Between St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and losing an hour of sleep from Daylight Savings Time, chances are you’re probably wishing you could mainline coffee this morning! You know I love my iced almond milk lattes (that recipe will be up next week on the blog!), but I’ve been switching up my coffee game for the last 6 weeks and I just had to share more. #lifechanging
Bulletproof Coffee… I’m sure you’ve heard people rave about it, or have at least seen articles about it online! At first, I was grossed out by the thought of butter in my coffee, but I tried a “butter brew” about a year ago in LA and actually liked the taste. So after I got my new blender a few months ago, I finally had to try it out for myself!
I’ve come up with my own version that we’ll call Beautifying Bulletproof Coffee! And it really works, you guys.
If you’re wondering WTF is Bulletproof Coffee, let’s touch on that quickly. Basically, it’s meant to turn your morning cup of coffee into a breakfast of champions. It’s essentially a meal replacement that is meant to give you more sustained energy without a crash, keep you feeling full longer, stimulate your metabolism, increase cognitive function, and a few more pretty spectacular-sounding claims.
I’ve been experimenting with what I pack into my morning cup of coffee, but I’ve finally got my favorite recipe down pat! Here’s what you’ll need…
Beautifying Bulletproof Coffee Ingredients
Nespresso Vanizio (Vanilla) Coffee Pod
4th & Heart Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ghee (1 tablespoon)
Vital Proteins Vanilla & Coconut Collagen Peptides (about half a scoop)
Sun Potion He Shou Wu (1/2 teaspoon)
Bulletproof Brain Octane Oil (1 tablespoon)
Cinnamon (a few dashes)
I start by making a Vanizio pod in my Nespresso VertuoLine Evoluo machine! Pour it into your blender while it’s still hot.
Let’s talk blenders really quickly… I recently went back and forth and back and forth between a Vitamix and a Blendtec. Honestly, I think you really can’t go wrong with either. After a lot of research, I finally settled on the refurbished Blendtec Classic. It’s a model that’s no longer on the market, but people swear by it. It cost me $300, but was a lot cheaper than the $700 new models I was looking at. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be just another appliance that I invested in and didn’t use regularly… So far, so good! I use it at least once a day, usually twice when I make a smoothie for lunch. (That recipe is coming later this month, too!)
The goal here is to replace your breakfast with your cup of coffee, so I’ve added a few other ingredients to make sure I’m getting the most out of it. And that’s where the beauty and anti-aging aspects come in!
But first, Brain Octane Oil. You’re probably wondering what the heck Brain Octane Oil is… right? Let’s touch on that for a minute. Obviously I’m not a doctor nor a nutritionist, so I’ll just let the website speak for itself…
- Reliable and quick source of energy from fat not sugar
- Helps your body burn fat
- Supports cognitive performance
- Quality fats that don’t weigh you down
- Distilled from 100% pure coconut oil
Brain Octane is your go-to fuel source for mental and physical performance. Brain Octane is naturally found in coconut oil in small quantities, and we concentrate it to provide you with the purest energy source possible. Brain Octane rapidly provides mental and physical energy, powering your day by supporting cognitive function and keeping you satisfied and free from food cravings. Add it to your daily routine, and experience the state of high performance. As soon as you consume Brain Octane, it is rapidly absorbed and changed into ketone bodies – providing instant energy to the brain without breaking down glucose from sugars or carbohydrates. Brain Octane produces 4x the ketone energy of plain coconut oil, and also has potent anti-microbial effects that help support healthy digestion and immune function. Experience the power of using quality fats for fuel, keeping you full and focused for hours.
Ghee is the second must-have ingredient in your bulletproof coffee. Essentially, ghee is clarified butter. There are supposedly a ton of health benefits to ghee (read more here!), but in a nut shell why it’s good to start your day with it: it more or less tricks your body into thinking you’re eating. When you don’t eat, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down… Exactly what you don’t want! So when you replace your meal with a ‘healthy fat,’ you’re kick-starting your metabolism without actually eating a meal. Make sense?
I found a vanilla-flavored ghee (by 4th & Heart!) and I think it makes such a difference, especially when paired with the vanilla coffee pod and the vanilla collagen protein! No joke, I seriously look forward to my morning coffee before I go to sleep at night.
My next ingredient is collagen protein! When I was doing research about the pros and cons of bulletproof coffee, a big ‘con’ was that replacing your healthy meal with a coffee drink resulted in getting a lot less nutritional value. So since I’m using my blender, I take advantage of the opportunity to pack in an extra punch of protein!
I’ve been incorporating Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides into my diet for the last two months and I AM HOOKED! Collagen is essential for our skin, hair, nails, bones, and joints… And it’s no secret that our bodies’ natural collagen production slows down as we age. I’ve seen a *drastic* change in my skin, hair, and nails over the past two months! My skin looks brighter and has more of a glow, my hair is softer and silkier, and my nails are as strong as they’ve ever been. (Real talk: I was asking my nail lady if I should take a break from gel polish for a while to let my nails breathe and she told me it wasn’t necessary at all. Apparently I have *very* strong nails, which was never the case before. I literally couldn’t tell you the last time I broke a nail. And they’ve been growing crazy fast! And for the record, my hair stylists even noticed a difference in my hair, so it’s not just me.)
It’s also worth mentioning… Since I’m currently healing from a workout-related injury, I’m extremely interested in the fitness benefits of collagen, too! An increase in collagen peptides is said to reduce risk of injury on muscles, tendons, and ligaments in athletes, as well as increase bone mass density. You can read more about all of that here!
There are a few varieties of Vital Proteins, but I love using the Vanilla & Coconut Collagen Peptides in my morning coffee for the added flavor!
Sun Potion He Shou Wu is another extract I’ve been adding to my morning mix that ‘has a history of use as a longevity, anti-aging, blood-building, beauty, & rejuvenation food.’ Into the Gloss wrote a great article about it here, so I won’t even try to reinvent the wheel!
A few dashes of cinnamon act as a natural sweetener, but cinnamon is also known to have positive effects of blood sugar levels, digestion, immunity, and more. It’s a potent source of antioxidants, protects heart health, and has anti-inflammitory properties, too!
Next step, BLEND!
And pour back into your mug! It honestly couldn’t be easier to make and it’s become one of the best parts of my (beloved) morning routine.
A few more things to talk about…
- Start small… You’re supposed to work your way up when it comes to ghee and the brain octane oil! Introduce each in smaller doses and work your way up to the suggested 1-2 tablespoons ( each) to ease your body into it.
- You can use what you have on hand! I’m currently out of both vanilla coffee pods and out of vanilla collagen protein, but I’ve got other varieties of Nespresso pods and the regular unflavored Vital Proteins for collagen. I’ve also used regular 4th & Heart ghee (instead of vanilla bean flavored) when I’ve been out. It still tastes good with the other varieties blended in, but this recipe with the vanilla flavors is my favorite when I have all of the ingredients fully stocked!
- You do need a blender for this! Coffee is made of mostly water and obviously butter is oil. The two need to be emulsified together with a powerful blender!
- No, it doesn’t really taste like you’re drinking butter. It simply tastes like a creamy latte! I honestly really enjoy the taste.
- I recently joined Thrive Market to order all of my ingredients for smoothies because it’s *a lot* cheaper than buying at the grocery stores near me! (It’s where I ordered my ghee, Sun Potion, cinnamon for this recipe, as well as chia seeds, sunflower seeds, maca powder, camu camu, coconut oil, etc.) While saving money is great, I really love the company values… Their mission is to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. In addition to wholesale prices, they donate memberships for low-income families. Learn more here! (FYI: You can get 15% off your first order with this link.)
Have you tried bulletproof coffee? Do you have any other questions I can answer?! Shoot me an email or leave a comment below!
I love Vital Proteins – will have to try this recipe!
Xo, Elizabeth
http://stripesandsolitaires.com/
I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but that looks and sounds amazing!
Wow, I am very interested in trying this out! I’ve heard people talking about bulletproof coffee and have always been intrigued, I’ll let you know if I end up trying it out! 🙂
Kendal // Life With Kendal
Just what I needed!
http://www.thestyleventure.com/2017/03/13/black-sweater-dress/
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I have been wanting to add Vital Collagen Peptides to my smoothie! The benefits sound amazing!
The Sarcastic Blonde
I had no idea there was vanilla flavored ghee out there! I add collagen to my bulletproof coffee, but from Japanese brand meiji (it’s sold at every grocery store and drug store here, it’s super popular). It’s not bulletproof anymore when I do it, but sometimes I will add a scoop of vanilla whey protein, a teaspoon or so of cocoa powder and a dash of cinnamon and cayenne for a post-workout coffee.
Sounds like a great recipe. I’ve found that using an immersion blender in a martini shaker does an amazing job to retain the heat of the beverage and provide a frothy foam I wasn’t able to achieve with a normal blender.
sooo interesting!! i’ve been wanting to start incorporating supplements into my diet. thanks jess!!
Omg I’m seeing everyone drink this. Thank you for making a post about it. I’m going to have to try it.
Can you use a nutribullet or do you need a proper blender?
You should be fine with a Nutribullet!
Nutri bullet doesn’t like hot liquid… be very careful with it. Even the company advises using only cold. When I use mine, it creates a vacuum and a mess when you unscrew it.
Now I use my immersion blender
The biggest part you missed about Bulletproof Coffee is the type to use. No acid, organic, mycotoxin free coffee. Upgraded coffe is the most important ingredient. I buy Longevity coffee because David Wolfe explains it in detail. As far as bulletproof coffee goes, you may have missed that with Dave Asprey
Switching to this coffee has led me to enjoy coffee again with no more stomach upset, no more crashes if I don’t have it ! No headaches… it actually has the antioxidants in it that it is said to have.
Thanks for sharing! For me, Bulletproof Coffee is about kick-starting my metabolism and incorporating the Brain Octane Oil. Coffee doesn’t give me any stomach upset (#stomachofsteel) and I don’t have any crashes with this recipe!
Would you provide the nutritional data for your recipe that includes calories, carbs, fats, protein, sugar?
Hi Jess! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I see that this is popular for those on Keto diets. Are you on the Keto diet? If so, can you share your thoughts and any advice for beginners?
What setting do u use on ur blendtec?
The Whisk button on the left for coffee!