Get the Fat Up!

I should have just titled this post "I Love Cream Cheese" and I honestly did consider doing just that.  The fact is, one of the most attractive features of the Keto way of eating is the high fat content in the diet.  I adore butter, cream cheeses, sour cream, all those yummy, creamy fats. Well, you get the idea.

When I first started eating this way, I struggled with getting that fat macro up to 70%.  After an entire lifetime of being told (both subtly and outright) that fat was bad for you, and seeing a market flooded with low fat and fat-free versions of everything -- you can buy milk in six different levels of fat content! -- it was difficult for me to suddenly be okay with buttering up literally everything.  But the flavor boost and the satisfying fullness after eating a rich buttery dish soon helped me overcome my brainwashing.  Trust me on this, never buy "low or fat-free" anything.  Buy the full version.  Do you know what happens when you take the fat out foods?  They become b-o-r-i-n-g. So what do manufacturers do to overcome the fact that they have now made icky foods?  They add sugars to make the mess more palatable.  Check me on this.  Look at how many grams of sugar are in heavy whipping cream vs. say, Skim milk.  As I stated in one of the first posts, the beginning of the "Fat Free" craze is directly related to the beginning of America's obesity epidemic.

Okay now that we're clear on fat, and that it absolutely does not make you fat, let's proceed with what to do to get more healthy fats in your diet.  I hope you're tracking your macros!  You need to know these things in order to properly balance what your body needs.

EASY WAYS TO ADD  FAT TO YOUR DIET

ONE - My first step to getting my fat macro in line was to add my "Loaded Coffee" to my morning routine.  For those who might have missed it:


1 tablespoon of coconut oil (solid or liquid does not matter)
1 tablespoon of butter (NOT margarine. Never margarine. Always pure butter)
1/2 tablespoon of Pyure Sweetener (which equals about the sweetness of a tbsp of sugar)
2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

I put the cup in the Keurig and brew my coffee. Then I put the mixture on the Ninja and froth it up. The main goal is to stir until the butter and coconut oil are fully melted and incorporated.

Total: 332 calories; 35g fat; 0g protein; 0g carbs)

This gave me a huge boost in fat and one cup of this blend serves as my morning breakfast and generally keeps me satiated until lunch time.

TWO - Buy real butter, always, never margarine.  If you can work it into your budget, I highly recommend a grass fed butter like Kerrygold.  Feel free to liberally add butter to your meats, eggs, veggies, beverages, etc.  It adds a richness to anything.  Salted or unsalted is completely your choice, but I like salted butter.  I cook in butter, when I can.  Butter burns quickly so you have to be careful not to use too much high heat, but steaks seared in the skillet then lavished with a nice dollop of butter is simply mouth-watering.

THREE - Experiment with sour cream, cream cheeses, and mayo.  These three condiments add flavor and lots of fat to your dishes.  One of my favorite things to do is add cream cheese to veggies.  Simple canned green beans are suddenly irresistible.  My granddaughter BEGS for "Easy Peasy Green Beans".  I also have a friend who adds mayo to her eggs nearly every day.  I haven't tried that one yet, but I do add cheese to my eggs.  I'm a big fan of Boursin Cheese, personally.  I've been known to eat Boursin cheese with a spoon.

FOUR - Use heavy whipping cream.  I use it in my coffee, in sauces, Who doesn't love whipped cream?  Cool Whip does not count. Make up a batch of your own whipped cream any time the occasion merits and you'll never buy store bought again. I use about a half to one tablespoon of powdered Pyure to 1 cup of heavy cream and beat it till it's stiff.  

Notes: I make my own powdered sweetener by putting the granulated version into my Ninja bullet and pulsing it for a few minutes.  It keeps me from needing to buy and keep two different sweeteners.  Also, NEVER buy the "baking blend" of sweeteners.  Even Pyure brand "baking blend" is no good.  In order to make the product fluffy and equal to sugar measure-by-measure, they add other, off-limit sweeteners to the blend (maltodextrine, dextrose, etc.).

And to wrap up, here's my experiment for the weekend.  I've posted my Cream Cheese Delight recipe and this is really just a variation on that, but what I did this time was eliminate the water enhancer and the coconut milk and instead mixed one packet of sugar-free jello, dissolved in about 1/3 cup water and mixed that in with the cream cheese.  Once everything set (several hours later), some of the jello slightly separated from the cream cheese, making tiny explosions of jello bbs throughout the creamy mixture.  Wonderful!


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Have a blessed day!
Jeremiah 33:3 - God's phone number
"Call on me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know."