For a long time, I didn’t eat butter. Most of my life, now that I think of it. I was lucky enough to grow up in the 90’s, where the years where I was forming my relationship with food were soaked with fat fear; fat-free yogurt, cereal, salad dressings, granola bars, fruit snacks…all were better for me since someone had carefully, lovingly removed the fat for me. Even now, when I delightfully munch on almonds, avocado, and have a spoonful of coconut oil when a sugar craving hits, the fear of consuming fat is still there.

Enter ghee. Ghee, a type of clarified butter, has been around for thousands of years. It’s a panacea in Ayurveda, treating everything from reducing inflammation, healing wounds, soothing ulcers, aiding digestions, calming anxiety, even promoting intellect and making the voice soft and melodious. In India, ghee is so highly regarded because it is the distillation and essence of plants: sacred cows eat grass, produce milk, which is further distilled into ghee. It’s fueling the tank of your bod with premium gas; cleaner-burning, more efficient, super tasty. Ghee is even used for abhyanga, self-massage. Full body butter massage? Sign me up.
Now, this whole fat-phobia thing has been debunked. We now know that consuming fat doesn’t make you fat (it’s the sugar you have to look out for). High-quality fat is actually good for you; it provides the slow-burning fuel your body loves to use up, it helps regulate blood sugar, keeps your brain and cells happy and functioning, keeps you full and feeling nourished. Oh, and it’s delicious. There’s a reason why we’ve evolved to find fat so satiating and yummy–because our bodies NEED it.
There was a time when I limited my consumption of animal products–I’m just not down with the factory farming thing. I still do, but I eat what I crave, whether its an egg or a raw fennel bulb or rare-as-hell veal liver. I stumbled upon this recipe for Bulletproof coffee and was so intrigued of having primarily fat for breakfast that I had to give it a go. Now, when I first read this, the reaction I had made me laugh:
“Butter in coffee?” I thought incredulously. I tensed up and found my crazy diet brain instantly calculating the calories that would be in the cup. How ingrained is this fat phobia in our minds? Taking a deep breath, I vowed to have this rich cuppa the very next morning to see how it felt.
Turns out, ghee and coffee make the sweetest, most satisfying lovechild in existence. Blending it with a bit of stevia and almond milk create a fantastic frothy texture…it’s like a dessert. I have slice of sprouted bread and almond butter to supplement, and that’s my breakfast. It keeps me full til 2pm at least, and makes my morning super-charged and full of energy.

 Ghee-Coffee Lovechild

• 1-2 cups freshly brewed coffee
• 1 tsp organic ghee
• 1 tsp coconut butter
• Splash of non-dairy milk. Or dairy milk. Whatever. This is optional.
• Couple drops stevia
• Maca powder/pumpkin pie spice/raw cacao nibs–whatever you’d like to add here to up the taste or superfood factor

Put all this in your blender and have at it til it’s frothy and latte-colored. Then pour into a big coffee mug and enjoy. Easy peasy.
This whole experiment brings to mind those ingrained habits and notions we have around food and what we’re supposed to eat vs. what is actually nourishing. Do you have the same hangups? Would you ever give a fat-filled coffee drink a try for breakfast?