Bulletproof Coffee with Cinnamon & Turmeric

Bulletproof coffee (& other bulletproof beverages) are especially helpful in these times. I’ve changed up my ever-changing bulletproof coffee mix to add some healthful spices. Cinnamon is helpful to maintain good blood sugars. Since diabetics and prediabetics are at greater risk to get a severe case of Wuhan Coronavirus, controlled blood sugars is a good thing!

I use instant coffee— Folger’s on weekdays and Jacobs (from Germany) on the weekends. I also have Sanka decaf for afternoon & evening, but don’t usually use it as I think it doesn’t taste very good.

I mix my bulletproof beverages in a 16 oz ceramic cup. Since I often use MCT oil or coconut oil in my bulletproof beverages, which you cannot put in styrofoam cups due to a chemical reaction, it is worth having to wash out the cups.

BULLETPROOF COFFEE with CINNAMON & TURMERIC

2 teaspoons of instant coffee

pinch of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt (optional)

1 Tablespoon MCT oil

1 Tablespoon EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

hot water to nearly fill cup

After the hot water is added, stir it a little, then add:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

about 1/16^th teaspoon turmeric (half filled 1/8 teaspoon measure)

Stir well and drink. I do NOT add my usual heavy whipping cream to this bulletproof coffee as I have given up cream for Lent. At first I added coconut milk to my daily bulletproof coffees, but lately I don’t bother.

VARIATIONS

With Brewed Coffee: Replace the instant coffee crystals and the hot water with brewed coffee

Bulletproof Tea: make enough tea to fill the cup (in a different cup) and replace the hot water & instant coffee with the brewed tea.

Bulletproof Hot Chocolate: Replace the 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with 2 teaspoons Hershey’s (unsweetened) cocoa or cacao powder. You may use up to 8 drops of Sweetleaf liquid stevia, plain, vanilla, or English Toffee flavor. But I made some without any sweetener and it was quite good.

Bulletproof Chocolate Mocha: As above, but use 1 teaspoon instant coffee and 1 teaspoon cocoa/cacao.

Bulletproof Carob: As above, but use 2 teaspoons carob powder. Sweetener may be even less needed than it is in the chocolate version. 

NOTE: I don’t like the taste of EVOO in my bulletproof beverages. But mixing it half-and-half with MCT oil and adding the spices, especially the turmeric, kills that EVOO flavor I don’t care for in my drinks. Since EVOO is not only healthy, it is recognized as a healthy oil by doctors and family members who insist everyone should avoid fat sources like MCT oil in their diet, adding it to your bulletproof beverages may be an acceptable compromise.

OTHER FATS: Butter was the original fat in bulletproof beverages. When I was in a rehab center after my stroke last year, I saved the tiny pats of butter allowed for my coffee since the food it was meant for was too lukewarm to melt butter. It was delicious, even though I had to do without cream or sweetener. Coconut oil contains some MCT oil, and thus is a low-cost substitute. I have used Ghee in bulletproof beverages as well, and when I had a small jar of bacon fat recovered from cooking bacon I used that in my hot chocolate (weird but delicious.) DON’T use rapeseed oil (‘canola’ oil) or other inflammation-causing vegetable oils in your bulletproof beverages.

Wishing you health
during this Lenten/coronavirus season,
Nissa Annakindt

Changing My MCT Routine

For some time I have been taking 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of MCT in a bulletproof coffee every morning. MCT oil is ‘medium chain triglyceride’ oil, and it helps you get into ketosis and stay in ketosis. MCT oil is found in coconut oil, and the MCT oil that you buy is made either from coconut oil alone or coconut and palm kernel oil. 

MCT oil is expensive, and when I run out I substitute regular coconut oil. The kind of coconut oil that stays liquid at room temperature is even higher in MCT oil. 

Recently I realized that the way I do my MCT oil dose could stand improvement. I measure my ketosis with my trusty old Ketonix first thing in the morning when I test my blood sugar and blood pressure. Shortly afterward I have my first bulletproof coffee of the day, the one with the MCT oil in it. Time-wise, the time I take the MCT oil and the time I measure my ketosis are about as far apart as they can get!

Plus, it would be good to be in good ketosis throughout the day. So I decided that from now on I will split my MCT dose into two doses of 1 tablespoon (15 ml) each, one taken in the morning and one in the evening. I took an evening dose last night, and did get into good ketosis this morning (yellow, or moderate, on my Ketonix.)  I add also a tablespoon of another good fat— ghee last night (I like it better than plain butter) and I plan on using regular coconut oil or even extra-virgin olive oil in future bullet-proof beverages. (I can’t stand more than 1/2 a tablespoon of EVOO in a bulletproof coffee, even with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in the coffee! Maybe if I add 1/8 t. Turmeric it would kill the taste?)

You do not need to buy MCT oil or drink bulletproof coffee or other bullet-proof beverages to do Keto * Low-Carb! Just follow the rules of the Atkins Induction and you will most likely get into good ketosis, especially if you make a point of including enough fat in your meal plan. 

But if you do use MCT oil, you might split your daily dose into 2 smaller doses, to be consumed morning and evening, to help your ketosis stay more steady.

ABBREVIATIONS

MCT - Medium Chain Triglyceride

BPC - Bulletproof coffee

BPCd - bulletproof decaf coffee

BPB - bulletproof beverage

BPT - bulletproof tea or tisane (herb “tea”)

BPco - bulletproof hot cocoa

BPcar - bulletproof hot carob

EVOO - extra-virgin olive oil

Keto - ketogenic “diet” or eating plan

LCHF - low-carbohydrate, high-fat

LENT UPDATE

My Lenten sacrifice, such as it is, is to give up heavy whipping cream, and substitute full-fat canned coconut milk. My BPC in the morning and my BPCd in the evening were not the taste treats that they are with cream, but they were good enough with a bit of coconut milk. (I suppose I lose any spiritual ‘brownie points’ by telling everyone about my Lenten plans, but as weak-willed as I am I highly doubt my ability to make any spiritual effort that God would notice except out of pure mercy, and I am hoping to encourage other Christians to observe Lent even after they go Keto * Low-Carb.)

Do you use MCT oil? How do you incorporate it into your eating plan? Do you ever use it in a bulletproof beverage (BPB)? If so, what kind of BPB do you make?