And then there was creamer!!

So, I’ve been paleo for five months now.. and yes, I’m not 100%.. More like 80/20.. and other days I’m like 0%.. but all in all, I’d still consider my lifestyle very paleo..

But there is one thing that I CANNOT give up.. While there are a few reasons, we’ll just stick with the fact that I’m in graduate school and it would be ill advised to give up caffeine while you’re doing research day in and day out..
So yes, you’ve guessed it.. I CANNOT give up my coffee.. If you believe that doesn’t make me paleo, well, please go hand a cup of coffee to some cavemen and tell me that they didn’t drink it! Yea, that’s what I thought.. Come on, don’t be “That Guy“..

So anyways! I’ve been struggling with what to put in my coffee for five months now.. I used to buy some coconut creamer by SO Delicious.. but then when I took a look.. they had too many ingredients in it and it wasn’t ‘paleo enough’ for me..

Yea.. That’s a lot of ingredients that I really don’t feel like stuffing into my body.. So then I tried just ‘regular’ coconut milk.. and that just didn’t give me anything… it just wasn’t good..

I even thought about trying Bulletproof coffee.. but seeing as I’m lactose intolerant I couldn’t see that one going over very well!

I was getting discouraged. I LOOOVVVEEEEE coffee, but sometimes black coffee just didn’t hit the spot. Finally I tried this awesome thing called Google and found a recipe for a creamer that in my eyes was COMPLETELY paleo.. So I made it, with a bit of a variation, then I just NEEDED to share it!

Coconut Coffee Creamer- Paleo

Ingredients:
1 can full fat coconut milk- chilled (I’ve found thai kitchen coconut milk to be the best!)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 egg, raw
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Other options for add ins: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice

Remove coconut milk from the fridge and drain off any of the liquid that has separated, you just want what seems to be the ‘clumped’ part.. Don’t worry, you don’t have to remove all off the liquid, it will just sit at the bottom of the creamer if you don’t get it all off. Then mix all ingredients in blender, then place in container overnight to allow to set.

I put mine in an old almond butter jar! Seriously, AMAZING! AND it’s not even too coconutty! PLUS the vanilla and the maple syrup give you just enough flavor and sweetness WITHOUT going overboard!! I honestly recommend that everyone try this, paleo or not!

Do be aware the you’re not supposed to consume raw eggs! For me, however, I don’t use much of the mix at one time, and I put it in HOT coffee when I do use it, so it doesn’t bother me! But to be on the safe side, I’d suggest using local farm eggs, or at least organic if you must buy from your local grocery store!

At School Eats- WIAW

I love being in graduate school. Being able to further my education and learn from the best of the best is a wonderful thing. However, being in graduate school means that I’m on campus most days from about 7am to 5pm.. long long days.. So for this WIAW I decided to share with you what types of things I eat while I’m on campus.

So the single most important thing I do in order to being able to eat healthy and eat paleo is to bring lunch. Bringing lunch (which is usually something that I made for dinner the night before, or whatever I made in bulk on Sunday) means that when hungry strikes all I have to do it go to the fridge, place container in the microwave, and heat up. WahLah. Lunch!

Graduate school wouldn’t be complete without a lot of caffeine. My guilty pleasure is Starbucks. I stick to an Americano with heavy cream. While it’s not 100% paleo, heavy cream is mostly fat (the stuff skimmed off of the top of cow milk) and since paleo is basically a ‘high fat’ diet, I allow myself a heavy cream Americano when I need some caffeine.. Though I need to cut back a bit because I’m currently consuming about 4 a week.. whoops.

Freshly restocked yesterday, the drawer in my desk at school is full of paleo treats. Nuts, fruit leather, and Larabars. Sometimes hunger hits me between lunch and dinner, when I’m still at school waiting for class or about to go to the gym. Since I know that I’m VERY cranky when I don’t eat, these snacks help me be pleasant to be around.

Well, make sure to go show Jenn at Peas and Crayons some loving and thank her for hosting another WIAW!