This is not a sponsored post.
We used to be very typical coffee consumers. With both my husband and I working from home, we easily consumed a 10-12 cup pot each day.
But my husband’s intense stomach pain put an end to that. He was having episodes of stomach spasms that were so bad he would throw up or not be able to eat. We finally sought help from a gastroenterologist, and it was determined that he’d need a scope so the doctor could see what was going on in my husband’s stomach.
And that’s when he found some serious damage in both the stomach and the esophagus caused by high acidity (and stress). And it was a major wake-up call for us.
Along with a dose of super strength Prilosec, we began to get an education on the types of foods and beverages that were contributing to an acidic diet. And coffee was high on the list.
We began looking into coffees with lower acidity and stumbled upon the concept of shade grown coffee. Coffee was typically a plant that flourished in the shade of other trees until the commercial coffee industry created strains that were able to withstand the heat of direct sunlight. This allowed for coffee to be grown at higher rates in order to keep up with increased consumption. But shade grown coffee has about half the acid compared with conventional coffee.
This led us to Camano Island Coffee Roasters. In addition to being shade grown and therefore having lower acidity, their coffee is also organic, fair-trade, and high quality (top 1%). I am willing to pay a little extra for beans that are fair-trade, putting the focus on sustainable farming and fair wages for growers.
Here is a referral link for this coffee – $20 off your first coffee club order!
We recently made another change, and that was switching to half-caffeinated coffee. While we had already limited our coffee consumption to 2 cups each per day, we realized that we could lower our acid intake yet again by limiting the caffeine. I realize this is not for everyone, but I was also trying to remove the crutch of relying on caffeine to get me moving. I get much more out of a quick power nap that the rush and crash of drinking too much caffeine. I also want to be much more aware of my body’s needs than relying on a coffee to keep me stimulated.
You might ask ‘why not just give up coffee completely?’ Truth be told, we just aren’t ready yet. Coffee, for us, represents a chance to relax in the morning, collecting our thoughts and planning our days. So, maybe, one day we’ll give it up for good, but for now it’s still a really pleasant morning ritual.
Because we work from home, we like to grind and brew fresh coffee every morning. I love our coffee pot because it brews directly into a stainless steel carafe that keeps the coffee hot all day. For a special treat, I use a milk frother to make my favorite coffee drinks.
Coffee consumption is increasingly popular in our culture these days, demonstrated by the regularity of posts on the topic. I am curious to know if you are considering making changes to your coffee habit?
And I don’t mean in the sense that you forego makeup and wear pajamas all day. What I mean is do you ever really just let loose, totally engross yourself in the moment, or forget about your stressors or to-do list?
And then at my worst moments, I wonder what is it that I am so stressed about anyways? I lived a pretty charmed life. I am a stay at home mom. We have decent finances so I don’t feel pressured to go back to work. I get help with the kids for several hours per week (hired because we don’t have a support network). Our family life is going well (we get along and the kids are pretty well behaved). So, what’s with all the stress? I keep going back to the idea that it seems to be just my default reaction to all of the tasks I have to do. Even things that are not that big of a deal in the scheme of life (nobody would die if I didn’t do them) just feel stressful.
Both my kids had birthdays recently, one on either side of Christmas so it is a really hectic time for our family. This past weekend, we had my son’s 2nd birthday party and finally the pressure is off.
I like to keep it simple with decorations. We have a banner we re-use for every birthday party. We ordered themed balloons, one set of prepackaged table toppers, and cake plates/napkins. That’s it. I’ll dress the tables up with our neutral tablecloths, but for us this is all that is needed to make the house feel festive.
To quote my mother, a.k.a. Lady Jane, I am on a journey of self-discovery.
But wait, is that really true? I haven’t gotten anything done today? Anything at all? I take a moment to review my day.
That struggle I feel between work that is valued or not. Tasks related to the kids or home are not “real work” to me. I don’t feel the same sense of accomplishment that I do when I get a project done at work, or have a successful sales meeting. And I often don’t even allow time for those things, demonstrating again where I put their importance in the scheme of my life. And for me, this negative thinking is not exclusively related to the kids. When I was in school and not working, I often felt lost and directionless. I had less of a sense of achievement without the firm concrete goals that working for someone else often provides.