Have you tried butter in your coffee? Not just any butter – check this recipe for the original, BulletProof grass-fed butter coffee story. It is delicious – and here’s an even better way for your kids to try it too. This is a good hot-day start before school, or an alternative to cocoa. Instead of hooking your kids on sugary, syrupy coffee drinks filled with GMO junk and weird fats, make this one at home. I use organic water-processed decaffeinated coffee, with other ingredients organic too. Kids can enjoy this luxurious treat that gives them protein and healthy fats without sugar – NOW brand organic stevia drops take the place of sugar.
- 12 ounces strong black decaf coffee
- 4 ounces unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1 teaspoon grass fed butter try Kerry Gold Irish grass fed for healthiest fats
- 1 teaspoon Brain Octane oil
- 1/2 teaspoon almond butter
- 1 scoop BulletProof collagen
- 1-4 drops SweetLeaf organic stevia plain or flavored (vanilla, toffee, etc)
- Make some strong decaf coffee. I happened to use an old Farberware percolator for this - it was on hand in a friend's kitchen when I made this recipe - and it made super delicious, dark coffee - fast!
- Pour 12 ounces (1 and 1/2 cups) of the hot coffee into a wide mouth glass that can accommodate an immersion blender. Add the butter and Brain Octane and blend. You can also use a regular blender.
- Add the almond butter, almond milk and collagen and blend til creamy. Stevia is optional - most kids enjoy a little sweet touch, and organic stevia drops easily accomplish this without added sugar.
- Adjust levels of any of the ingredients to your desired taste - for more dark coffee flavor, more almond flavor, or more sweet. Versatile and easy!
- Enjoy!
I keep these on hand in my kitchen - they work well in so many recipes, and are well tolerated by kids with allergy and sensitivity. Even for kids with coconut sensitivity, Brain Octane is often workable, and is an excellent fuel for brain, gut, and growth. If you can't find these products online, they are always in stock at our office - just call to order.
My child has diabetes (type1) and she also has ADHD. I think sometimes she’s been misdiagnosed because the meds aren’t working.
Well anyways, I was writing to ask if she could do this coffee because she’s been begging me for coffe every morning. I thought coffee stunted growth. Well moving forward I purchased the (brain octane but can’t find the protein collagen as pictured. Is it possible to order from you?
Hi Nina, I haven’t heard that about coffee since I was a kid waaaaay back! I’m not sure coffee is stunting in itself, but it is a stimulant (caffeine); that can suppress appetite and slow growth. Decaffeinated coffee won’t do much to blood sugar, which is the real concern for a Type 1 diabetic (the caffeine in coffee spikes blood glucose). This concoction has few carbs (use unsweetened almond milk to avoid the sugars), plus fats that are healthful, but be sure to review it with your care team if you want to try it; make sure it doesn’t require any special changes in your insulin dosing. You can buy BulletProof Collagen from the Bulletproof website, Amazon.com, or you can call the store of Flatiron Functional Medicine (where I work) – it is also sold there. This is pure collagen with no carbs or fats or sweeteners. By the way – your child should be screened for non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which is more common in ADHD and Type 1 DM, and can worsen both conditions. If she isn’t gluten free or correctly assessed for this piece, contact me for an appointment and we can investigate.
How young can children drink decaf coffee?
The main concern health experts have for kids and coffee is caffeine – which is also in drinks like Red Bull, Mountain Dew, and most every type of cola to name a few. The old adage is that caffeine will make kids hyper, trigger insomnia, and suppress appetite, along with some other effects – which we all know it can do to anyone. We all have different sensitivities to caffeine. Decaf obviously can avoid these effects.
But coffee is a mixture of more than a thousand chemicals, and on balance, research leans toward it conferring health benefits, when had in moderation. For kids, the bigger concern is getting hooked on the processed sugary coffee shakes, frappes and drinks now widely sold, from Starbucks to McDonalds. These are loaded with garbage ingredients like GMO corn syrup or other sugars, processed pesticide laden fats, plus milks from GMO corn and soy fed cows. No thanks – don’t get your kid hooked on those.
And now I’ll date myself: When I was 4-5 years old, decaf coffee did not exist. As the youngest of five, my older siblings would leave for school and I would get to enjoy some time with my mom alone (heaven!). She would give me a small cup of coffee with lots of whole milk and a couple spoonfuls of sugar. It didn’t stunt me, cause insomnia, or otherwise make me addicted to coffee, which I’ve enjoyed on and off life long. Also not yet invented were GMO foods, so though not pesticide-free milk, it was GMO free. This was at home of course with her own percolated coffee. No one went to coffee shops – there were none. The idea of leisurely sipping coffee and relaxing in a coffee shop was not a thing in the US at that time, and the myriad coffee confection drinks didn’t exist either. The only people who hung out to sip a coffee were truck drivers at truck stops or roadside diners – Different era! 😄