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Coffee Banana Protein Smoothie





Sharing Some Good News

I don’t know about you, but I often find watching the news to be alarming and sad.  As a result, I don’t often watch the news.  To be honest, I don’t often watch television.  All I can say about that…who has time? 

My oldest son once told me that I live in a bubble (oblivious of all that is going on around me), to which I replied, “Well don’t pop it.  I like it in my bubble”.  I remember telling my mother once if anything huge was going on in the world, to please let me know.              

Myself, I like to hear good news.  In all of my reading I recently read in two different publications what I personally consider to be good news; excellent news in fact!  Harvard studies show that drinking coffee can have positive impact on your health!  Now isn’t that excellent news?  Well, it certainly is for me because I have always been a huge fan of the java bean!

Studies show that the more coffee you drink, the more you may lower your risk of Type 2 diabetes.  Harvard University looked at 28 studies with more than a million combined participants and found that people who downed six 8- ounce cups of java daily had a 33% lower risk of diabetes.  (Don’t worry if you are not a six cup a day drinker…researchers found each cup lowered risk by about 9%) 
It appears it’s not necessarily the caffeine at work; but rather the chlorogenic acid is behind the benefit.  This naturally occurring chemical reduces the rate at which your intestines absorb glucose. 

And here is even more good news about my favorite beverage...in a recent study, researchers gave coffee to a group of study participants after a study session.  They wanted to see if the caffeine would help them retain what they had learned – and it did!   Those who were given caffeine after doing a mental test remembered the results better the next day than those who didn’t consume caffeine.  So if you want to remember something you learned, try sipping a cup of coffee immediately afterwards!  Apparently the ideal dose to enhance memory is about 200 milligrams of caffeine or about 10 ounces of your favorite brew.   

I know, I know...often we roll our eyes when we hear about all of these new studies that are being thrown our direction.  In a situation like this, I tend to grab on to the positive ones that sound appealing; and these little nuggets of good news sound like a winner to me!

And while we are discussing coffee, join me in welcoming our new coffee shop in West Liberty…Coffee Matters.  It is awesome to know that coffee is once again brewing down on the corner.  Their hours are Tuesday thru Friday; 7-2 and Saturday 8-12.  Tell them I sent you in…to enhance your memory with a cup of Joe!!

Coffee Banana Protein Smoothie

A delicious smoothie packed with protein to keep you going plus the jolt of caffeine.

Ingredients:
•1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
•1 cup of brewed coffee, chilled
•1 cups of crushed ice
•1 container vanilla Greek yogurt (5.3 oz)
•1 tablespoon ground flax seed
•½ teaspoon Chia seeds

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients on high until well-blended.

 

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