Crasin Love

Share on Pinterest

It’s been a while since we talked about food — but don’t worry I’m not going to treat you to pictures of my gourmet avocado creations any more. This time, I have raisins on my mind.Not this!

This!Raisins are truly a super food. Loaded up with antioxidants and minerals like iron, calcium and zinc, not to mention fiber and potassium — and they’re sweet.

Add some coffee, and you’ve got my idea of heaven. I’m not even kidding:The woman — yes, woman! — behind this genius idea is Linda Griego, of LaPorte, Colo.

Back in 2007, Ms. Griego was forced to leave work due to illness, which had caused her to lose a lot weight and muscle mass. One doctor advised her to eat raisins: a source of natural sugars that are absorbed quickly by our bodies (raisins have a glycemic index of 64, which is pretty high; pure glucose is 100. This means you get a pretty quick spike in blood sugar – i.e. energy – after eating them).

Now, the problem was, Ms. Griego doesn’t like raisins. So, she told me via email, she started experimenting. “I love coffee… especially Costa Rican and Hawaiian, and so I wanted an all American product — so I used 100% Kona coffee.”

She figured out a way to infuse the raisins with coffee (she says that’s patent pending), and there you have them: Java Raiz, organic California-grown flame raisins and 100% Kona coffee, together, making perfection in your mouth.

And that’s not all! There are mocha coffee raisins, cinnamon raisins (created for her grandkids) and, in Ms. Griego’s words, “Who knows where it will stop!”

She sent me a sampling of all four kinds in her lineup so far:I tried the coffee raisins today and they are de-eee-licious!

It was actually perfect timing. I had just watched a lecture on nutrition for athletes by Joe Friel, an elite triathlon and cycling coach, author of the “Training Bible” series of books and co-author of The Paleo Diet for Athletes), where he pretty much said raisins are the perfect food to eat after long or particularly intense workouts.

So today, after an hour-and-a-half swim plus bike workout, they came in as the perfect post-exercise (and pre-breakfast) snack.

For the time being, Java Raiz are available online [use code OERLK for a 15% discount on orders over $4!], and in several Colorado and Hawaii locations. Hopefully, I’ll see them in a store near me soon!

Today’s workouts:Biked to the gym; it was still dark out and freezing. Now I understand why people wear cycling gloves! (Skiing mittens, in fact, seemed more appropriate!) Then hit the pool for 1,000 yards. Then on the bike for about 10 miles at an easy pace (speed? what do you call it when you bike?) and then I got home to eat my raisins!

5 thoughts on “Crasin Love

  • Pingback: Paleo Diet for Athletes? | Confessions of a Caffeinated Mother Runner

  • March 24, 2013 at 3:37 am
    Permalink

    Oh. My. Goodness. I abhor raisins, everything about them. But I *love* coffee…and chocolate! I’m definitely going to try these.

    Reply
    • March 24, 2013 at 8:00 am
      Permalink

      But why? Raisins are sweet! Do you like them IN chocolate? With hazelnuts? (best!)

      Reply
  • March 23, 2013 at 11:35 pm
    Permalink

    Aww, per your first photo, my kids are Raisins! 😉
    I need to try these coffee infused raisins!

    Reply
    • March 24, 2013 at 8:00 am
      Permalink

      Hahaha, Cindie 🙂 So you love raisins, just as they come, right? 🙂 I have a packet of mocha raisins that I can save for our next group run/ race or MNO so everyone gets to try! They’re really really good (to the point, I suspect if I get a larger bag I’ll overdo it on the caffeine!)

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge