Dang! I thought this was going to be a simple blog post explaining Bulletproof Coffee, until I opened the door to Pandora’s Box of debate, dialogue and disagreement about something so seemingly simple as our morning coffee.
In this week’s blog post, my goal is still to keep it simple. As we go down the road with my weekly posts, we can get into more discussion and debate. So today is the simplified version.
What is Bulletproof Coffee?
Easy. It is coffee with fat mixed in. Period.
Why?
Ahhh….now it gets interesting. When one is on the Ketogenic Diet, we transform our bodies into fat burners, ie, they convert from being sugar burners to being fat-adapted. And this is a good thing for many reasons. After a fast, which happens during the night when we sleep, our bodies need a fat source to get that glorious action going again and Bulletproof Coffee is a great way to jumpstart this amazing fat burning our bodies do. Again, easy.
But here’s where it starts getting controversial.
1. Is BPC (Bulletproof Coffee) a substitute for breakfast, or breakfast itself?
When I first started Keto, I had both BPC and then a fatty breakfast, like a cheese omelet or bacon and eggs. But after a few days, my body was letting me know that this was too much. Many of the Keto practitioners use BPC as their first meal of the day and don’t eat until several hours later.
I was old school brainwashed in thinking “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I thought I would crash and burn without breakfast; and worse, as a frequent carsick vomit comet, I was convinced I couldn’t ride in the car without breakfast. Wrong, wrong, all wrong.
I remember my first car trip after converting to BPC only for breakfast. I brought a snack for this two-hour drive. I was sure I couldn’t make it without food! My worries were for naught. The trip was easy, my energy was good and I arrived safely at lunch time, only to find lunch was delayed an hour or two. Amazingly, I was fine. No hunger pangs. Good energy. Wasn’t the least bit hangry, and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch.
So for me personally – Bulletproof Coffee is my breakfast. As in: break my fast.
2. Pandora’s box springs wide open with the question: How do you make BPC?
Before we start, let me share with you that I am a true coffee snob. I love my coffee rich, dark and black. The thought of putting anything in my coffee was abhorrent to me. Ironically, I also love butter. I would easily but a tablespoon of butter on a wee crust of bread and savor the flavor. But to add the two together made me gag. Yuck.
And of course, two of the ingredients of BPC are black coffee and unsalted butter (preferably grass fed). On day one, I absolutely could not do this, so I eased my way into the concept by putting heavy whipping cream in my coffee. Didn’t love it, but I lived.
On day two, I still used heavy whipping cream but I added butter. Still didn’t love it, but I didn’t gag and I finished it, albeit with my face clenched in mild disgust.
Fast forward – now I absolutely love it and look forward to it!!!
So we have the first two ingredients – and there is not much controversy here (not much, I said – but yes, still controversy – amazing the stuff folks can argue about): Coffee and Butter (preferably grass fed).
The third ingredient is some kind of oil. I am not a fan of coconut oil, but many recipes called for it, so I used it. It was okay.
Then I learned about MCT oil – Medium Chain Triglyceride oil – so I switched from coconut oil to MCT oil.
Technically – Coffee, butter and MCT oil is a sufficient recipe for BPC, but I have not yet weaned myself from heavy whipping cream, so I keep that in my brew and add a dash or three of cinnamon.
Here is a good time to explain why advocates of BPC like MCT oil vs. coconut oil or another fat.
MCT is a fatty acid that is easily converted to energy. It increases our endurance, enhances our metabolism and suppresses hunger. It’s a quick and clean source of energy for our brain.
Two main components are Caprylic acid – often sold as “Brain Octane” – it breaks down fast and supports brain function, and Capric acid which has a slower rate of absorption. A third component – caprolic acid is often known to cause “disaster pants,” so start using MCT’s gradually.
These acids bypass our digestive tract and go straight to the liver where they break down into energy packets known as Ketones which enter our bloodstream as fuel.
3. What are some of the controversies? What aren’t!! From the type of water we use (I recommend filtered) to the type of coffee bean. Do you know some folks are even selling Bulletproof coffee beans? My recommendation: get a good quality bean and move on.
Butter – what cows? What grass? Where? On and on – find a grass fed butter you like and move on.
And with MCT’s and Brain Octane – oil or powder? Add some form of this and move on.
It doesn’t have to be this complicated.
The recipe is basically:
1 cup of black coffee
1 to 2 T butter
1 to 2 T oil – MCT type is best.
To mine, I add a splash of heavy whipping cream and as I said above, dash of cinnamon.
Here comes a true confession – not to complicate matters but I want to be 100% transparent with you. Several weeks ago, as I continue to lose weight, I noticed I had some minor sagging skin on my face—truly minor, but I plan to lose substantially more weight so I wanted to nip this in the bud, so to speak.
I did two things. First – I made an essential oil potion, which I will share another time. And second, I figured collagen would help. So I found a product, which I enjoy, by Perfect Keto called Keto Collagen Chocolate that “is a ketogenic diet-friendly protein source that provides a convenient way to obtain the vital collagen peptides missing from most modern diets.” The label says it is a “combination of grass-fed collagen and MCT powder.”
So here is my current recipe:
1 cup black coffee
1 T Ghee (I’ll explain another time – but butter would work too)
1 scoop Perfect Keto Collagen Chocolate powder
1 splash heavy whipping cream
1 dash cinnamon
(and if I feel like it – one splash MCT oil)
Did it help my sagging skin – yes. But as usual with me, I jump in with several “solutions” at once, so I’m not sure which one or both helped.
One last note on BPC – use a blender, if you mix it in a jar or shaker you will just get an oily mess that makes me gag just thinking about it. By blending it, you get a warm frothy beverage.
Don’t like coffee? Make a Bulletproof tea. My sister-in-law loves hers, so I know it is possible. Some make a Bulletproof hot chocolate. If none of this works – sit down and enjoy bacon and eggs to break your fast.
Let’s keep this easy. After all, it is a lifestyle, not a diet. And it should flow with ease…we are not climbing Mount Everest here. We are just looking for ways to restore and maintain our best, healthy, energetic selves.
And if you got this far, I shall indeed reward you with an Autumn Pumpkin Spice Bulletproof Coffee recipe!!
2 T butter (grass fed) or ghee
2 T MCT oil
1 cup whipping cream, half and half or unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup black coffee
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
dash of salt
Blend well and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Sip, savor, relax and enjoy.
In this week’s blog post, my goal is still to keep it simple. As we go down the road with my weekly posts, we can get into more discussion and debate. So today is the simplified version.
What is Bulletproof Coffee?
Easy. It is coffee with fat mixed in. Period.
Why?
Ahhh….now it gets interesting. When one is on the Ketogenic Diet, we transform our bodies into fat burners, ie, they convert from being sugar burners to being fat-adapted. And this is a good thing for many reasons. After a fast, which happens during the night when we sleep, our bodies need a fat source to get that glorious action going again and Bulletproof Coffee is a great way to jumpstart this amazing fat burning our bodies do. Again, easy.
But here’s where it starts getting controversial.
1. Is BPC (Bulletproof Coffee) a substitute for breakfast, or breakfast itself?
When I first started Keto, I had both BPC and then a fatty breakfast, like a cheese omelet or bacon and eggs. But after a few days, my body was letting me know that this was too much. Many of the Keto practitioners use BPC as their first meal of the day and don’t eat until several hours later.
I was old school brainwashed in thinking “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I thought I would crash and burn without breakfast; and worse, as a frequent carsick vomit comet, I was convinced I couldn’t ride in the car without breakfast. Wrong, wrong, all wrong.
I remember my first car trip after converting to BPC only for breakfast. I brought a snack for this two-hour drive. I was sure I couldn’t make it without food! My worries were for naught. The trip was easy, my energy was good and I arrived safely at lunch time, only to find lunch was delayed an hour or two. Amazingly, I was fine. No hunger pangs. Good energy. Wasn’t the least bit hangry, and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch.
So for me personally – Bulletproof Coffee is my breakfast. As in: break my fast.
2. Pandora’s box springs wide open with the question: How do you make BPC?
Before we start, let me share with you that I am a true coffee snob. I love my coffee rich, dark and black. The thought of putting anything in my coffee was abhorrent to me. Ironically, I also love butter. I would easily but a tablespoon of butter on a wee crust of bread and savor the flavor. But to add the two together made me gag. Yuck.
And of course, two of the ingredients of BPC are black coffee and unsalted butter (preferably grass fed). On day one, I absolutely could not do this, so I eased my way into the concept by putting heavy whipping cream in my coffee. Didn’t love it, but I lived.
On day two, I still used heavy whipping cream but I added butter. Still didn’t love it, but I didn’t gag and I finished it, albeit with my face clenched in mild disgust.
Fast forward – now I absolutely love it and look forward to it!!!
So we have the first two ingredients – and there is not much controversy here (not much, I said – but yes, still controversy – amazing the stuff folks can argue about): Coffee and Butter (preferably grass fed).
The third ingredient is some kind of oil. I am not a fan of coconut oil, but many recipes called for it, so I used it. It was okay.
Then I learned about MCT oil – Medium Chain Triglyceride oil – so I switched from coconut oil to MCT oil.
Technically – Coffee, butter and MCT oil is a sufficient recipe for BPC, but I have not yet weaned myself from heavy whipping cream, so I keep that in my brew and add a dash or three of cinnamon.
Here is a good time to explain why advocates of BPC like MCT oil vs. coconut oil or another fat.
MCT is a fatty acid that is easily converted to energy. It increases our endurance, enhances our metabolism and suppresses hunger. It’s a quick and clean source of energy for our brain.
Two main components are Caprylic acid – often sold as “Brain Octane” – it breaks down fast and supports brain function, and Capric acid which has a slower rate of absorption. A third component – caprolic acid is often known to cause “disaster pants,” so start using MCT’s gradually.
These acids bypass our digestive tract and go straight to the liver where they break down into energy packets known as Ketones which enter our bloodstream as fuel.
3. What are some of the controversies? What aren’t!! From the type of water we use (I recommend filtered) to the type of coffee bean. Do you know some folks are even selling Bulletproof coffee beans? My recommendation: get a good quality bean and move on.
Butter – what cows? What grass? Where? On and on – find a grass fed butter you like and move on.
And with MCT’s and Brain Octane – oil or powder? Add some form of this and move on.
It doesn’t have to be this complicated.
The recipe is basically:
1 cup of black coffee
1 to 2 T butter
1 to 2 T oil – MCT type is best.
To mine, I add a splash of heavy whipping cream and as I said above, dash of cinnamon.
Here comes a true confession – not to complicate matters but I want to be 100% transparent with you. Several weeks ago, as I continue to lose weight, I noticed I had some minor sagging skin on my face—truly minor, but I plan to lose substantially more weight so I wanted to nip this in the bud, so to speak.
I did two things. First – I made an essential oil potion, which I will share another time. And second, I figured collagen would help. So I found a product, which I enjoy, by Perfect Keto called Keto Collagen Chocolate that “is a ketogenic diet-friendly protein source that provides a convenient way to obtain the vital collagen peptides missing from most modern diets.” The label says it is a “combination of grass-fed collagen and MCT powder.”
So here is my current recipe:
1 cup black coffee
1 T Ghee (I’ll explain another time – but butter would work too)
1 scoop Perfect Keto Collagen Chocolate powder
1 splash heavy whipping cream
1 dash cinnamon
(and if I feel like it – one splash MCT oil)
Did it help my sagging skin – yes. But as usual with me, I jump in with several “solutions” at once, so I’m not sure which one or both helped.
One last note on BPC – use a blender, if you mix it in a jar or shaker you will just get an oily mess that makes me gag just thinking about it. By blending it, you get a warm frothy beverage.
Don’t like coffee? Make a Bulletproof tea. My sister-in-law loves hers, so I know it is possible. Some make a Bulletproof hot chocolate. If none of this works – sit down and enjoy bacon and eggs to break your fast.
Let’s keep this easy. After all, it is a lifestyle, not a diet. And it should flow with ease…we are not climbing Mount Everest here. We are just looking for ways to restore and maintain our best, healthy, energetic selves.
And if you got this far, I shall indeed reward you with an Autumn Pumpkin Spice Bulletproof Coffee recipe!!
2 T butter (grass fed) or ghee
2 T MCT oil
1 cup whipping cream, half and half or unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup black coffee
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
dash of salt
Blend well and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Sip, savor, relax and enjoy.
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