Do you BulletProof Your Joe?
I know some of you have seen my morning instagram stories of putting butter in my coffee and I am sure you are like what is she doing? Matter of fact I am positive you are saying that, because I took a poll and the statistics said it all. Take a look at todays blog and see why I do this. Not only is it yummy it is VERY good for my brain and body and guess what?! It is good for you too!
I know some of you have seen my morning instagram stories of putting butter in my coffee and I am sure you are like what is she doing? Matter of fact I am positive you are saying that, because I took a poll and the statistics said it all. I only have a few friends out there who know and understand the benefits to this powerful morning cup of Joe. Today I wanted to share with you why I started and who knows maybe you will want to "Bulletproof" your cup of joe too!
About three years ago, my brother Chuck wanted to make me a "Bulletproof" coffee and I was like NO WAY! That just sounds GROSS! He told me to just try one cup and see if I like the benefit of how it suppresses my appetite. WAIT! It suppresses your appetite!? Sign me up! He knew EXACTLY what to say to me to get me to try it! So he made me my first cup and yall it was so creamy, yummy, and frothy! Bonus! Frothy! FANCY COFFEE! SOLD! So I decided to start drinking my coffee that way. What I began to notice was incredible.
A. Yes it does suppress my appetite
B. My energy levels rose
C. My thinking was sharper
Now I am no expert by any means in this coffee, but I can tell you it has worked for me and I will explain why In "Amy's Terms," but if you would like to dig deeper into the science behind it yourself, I HIGHLY suggest you checking out the following website: www.bulletproofexec.com
First let me tell you what EXACTLY I put into my coffee:
2 tablespoons Kerry Gold Grassfed Butter Unsalted (Silver Packaging)
1-2 tablespoons MCT oil
1 scoop of collagen peptides
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Sprinkle some Turmeric
Dash or two of Cayenne Pepper
dash of Black Pepper (this helps your body absorb the turmeric)
****And now I add one scoop or packet of my Revitalu coffee or cocoa depending on my mood*****
YES! This is what goes into my coffee and I love it! The key here is to have a hand blender and blend it up REALLY good and it is DELISH! Promise! The other note I would like to make is when you are starting out on BP coffee you will want to go slow. Only 1-2 teaspoons of butter and oil or trust me you will be making a lot of full on sprints to the bathroom! So start slow! Besides, slow and steady wins the race!
Now let's get into the nitty gritty of why and what this coffee REALLY does for me and CAN and WILL do for you. FIRST off, I DID NOT lose mega weight drinking this coffee AND I DID NOT GAIN ANY weight! I did lose maybe 5 pounds total. What I did start to see happen was my appetite was suppressed, my energy level went up, which increased my performance level in my workouts, which in turn brought on......guess......You GOT IT! Weight loss! Another thing I noticed was our mornings seemed to be running smoother. I am no longer waking up and getting my normal cup of joe that literally was helping me put one foot in front of the other. I am now getting my brain fed with these healthy fats and my thinking is sharper which in turn makes mornings a little easier and smoother. I am not about to sit here and say the Berry morning's are unicorns and roses, but they do seem to be easier to handle. So as you can see the butter in your morning joe is a good thing!
I will try to explain to you my understanding of why this coffee is so incredible, but again, I HIGHLY recommend you taking the time to research my brother Chuck's friend, Dave Asprey, and his web page and podcast I referred to above to really understand the science behind it. But, for today's purposes, here is the Amy Berry Scientific explanation of BP coffee.
Butter: Now YOU CANNOT USE JUST ANY OLD BUTTER! It MUST be Grass fed organic unsalted butter and all I have found is Kerry Gold. It is the one in the silver packaging. Benefits: The butter actually helps to turn off food cravings and provides MUCH needed HEALTHY fats to your brain AND this particular butter has extra anti inflammatory ingredients that normal butter does not. I am sure we will see that this alone will help ward of many inflammatory diseases if not help prevent them. Grass fed butter has all the extra healthy fats that have been proven to help sustain energy, balance your hormones, and boost your cognitive function. If you are ANYTHING like me, the balancing of the hormones is LIFE SAVING! Just saying!
MCT oil: this is basically a blend of coconut oil and palm oil and has incredible healthy fats that keep you going for hours! So that normal crash you feel around 10:30 does not happen! MCT oil is digested faster which boost energy and this can increase your chances of losing weight. It does, however, depend on how you expend this extra energy! Wink! Wink! The MCT oil is also what helps give you that "laser focus" and your mental clarity. MCT will helps raise your keytones which in turn helps you to burn off bad fats and sugar faster.
Collagen is the protein that our body relies on. It is so good for everything from your hair, nails, skin, tendon’s, cartilage, bones, and joints! When you dance as much as I do this is a huge game changer in helping to keep my body strong! Especially at such a YOUNG AGE! Ha!
Cayenne Pepper: This little spicy spice has been proven to help speed up your metabolism, stimulate circulation, eliminate acidity, helps regulate your blood sugar levels, and helps the digestive system move bacteria and toxins out of your system. We could all use that with what they are putting in our food these days!
Black pepper: I use a dash of black pepper because it has been proven to help in the absorption of the Cayenne Pepper.
Turmeric: This bad boy is natures ibuprofen and is a strong antioxidant. If you have achy joints and bones and inflammation this is an incredible spice to put in your coffee and in your food. We ALL need to ward of inflammation! This nasty stuff is what causes MOST if not ALL of our diseases.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a miracle worker for the body. In my opinion, cinnamon is the most delicious and healthiest spice on the planet. It can lower blood sugars, reduce your risk of heart disease, it is a high source of antioxidants, contains anti inflammatory properties, helps to ward off mental and cognitive decline, protects brain function, helps to fight infections and viruses, and can lower your risk of cancer. That is alot of good right there in a spice that oh by the way can freshen your breath!
And here is where I add the magic! My Revitalu coffee or cocoa. It honestly depends on my mood as to which I will add. The coffee is not nearly as sweet, but somedays I just need the chocolatey sweetness! Either way you cannot go wrong! But, why do I add? Because I believe in bullet proof and I believe in this product. The mental focus and the energy I gain is unbelievable. Yes I do add it to my coffee! Do you have to? NO! It was actually designed just for water which makes this a win-win because when I am on the road all I need is a packet of my revitalu and I know I am bullet proof! And I love that! I do tell my friends if you are sensitive to caffeine not to add it to your coffee until you know how you react, but I am telling you guys, when I add this to my bullet proof recipe…..well….all I can say is “WATCH OUT WORLD BECAUSE HERE I COME!” If you would like to try it you can buy it here or you can ask me for a free sample and I will send out to you. I promise you will love it!
So as you can see, this cup of joe I drink everyday truly is Bulletproof worthy! It is literally designed to resist the penetration of toxic bullets to the body! Who would not want to do this! And if it helps raise your energy level, you may or may not start to exercise and with that might come even more weight loss, a happier self, AND a healthier self! It's a beautiful thing I tell ya!
So won't you join me in this new year and make Bulletproof Coffee one of your staples in your life and see what happens! I bet it is a lot of good and a lot of wins!
Cheers to Winning in 2018!
xo,
Amy
PS. This blog was updated as I have added two new things to my recipe. The collagen peptides and my Revitalu! I hope you will give them both a try! GAME CHANGERS!
Hello, World!
Christmas morning Casserole
What are you serving Christmas morning during all the excitement? We are having a dish that you can prepare the night before and the WHOLE family loves! Take a looksy and see for yourself!
If you are looking for something you can serve Christmas morning that is yummy and good, keep on reading. This is a breakfast casserole dish I got from Shay Shull at www.mixandmatchmama.com and I just love it! And the really cool thing about it is you can mix it up ahead of time and bake it the next day. EVERYONE in the Berry Family loves this casserole! I think everyone in your family will too!
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of breakfast sausage
1 batch of cornbread prepared (I use jiffy from a box, but you can make it homemade too)
6 eggs beaten
2 cups of milk
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 (4 ounce) cans of chopped green chilies
2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
PREPERATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if preparing and serving right away)
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Set aside. Brown your sausage over medium to high heat until cooked through and crumble.
Combine the eggs, milk, soup, chilies, and one cup of your cheese in a mixing bowl.
Layer your cooked sausage across the bottom of your baking dish and then crumble your cornbread on top of the sausage. Next pour your egg mixture over your sausage and cornbread and top with your remaining cheddar cheese.
If not baking immediately, cover and refrigerate over night.
The casserole bakes uncovered for 50 minutes if you are baking it immediately or for 1 hour if it is coming out of the refrigerator.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. I usually serve this with box prepared blueberry muffins and fruit.
If your family is like mine they will go GAGA for this dish! We have been known to eat it on occasion at night when the boys request B for D! (Breakfast for Dinner!)
Enjoy and xo,
Amy
3 Ingredient Breakfast Sausage Balls
They say breakfast is your most important meal....is it? I have no idea! But if you give me a recipe with sausage in it and tell me it is easy....I am in...if you like Sausage, easy, three ingredients, and healthy, read on...this one if for you!
I am not an expert when it comes to cooking or nutrition. But, I read a lot about it, I hear a lot about it, I try to apply it, but the truth is I LOVE MY BUBBA'S FRIED CHICKEN!
In all honesty, I do live my life by the rule of everything in moderation. I am not a diet nazi, but I do TRY....I use that word loosely, as I do get LAZY.
They say breakfast is your most important meal....and then some say no, do the fast. I have no idea which way is best, nor will I even try to pretend I do. What I can tell you is.... for ME personally, BREAKFAST is important. And honestly for my family, too.
I have that condition you hear of: HANGRY.
When my blood sugar drops, well let's just say it is not pretty and my dear alter ego, Tawanda, rears her ugly head. So today I thought I would share with you and easy recipe that I got from my friend at Primal Mom....(You can find her on Facebook...tell her I sent you!)
This recipe is STUPID easy! I mean seriously people! ANYONE can do this...my six year old helps me! And bonus it is only 3 ingredients! Yep you heard me! 3!!!!! So easy peasy lemon squeasy! And double bonus....it is healthy! And triple bonus you can make today and store in the frigelator (this is our John Paulism for refrigerator)! So what are you waiting for...Let's get to cooking and you and I will both have breakfast made for the week!
Ingredients:
1lb natural pork sausage (confession time...I have used regular pork sausage)
1 cup grassfed grated cheese (here is another confession...I have been known to use regular cheese)
1 cup Almond flour
Mix all ingredients together and make little balls or put into tiny muffin pans and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.....
SOOOO FINGER LOOKING GOOD!
Bon appetit!
xo,
amy