6 Delicious and Beneficial Alternatives to Kick Your Coffee Habit
by Bethanne Wanamaker
Years ago, I used to be the girl who embraced the daily habit of frequenting the coffee shop on my way to work or the dog park to get my extra hot tall mocha. Mmmm, how I loved it. My mocha was dairy-free which made me feel like it was a superior choice. At some point I came to my senses and realized that it was the actual act of this habit that I wanted the most, and not necessarily the way it made me feel even though it felt warm n’ fuzzy in my body while going down.
I initially switched to lattes, then green tea and yerbe mate, and finally to tonic herbal tea and making my own mocha at home infused with superfoods and raw cacao. It was a gradual shift over several months which made it easy to slowly release my attachment to holding the hot brew while I engaged in life.
Healthy Alternatives to Coffee
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #1: Chaga Tea
Chaga is a medicinal mushroom and adaptogen that supports and strengthens the immune system more than any other substance known (there’s even a book published about this by David Wolfe). What’s nice about this often unheard herb is that is has a natural vanilla flavor with depth that when sweetened with a chocolate or vanilla creme liquid stevia, tastes like what you’d pick up at the nearby coffee shop.
2 droppersful of stevia (or to taste) in hot or iced Chaga tea and you get a similar smell, taste and energy. Plus, you get 1 of the world’s best healing substances into your body easily. All you do is brew up a couple tablespoons (you don’t have to be precise) in spring water and let it simmer for 10-60 minutes (heat will draw out the properties held within). You can get Chaga mushroom from your local herb shop or at Mountain Rose Herbs – the most reputable bulk herbal shop online!
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #2: Energy Manna Lemonade
When you hydrate your body on a cellular level, you get to experience natural energy highs because your body isn’t desperately thirsty and therefore tired. One mouth-watering way to do this is to whip up a superfood beauty elixir with wild blue green algae that tastes just like cherry lemonade.
Energy Manna Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
* 5 cups spring water
* 1 teaspoon wild blue green algae
* 1 teaspoon acerola cherry powder
* 2 freshly squeezed lemons
* stevia extract powder to taste
* handful of ice (made with spring water)
Blend on high for 20-30 seconds and let foam settle. Serve in glass mason jars & drop slices of organic lemon & more ice cubes into your replenishing blue lemonade for a real quencher!
(In Bethanne’s book Superfood Beauty Elixirs, there is a coffee replacement recipe called Shilajit Coffeechino that tastes like the real thing.)
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #3: Fresh Vegetable Juice
Freshly made juice gives you instant energy. If you need a lift, a liquid infusion of chlorophyll from plants and herbs is all that’s needed. This tasty & therapeutic drink cleanses your system and provides you with REAL energy that is not stimulating or addictive. You can drink some every single day to alkalize and reduce an over-acidic condition in your body, bringing balance to your physical health. Sure, it’s a green drink – it’s not that deep, dark, rich aroma of coffee, but it most certainly gives you the same lift as a $3-5 adrenal-depleting addiction.
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #4: Superfood-Infused Herbal Raw Chocolate
Since most everybody loves chocolate, this is an easy swap for many. Eating raw chocolate doesn’t mean you need to gorge your body with ridiculous amounts, but if you make or buy the healthier, more balanced and less stimulating version by infusing it with organic superfoods and tonic herbs, then it is definitely an upgrade and will help kick the coffee habit. Cacao (pronounced “ka kow”) contains PEA, which is the bliss-inducing love chemical that is released when consumed. It’s easy to get addicted to any food and/or emotionally eat, so keep your choices mindful and be smart about what you’re doing to yourself.
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #5: Coffee Body Scrubs & Exfoliants
Wait a second – are you wondering why I would suggest using a body scrub instead of drinking a cup of Joe? Well, in my experience – this works – WELL. The most popular product in my organic edible skincare line is called Mocha Java Body Scrub with fair trade brown sugar, ground coffee, maca powder, cacao powder, and soothing, softening oils that make your skin feel like silk and your body invigorated from the outside in. You can easily make your own exfoliant or buy one from a reputable organic vegan skincare site like my own. By using the scrub in your shower, you’ll bathe in the deep aroma of coffee & chocolate and even carry the scent with you for a few hours afterward. Try it!
- Healthy Alternative to Coffee #6: Kombucha
For the same price of a coffee or mocha, you can get a kombucha in the refrigerated section of natural food stores. Their benefits have been known for thousands of years with a wide range of positive effects for the body. Try kombucha as an invigorating probiotic-rich tonic for a natural energy boost and lift throughout your day! (Homemade kombucha often contains less sugar because you control how long it ferments and when it’s “ready”).
We can trick our mind and body just by making the switch to these suggestions instead of the real thing. It’s really not that hard, but it does take commitment and compliance. I’m not telling you to give up coffee entirely – you have to decide what’s best for you, but you should know that there are healthier alternatives that are not only just as good, but without any side effects except natural bliss.
Energy at the Roots
Now let’s look at the roots of your former coffee-drinking ways for a moment! Are you are chronically fatigued, anxious, or suffer from insomnia? It’s very likely you are mineral deficient! Join us in our Remineralize Your Body program to remineralize yourself and restore your energy, hormonal balance, and natural beauty! Learn all about juicing, blending, seaweeds, cultured drinks and fermented vegetables, phytic acid breakdown and nutrient activation, and much more, along with daily coaching with our remineralization team!