“No coffee—No prana!” ~ Guruji (Ashtanga)

I tried to kick my coffee habit cold turkey, and it didn’t work.

I love coffee. I look forward to my cup in the morning, and I know that my writing is sharper after one (or five) cups. Without coffee, I also go into “tired toddler Lizzie” mode, where the world becomes  very hazy and I become an emotional, exhausted wreck. Breathing through the caffeine withdrawal doesn’t work.

It makes me uncomfortable to know that my body and emotional state rely on a substance (let’s face it, there should be a coffee anon group) so heavily. So I’ve been trying to give it up. I went cold turkey and tried to function through the haze, but I realized I was a danger on the road and in life.

I want to be one of those shiny holistic health girls that glows on Instagram with no coffee and be a raw vegan4lyfe, but the truth is, I’m just not. It doesn’t work for me and I like my gritty, a little grounds on the bottom, coffee. And I don’t really like Instagram. It makes me uncomfortable and my sense of self-worth definitely goes down when only two people like my pictures unless I hashtag the photos to get likes #vegan (I’m not vegan) #vegetarian #gluten-free #fitfood #rawforlife #selfie.

It’s clear I’m not ready to give up my cup o’ joe in the morning, mid-morning, early-afternoon, mid-afternoon (okay this is a problem), and sometimes early evening.

But instead of hating on my addiction, I’ve decided to embrace it (thank god it’s not an actual addiction. I mean, it is, but it’s not an illegal one). I’m not allowing myself to drink straight coffee (except in the morning). Instead, I’m forcing myself to have fun with my coffee the rest of the day. I can have coffee, but there are two rules:

1. The coffee can’t be had alone

2. The coffee can’t be from Starbucks (this is in an effort to try and “grow” my coffee knowledge beyond “grande, bold”)

I’m mixing coffee with beet juice and in my green smoothies and I’ve considered taking a bath in it (like Cleopatra, but with coffee). It tastes great over my quinoa crackers, mashed up with coconut and cashews. Like coffee soup.

Out of this coffee addict recovery process came the recipe for coffee and beet juice latte. It’s better than any latte I’ve had (admittedly I don’t drink lattes because the refined sugar in the syrup terrifies me) and beets are my best friend. Maybe it’s because I’m overly-Vata, or maybe it’s because they have awesome health benefits and are the prettiest superfood.

Beets are a grounding food, but beyond that, they also enhance blood flow (hello, nature’s Viagra) and are good for oxygen circulation. They are one of the best sources of betaine and folate—betaine reduces accumulation of fat on the liver, and folate helps with cell repair. Also, they’re really good for women’s health (um, down there, girls).

Without further ado, here is the recipe for the best coffee and beet juice mixture in the world, a witches brew concoction of murky maroon and brown colored joy:

Ingredients

Approximately a 1/2 cup of your favorite coffee (I like dark roast—old habits die hard)

1 Large Beet

1/2 Cucumber

half of a forefinger of fresh ginger root (ginger looks like knobby knuckles, so clearly, it makes sense to measure it out hand-style)

1/2 cup or so of carrots (depends on the size of the beet—more beet, less carrot)

1 organic apple (Fuji’s are great for juicing, Pink Lady’s have the best flavor in my opinion, and Green apples are in season)

1/2 cup of Spinach

Juice the vegetables (not the coffee) and mix your juice with the coffee and—voila! You’ve just got your caffeine and a few servings of veggies in for the day.

A little sprinkle of cinnamon is also great for circulation (and taste!), and it looks cute on top as as garnish if you’re going to Instagram your beet juice latte. #coffee4lyfe

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: Courtesy of Pixoto/ Andreea Marchidan; Flickr/ Jakelifier; Wiki Commons/ Amedee Masclef