Buttery Brew ~ Lela Buttery
The Benefits of Butter and Healthy Fats
One of the best little gems in Venice to stop at for a pick me up, or for a hearty breakfast is Another Kind Of Sunrise which I reviewed a few months back. Well now AKOS has been taken over by a new vanguard, the incredible mistress of all things wholesome Lela Buttery. Along the same lines as Kippys Ice Cream, we can now find healthful benefits from good fats found in our favorite standbys like coffee and dessert. Lela’s buttery brew or bulletproof coffee is causing quite the sensation, so much so that there was recently an article in Times Magazine about how this is the drink super athletes like Laird Hamilton consume in the morning. The brew is organic Handlebar coffee mixed with coconut oil and gras fed, organic butter. This helps the good fats keep the caffeine in your system over time, without having the acidic reaction to your gut. I first met Lela years ago at the incredible collective hub of all things good and raw Rawsome in Venice. When Rawsome was unjustly shut down by the USDA and FDA, many of the brains that had gathered there, dispersed and began their own journey to bring the goodness of those beliefs to us. Kippy is another lovely soul to come out of that Rawsome hub. Lela Buttery (this is her real name) is a biologist, chef, diver, author of We Can Do Butter!
She is a believer that all things with wholesome, organic butter, can make make the world a better place. Her butter biscuits by the way are insanely delicious!
For more all-natural recipes and local eateries see The Local Rose.
1) How did you discover the merits of butter?
I’ve never not known butter…my last name is Buttery. I’m a bit obsessed I must admit-a butter lover. I have become a butter connoisseur. I go to great lengths to source and eat the purest grass-fed cold-pressed butter I can find. I get divine joy out of savoring every pat.
I think the merits of butter have been inherent in history. All hail the cream for it brings us: whipped cream, ice cream and BUTTER! It’s where the sayings “like butter” come from.
Butter has been the companion of the culinary arts, a currency and instrumental in traditions of ancient civilizations. Only as of the last 50 years did butter get demonized with many other good fats. Along with many basic foods, butter has been denatured and processed, into something that our bodies can’t recognize. It’s amazing to me that something so simple and pure could be transformed into a substitution that is so complicated-I feel that way about a lot our “foods.”
2) What are some of the benefits of eating good fats like butter?
Grass-fed (that’s the key) butter in particular contains the x-factor, a fat-soluble vitamin K2, which promote brain and cardiovascular health and the absorption of vitamins A and D. The other astonishing surprise in grass-fed butter contains a fatty acid call conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which is important because it erodes arterial plaque.
Did you know that your brain and hormones are made of fat? Fats are carriers in the body, like little vehicles that help get nutrients get transported. So basically your body cannot function without good fats.
3) Do you have a beauty secret?
My secret is simplicity:
-I don’t use any chemicals: from beauty products to cleaning products-so clean you can eat them.
-I believe happy on the inside will show on the outside. I eat a lot of healthy fats.
-I make my own face wash by mixing volcanic clay with raw local honey and coconut oil to form a paste.
-No matter how busy I get I make time to swim in the ocean…I find her peaceful and refreshing.
4) What or where is your dream meal?
If I had to eat one cuisine for the rest of my life it would be Japanese. My dream meal would be on an island off of Japan eating a local chef’s tasting menu. I imagine it to be an authentic experience filled with delicacies from the sea. My love of the sea and food would be happily married.
5) Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
I am planting lots of seeds these days growing the Buttery Brand.
In ten years down the road I hope to have a platform to teach and demonstrate the connection between food and environment through community, adventure and love: I call that being Buttery.
I have worn many hats from biologist to barista and scuba instructor between; but one thing for sure is we all have to eat, and knowing where our food comes from and how it affects our bodies is directly linked to our personal health and the ecosystem around us.
6) Do you have a motto or creed you like to live by?
I have so many…here are a few that I always say.
-Hold yourself to a higher standard!
-Always learn and grow as person.
I apply both of these to my life every single day, and have since I can remember.
7) What are three things folks can do when switching to a better diet?
No matter where you are in the health spectrum, realize that a diet is a commitment to a lifestyle change. You can’t just change your lifestyle overnight, it’s a journey.
-Eat one raw food with every meal.
-Eat as many natural foods as possible (cut out the packaged foods).
-If you have to eat something out of a package, start reading labels – if you can’t pronounce it don’t eat it.
-Keep your food simple and real.
8) What book is on your nightstand?
I love knowledge and learning. I honestly hope that this thirst is never quenched.
I have more books and podcasts than I can ever get through but for sure I am attempting to! I just finished The Healing Powers of Coffee
my all time favorite titles to recommend are
Biomimicry
