Caitlyn Jenner's Coffee

I’ve watched a few episodes of I am Cait. If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s Caitlyn Jenner’s reality series. Recently on the show, a group of transgender women have been on a road trip of sorts and each person shares her story along the way. It’s fascinating. On Sunday’s episode, amidst an important conversation about gender confirmation surgery, Caitlin made coffee.

I tried to see what else was in the fridge, hard to say

She reaches into her fridge, it’s a pretty/glass front type, and pulls out a bag of coffee (I paused it about a dozen times and I’m fairly certain it was Starbucks Christmas Blend).  And despite the voiceover in Caitlin’s slightly slurry accent about the touchy topic of surgery, I was thinking about coffee. Should I be storing my coffee in the fridge? I took to Safari on my phone and started to investigate.

I quickly realized Caitlin was wrong. Seriouscoffee.com says, “the fridge is not the place to store coffee of any form.” Pact coffee explains,  “you want to protect coffee from air, moisture, heat and light “I’m happy to say I am protecting my coffee from all four. However, the National Coffee Association (NCAUSA) says clear containers are to be avoided- oops. I do have my clear container but it’s in the cabinet so I’m thinking I’m safe. I know storing ground coffee isn’t ideal but I can’t do the daily grind thing. And in case you think the freezer is ok, it isn’t the place for coffee you’re taking in and out of the freezer each morning. You can freeze for long-term coffee storage.

via Pact Coffee, yes- my coffee is happy!

There is an exception to the fridge/coffee rule. Coffee can neutralize fridge odors. So if you’ve ruined your current coffee refrigerating it. Empty coffee grounds into a bowl, place on one of the fridge shelves and it’ll remove stinkiness. 

Where do you store your coffee? Do you grind beans daily? Watch I am Cait?

I freaked out majorly: warning 1st world problem

I haven’t written in a bit but I have a good reason. I was in food shock. It started a few weeks ago. We decided- I should say I decided to replace our cracked kitchen tile and countertops. My husband gave me the “is this really necessary?” line.  The truth is that his kitchen experience amounts to occasional coffee making, gluten free beer opening and table clearing when he’s in a helpful mood. I could’ve wasted my time pointing out that the kitchen to me was the equivalent of the golf course for him but I had a more productive idea. I selected the countertop material  (Caesar stone) and flooring (light wood planks). I presented my husband with two samples of each that were basically the same so he could “choose” and put him in touch with the kitchen guy. Our division of labor for any renovation is design- me and construction- him. This proved to be a mistake.

Two weeks ago today, the boys had started spring break and I was enjoying not having to be out of the house at 7:30AM. The doorbell rang and I answered it in my pajamas. There were five men with tools standing outside with the head honcho kitchen guy. I had been told the kitchen work would be done while we were away. As I stood in the doorway, Marc emerged freshly showered and smiled at the guys “that’s great that you’re getting an early start.” And the unraveling began. I guarantee these nice men will tell the story of the crazy upper west side lady for years to come.

“You told me this was happening when we were away”

  He said

“I thought it was a good idea for them to start before we left in case there were questions.”

While that’s totally logical in retrospect I said

“It’s a good idea for you but what about me, I am supposed to eat days of take-out food right before a vacation?”

And he said

“I think having a new kitchen is worth a few days of non-organic food.”

It went downhill from there and I decided to go get dressed and calm down.

When I came downstairs, four men were carrying my fridge into the dining room.

The fridge was unplugged. The fridge with a freezer full of grass fed meat and wild salmon, the fridge with my kombuchas and organic berries.

And while I now know I must’ve sounded like a spoiled baby, I freaked.  Mid fit the kitchen guy plugged the fridge into a dining room outlet. The light went back on and I started to breathe.

I will never admit this to my husband but I kind of liked running out to Juice Generation to get smoothies breakfast for all of us and a few newspapers. Having no kitchen meant no pillaging for dark chocolate. And we plugged the coffee maker in the home office and it was fine.

This past Friday, the men were putting the kitchen sink in and the kitchen guy said “was it worth it?” and, with my tail between my legs, I apologized knowing that nothing I cold say would erase my crazy. It was totally worth it.  The problem is that now I don’t want to cook and mess any of the newness up.

Foodtrainers' hits LA and the rain hits Foodtrainers

Lauren posted all about our Expo West Experience, but she left out our “adventure” getting there.

Here’s a travel day follow up, because there are always things (monsoons, traffic, room reservations gone missing) that throw off the best laid plans.

Foodtrainers' LA picks:

Pre-Flight breakfast:

As predicted, we omeletted it up with veggies and hot sauce (greens instead of toast), and tons of coffee. Lauren whipped out pre-flight probiotic coconut shots and I drank a liter ++ of water (thank god for aisle seats).

Mid-flight:

We had our nutcases, filled with living organic sprouted pecans, while plotting our Pre-Summer Squeeze Program. get excited.

Post-flight lunch:

Heaven is Gjelina in Santa Monica. Lauren and I could have spent all day there tasting -- and sipping -- but the winners were the tuna conserva over arugula (almost Nicoise but better), and the asparagus with crispy sunny side egg.

Bulletproof shop:

We were full but had to make a pit stop at the Bulletproof mecca. While the café isn’t anything too exciting, we went for small bulletproof coffees and were all caffeinated for our 3 hours in traffic (not still annoyed, or anything).

Moon juice:

You know we love our moon juice dusts so we were excited to see what was in store at their home base. We saved our purchases for breakfast pre-expo – Lauren raved about her Fennel, Frond & Herb (Fennel, Cucumber, Green Apple, Basil), the Golden Milk was delicious too.

Packing House:

We found the one “cool” spot in Anaheim near the expo and while food was forgettable, the spicy margaritas hit the spot. We have to end a travel day with tequila; it’s a Foodtrainers rule.

So that’s our travel day recap, what are your fave LA spots?

Coffee, Crickets, Kombucha and other trends from Expo West

So sad this is among best photos with both of us from the trip

I’m sitting on the plane. My magazine binge is complete (Food & Wine’s “The New Healthy” issue good but Bon Appetit’s Culture even better), inbox has been cleaned out, the book I’m reading at a lull and it’s not yet time for a snack…so I thought I’d tell you a little about Expo West. Expo West is this massive Natural Foods Show; all the big players have booths and events and rookie players or new food companies come to get a jump-start. People spend days at this show. Carolyn and I were determined to see it all in one day and 23, 000+ steps later we did.

If I were to pick out a few trends or things we saw a lot of I’d say jerky is a big deal. These new offerings are a world away from Slim Jim. If you don’t think you’re the jerky type I’d do some taste testing. Carolyn said she felt many more products geared toward men and I’d agree. “Mancakes” is an example of this  (get it man + pancakes?). We saw some tea but coffee, particularly jazzed up coffee, was everywhere. There was coffee mixed with other ingredients (maca and guarana) and also coffee blended with nut milks. And our favorite of course….lattes on tap.

There was a whole lotta kombucha happening but many of the newer brands had more sugar than the Heathade and Synergy we covet. In terms of other beverages, a few of our favorite companies have come out with unsweetened versions. We’re saving our winner for May and our Pre-Summer Squeeze  program (so good, sorry to tease). In terms of sweeteners, monk fruit is making a name for itself. It’s zero calories and has no aftertaste. To be honest, I haven’t monkfruited a lot and initially dismissed it so I have to do some tasting.

 

And for anyone who said gluten free was a fad, read this study and take our word for it, it’s bigger than ever. And I’m not talking gluten free treats or gluten free crap but gluten free meal items like our beloved Banza. See their new packaging?

Carolyn and I were determined not to over sample. We tried to divide and conquer- Carolyn would taste sweet and I’d cover savory. We ended up both tasting both. I refuse to really ponder what I ingested but there was gluten free pizza (sample size but it was 9:30 am), Banza’s new mac and cheese, every coffee product offered, apple cider vinegar and more.  Did I mention we walked 10 miles? I said to Carolyn we’d need to do it again to make up for our excessive testing.

Oh and the nastiest item of the day was definitely a nutrition bar made from crickets  (not Exo…those are fine) and flavored with matcha. It had the worst aftertaste and we felt ill but as we rounded the corner Hu Kitchen to the rescue, a chocolate chaser makes every better.

Which of these trends or categories would you like to hear more about? Would you eat products made from crickets (you will likely see more…protein)? What’s your favorite magazine or podcast these days?

Shroom coffee and a Four Sigma giveaway

*please note I've been meaning to post this all week. I didn't want to hit the weekend without it up but there may be typos etc. Know I'm aware of it, OK?

In our world (which I realize can be different from the regular world) medicinal mushrooms are all the rage.  And no, despite the fact that both Carolyn and I are Tulane alums, we’re not talking about those shrooms.  Medicinal mushrooms have various health benefits, and in the shroom sector Four Sigma is pretty much the best you can get. A few months ago, Carolyn and I received our mushroom indoctrination via Four Sigma.

The top four shrooms you should know about are Chaga, Reishi, Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps. All of these are food for the immune system and autoimmune conditions. It's interesting that many medications are derived from fungi. We’ve been so shroom-centric that we’re sharing our favorite mushroom with you today.

Cordyceps

What I like about cordyceps is that it gives you energy but not jittery energy. It’s what’s called an adaptogen. Cordyceps helps your body produce more energy. Research shows it improves athletic performance and decreases fatigue during exercise (even among new exercisers). I’m always cautious to mention this but shrooms do  have anti-cancer properties, cordyceps inhibits cell proliferation (mostly animal studies). And cordyceps is great for those recovering from surgery or a prolonged illness.

This shroom also improves mental energy, memory and learning. It helps your natural stress response. And it has an anti depressive effect assisting with winter blahs.

After about 7 days “using” cordyceps, blood sugar seems to improve. This mushroom works by reducing insulin secretion (more insulin secreted, more fat stored). For all these reasons, it’s no wonder cordyceps are prized in traditional Chinese medicine. 

If you’re thinking, who doesn’t need cordyceps? I’m with you. The problem? On their own these do not taste very good. So our favorite way to get cordyceps into our bodies is with cordyceps instant coffee. We have our regular, super-strength coffee in the AM; this is our after lunch coffee. Our Whipping Week participants are loving it.

Four Sigma also make low calorie hot chocolate packets with various mushrooms.

If you’re shroom-curious we have a box of Four Sigma coffee, a box of shroom cocoa and a pretty wooden cup (also from Four Sigma) to giveaway to one of our readers.

To enter:

Please comment below and tweet out "Shroom coffee? Yup @Foodtrainers has a @foursigmafoods #giveaway on the blog http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2016/01/shroom-coffee-and-four-sigma-giveaway.html "

You have until 1/24.

Have you heard of medicinal mushrooms? Have you tried them? Does it sound weird (my husband refused “coffee with mushrooms” but he dislikes mushrooms)? Which benefit of cordyceps appeals to you most?