Coffee doesn't have to be boring!

Coffee doesn't have to be boring!


I was never a coffee lover.  In fact, I didn’t drink my first cup until I was almost 35, and even then, I did not really LOVE it.   I’d had a sip here and there, but never really enjoyed it until I was 41 and started working from home.  I had to learn to love coffee because that’s what people who work from home do, right?  Drink coffee and wiggle your mouse to look like you are working?  

The year I turned 42, my entire life changed.  I began a new journey.  This was a journey I did not see coming.  I took on a very much unexpected role of health coach and social media presence.  I began to cook live every day focusing on nutritious meals that brought healing and weight loss.  This was all part of my transformation from food addict to food addiction coach.  Full time health coach, homeschool mom and full time job from home, very little sleep.  I needed to become a coffee lover more than ever.  At that point, I enjoyed a basic cup of coffee with cream and sweetener. 

The longer I enjoyed a cup, the more often I LOVED a cup.  It became an absolute necessary part of my routine and my favorite treat anytime I was in the car.  It wasn’t necessarily a caffeine addiction, it was a love of the flavor.

After cooking breakfast days, weeks and months on end live on Facebook and YouTube, I was running out of ideas of what to make!  This is when I decided to get creative with my new found love…coffee.  I was moving on from a simple sweetened creamy coffee to unique, unusual and interesting flavors. Banana Split Dalgona, Snickers, Tiramisu to name a few.  My coffee was evolving from a beautiful simple morning cup, to decadent, sugar free and healthy desserts.  I’d ask followers to throw flavors at me during the live videos and I’d make the random crazy flavors they came up with.  This turned to iced coffees, hot coffees, lattes, and Macchiatos (really, most of my drinks were, and still are, just coffee with lots of fun additions because I didn’t know enough about the difference between this type and that to truly name them appropriately).

I was brewing the most basic coffee I could find on sale, because I didn’t really understand the difference between quality coffee and bulk manufactured commercial Joe.  That’s when I started drinking Unrest.

My coffee drinks went from coffee to COFFFEEEEEE.  They took on a whole new layer of flavor that I didn’t really know how to explain.  I was, and still am not, a coffee expert.  Did I call the Unrest coffee rich? Bold? Smooth?  Honestly, I didn’t know, I just knew that it tasted heavenly and everyone that tried it in one of my recipes LOVED it.   So now, that’s a MUST when I make my recipes, like my absolutely favorite, Banana Fosters Coffee with Salted Caramel Whipped Foam, which you can find below.

My recipes will never teach you the right way to brew, the right way to pour, the best coffee makers or methods. I’m unlikely to ever be called a coffee expert.  I will, however, teach you to turn a delicious cup of coffee into a unique, fun and flavorful treat that’s not only healthy, but crave-worthy.


Bananas Foster Iced Latte with Salted Caramel Whipped Foam and Drizzle

I mean, C’MON!!!!!! This is INCREDIBLE.

Latte:

    Salted Caramel Sauce:

    • 2-3 Tbsp Butter
    • 2 Tbsp THM Super Sweet
    • 3-4 Tbsp Heavy Cream
    • Pinch of Salt
    • Pinch of Xanthum Gum

      Salted Caramel Foam/Whip:

      • 2-3 Tbsp Heavy Cream
      • ¼ cup Unsweetened Nut Milk
      • 1 Dropper Liquid Stevia
      • ¼ scant tsp Caramel Extract
      • 1 heaping tsp Plain Whey Protein
      • ¼ tsp Sunflower Lecithin
      • Pinch of Mineral Salt

      Latte:

      • Add all to blender and blend well. Be careful with hot liquids in your blender.

      Salted Caramel Sauce:

      •  Melt down butter and sweetener until slightly brown over low heat , then add Heavy Cream.
      • Whisk until it turns into a nice caramel color.
      • Add salt and xanthum gum and whisk well until thickened.

      Salted Caramel Foam/Whip:

      • Add all ingredients to electric frother (or a cup if using a hand frother). Froth on cold foam setting (or for 2-3 minutes with hand frother) until whips and foamy and pretty.
      • Drizzle glass with Caramel Sauce, add ice. Pour Coffee over ice. Add Foam Whip. Drizzle a little more Caramel Sauce. 

      enJOY!

      Check out my more than 60+ recipes for coffees, creamers and powdered mixes at www.joyfullifewithkj.com.