Dinner. T-bone steak and a virgin Bloody Mary.


Bloody Mary Method:

- large tumbler
- ice cubes
- tomato juice (my lifelong favorite is original V8)
- celery sticks
- additions!

What do I mean by "additions"? Well, this is where restaurants and the like get creative. Some common additions are: Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic, olives, other pickled vegetables, spices such as celery seed, and spice mixes (like Old Bay).

For my VBM tonight, I added a few drops of Garlic Tabasco sauce, a shake or two of Old Bay, celery sticks, and two garlic-steeped olives. Yum! I really like the celery taste in my Mary's, so if I had some, I would add some additional celery seed. I also love pickled vegetables, and I have noticed some restaurants add what looks like a salad attached to the top of your drink (no harm, no foul!). I would have added some pickled okra or pickled green beans, if I had them.

A note: ordering one of these is also an excellent option when you go out with a bunch of friends to a bar, and don't want to drink anything alcoholic.

Cheers!