I'm in Palm Springs! I'm spending the weekend with my food blogger friends (Sasha, Sophie, Sarah, Shelly, Eva, Trisha, Kimberley, Carly, Lindsay, Lily). And I'm so stoked for a relaxing weekend of hiking, eating and pool-hanging with my gals. But in the mean time I have to get you guys this magical adaptogenic coffee latte recipe. It's changing my life, and it might even change yours! It's been two weeks since I invented this latte. It's quickly become a part of my daily morning ritual, a process Logan and I gleefully anticipate. Getting out all of the ingredients, plopping them one by one into the blender, pouring hot coffee over it all and whirring on high speed until luxuriously frothy. I think I enjoy making it as much as I enjoy drinking it. The latte is a blend of hot coffee, coconut cream, coconut oil, cashew butter, functional mushroom powder, hemp hearts, maca, raw honey, vanilla bean powder and collagen powder (a decidedly un-plant based thing I've just started using to improve gut health, which you can omit from the recipe if you're vegetarian). This recipe is what "bulletproof" coffee would be if it was created by Radagast. The result is a sweet, foamy mocha latte that rivals anything I've ever had in a coffee shop, with mad wellness benefits to boot!

The concept came from this article in The New York Times ("One Artist's 'Life-Changing' Morning Drink"). The featured artist makes a daily drink that fuels her creative productivity. It's a blender chai with functional mushrooms, mucuna pruriens, vanilla, cashew butter and a date to sweeten. Of course I thought to myself: "pssh I've been making drinks like that for ages!" Blended lattes with nut butters and adaptogens have become a regular part of my life. I just love making instant milky drinks that secretly work to improve my body-mind health on a chemical level. It's just one way mama earth constantly reminds me of her healing wonder.

I'm a big fan of this functional mushroom blend from Anima Mundi; it's reishi, agaricus, cordyceps, chaga, lion's man, shitake and maitake. The mushrooms are all organically grown or wild-crafted in Washington state. You could use your favorite adaptogenic fungi or a blend of your choosing. Many functional mushroom powders are available in hippie grocery stores these days; I can find Four Sigmatic in most vibey groceries in America. I typically get my maca from Mountain Rose Herbs.  I love this marine collagen from Vital Proteins. My husband has had great results with Bulletproof's bovine-based collagen supplement. His nails grow so fast now it's almost a problem! Ha!

I've seen the benefits of regularly consuming adaptogens in my own life over the years -- better sleep, improved stress response, increased creative output, increased sex-drive and increased physical endurance. But whenever I've been able to consume them daily I've noticed an even greater improvement in my overall wellness and happiness. You could omit the functional mushrooms, maca and collagen from this recipe and have a solid, delicious vegan blender mocha with some micro froth. But if you can swing it to get the adaptogens this is a great recipe to start off with.

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Adapta-Fuel aka The Life Changing Adaptogenic Coffee Latte

Prep5mins

Total5mins

AuthorRenee Byrd | Will Frolic for Food

Yield2servings

This nourishing, creamy latte is packed with adaptogenic super powers, protein and healthy fats.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp collagen (omit if vegan)

• 1 1/2 tbsp functional mushroom powder (reishi, cordyceps, chaga, lions mane etc.)

• 1 tbsp unrefined or raw cocoa powder

• 3 tbsp hemp hearts1 tbsp maca powder

• 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder

• 1 tbsp cashew butter

• 2 tbsp full fat coconut cream

• 1 tbsp raw honey (or 2-3 pitted medjool dates)

• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil

• 3 1/2 measured cups hot coffee (or hot herbal coffee)

• Optional: dash cinnamon, dash cardamom

Instructions

Combine all of your ingredients in your blender: collagen, mushroom powder, cocoa, hemp hearts, maca, vanilla bean powder, cashew butter, coconut cream, honey, coconut oil, hot coffee and (optional) spices to taste. Blend on low to start, then slowly ramp up the speed to high. Blend for a minimum of 90 seconds to fully break up the hemp hearts. Pour, sip and enjoy!

Notes

Note #1: If omitting collagen, the drink will be less foamy. Coconut naturally foams when whipped so you'll still have some nice froth, it will just be a little thinner.

Note #2: prep time includes how long it takes to brew coffee.

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