Although water is my beverage of choice, coffee comes in at a close second. Not a single morning goes by without a wake-up cup of coffee in my hand. Am I addicted? I would have to say yes! Is it a problem for a fitness professional, a yoga teacher, a health-seeker to be nursing a daily coffee-drinking habit? Nah.
In the past, I have given up coffee for long stretches. Most notably, my two pregnancies. And after the birth of my first daughter, I didn't even drink any caffeinated beverages while breastfeeding. (I don't think she turned out much better than the second one whose bloodstream was polluted with caffeine shortly after birth...) Back in those days, I didn't know that coffee was practically a health food. The merits of drinking coffee are now touted regularly in magazines and on television. In case you haven't heard, I'll reiterate.
Coffee is chock-full of antioxidants. Recent studies show that coffee may help women avoid depression. It appears that coffee consumption lowers the risk of Type II diabetes as well as some cancers, including prostate and basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of cancer. Coffee may also reduce the risk of Alzheimers disease as well as Parkinson's. If you drink a cup of coffee immediately before a workout, coffee helps to boost your performance as well as to burn more fat during your workout. As my husband, Mr. Balancing Act said to me today, "Coffee is delicious! It smells great! It tastes great! It is the drink of the Gods." Or something along those lines. I may not have been listening that carefully. If you want to talk to a true coffee fanatic, you should give him a call.
Of course, too much coffee is not recommended and can cause problems like racing heartbeat and even irregular heartbeat. I usually stick with a cup in the morning and a cup after lunch. No need to go hog-wild. But do keep in mind that many of the benefits listed above do not apply to decaf!
If you want the very best cup of coffee that money can buy, treat yourself to the freshest beans available. Once coffee beans are roasted, they begin to lose their freshness pretty quickly. This is why we purchase our coffee beans from a local roaster: Southern Skies Coffee Roasters right nearby in Finksburg, Maryland. The beans are sourced from around the world and purchased from smaller estates in places like Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia (my very favorite!). Each month a new supply comes in, is roasted right around the first of the month, and then mailed off in a Java Passport to customers. The coffee is slightly more expensive than Starbucks (which I do NOT like at all-- that awful burnt flavor! ACK!) but is consistently the best I have found anywhere. I am not receiving any kickbacks from Southern Skies; I'm simply sharing the details about an awesome product I think you would enjoy! Check them out on the web at www.southernskiescoffee.com and on Facebook, as well!
One final coffee tip of the day! We have tried pretty much every method of brewing coffee known to man. Without a doubt, the very best coffee is made from the AeroPress. Again, I only wish I could receive a portion of the profits from this company and all the recommendations I give out! This inexpensive plastic contraption is sort-of similar to a French press, except that the water is forced downward, through the coffee grounds, and all the bitter oils float to the top and are separated from the coffee which you drink. This little machine thus creates a delicious, smooth-tasting coffee concentrate, similar to espresso, to which you can add as much hot water or steamed milk or whatever you like. I almost always bring my own coffee from home instead of ever buying coffee out because no other coffee can compare favorably to the stuff we brew at home. True story.
If you decide to sample any of these products, I'd love to hear what you think! Happy, healthy drinking to you!
In the past, I have given up coffee for long stretches. Most notably, my two pregnancies. And after the birth of my first daughter, I didn't even drink any caffeinated beverages while breastfeeding. (I don't think she turned out much better than the second one whose bloodstream was polluted with caffeine shortly after birth...) Back in those days, I didn't know that coffee was practically a health food. The merits of drinking coffee are now touted regularly in magazines and on television. In case you haven't heard, I'll reiterate.
Coffee is chock-full of antioxidants. Recent studies show that coffee may help women avoid depression. It appears that coffee consumption lowers the risk of Type II diabetes as well as some cancers, including prostate and basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of cancer. Coffee may also reduce the risk of Alzheimers disease as well as Parkinson's. If you drink a cup of coffee immediately before a workout, coffee helps to boost your performance as well as to burn more fat during your workout. As my husband, Mr. Balancing Act said to me today, "Coffee is delicious! It smells great! It tastes great! It is the drink of the Gods." Or something along those lines. I may not have been listening that carefully. If you want to talk to a true coffee fanatic, you should give him a call.
Of course, too much coffee is not recommended and can cause problems like racing heartbeat and even irregular heartbeat. I usually stick with a cup in the morning and a cup after lunch. No need to go hog-wild. But do keep in mind that many of the benefits listed above do not apply to decaf!
If you want the very best cup of coffee that money can buy, treat yourself to the freshest beans available. Once coffee beans are roasted, they begin to lose their freshness pretty quickly. This is why we purchase our coffee beans from a local roaster: Southern Skies Coffee Roasters right nearby in Finksburg, Maryland. The beans are sourced from around the world and purchased from smaller estates in places like Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia (my very favorite!). Each month a new supply comes in, is roasted right around the first of the month, and then mailed off in a Java Passport to customers. The coffee is slightly more expensive than Starbucks (which I do NOT like at all-- that awful burnt flavor! ACK!) but is consistently the best I have found anywhere. I am not receiving any kickbacks from Southern Skies; I'm simply sharing the details about an awesome product I think you would enjoy! Check them out on the web at www.southernskiescoffee.com and on Facebook, as well!
One final coffee tip of the day! We have tried pretty much every method of brewing coffee known to man. Without a doubt, the very best coffee is made from the AeroPress. Again, I only wish I could receive a portion of the profits from this company and all the recommendations I give out! This inexpensive plastic contraption is sort-of similar to a French press, except that the water is forced downward, through the coffee grounds, and all the bitter oils float to the top and are separated from the coffee which you drink. This little machine thus creates a delicious, smooth-tasting coffee concentrate, similar to espresso, to which you can add as much hot water or steamed milk or whatever you like. I almost always bring my own coffee from home instead of ever buying coffee out because no other coffee can compare favorably to the stuff we brew at home. True story.
If you decide to sample any of these products, I'd love to hear what you think! Happy, healthy drinking to you!
Hi there, Whenever you post about specifically hoco food, restaurants, locavore stuff, if you add the term hocofood@@@ to your post (down at the bottom) it will push your post into the local food section on hocoblogs.
ReplyDelete