Anatomy of a Bulletproof Beverage

Bulletproof coffee is a thing now. I had a family member who briefly tried ‘keto’ who made some (and didn’t like it.) When I was in a rehab center after my stroke, I used the pitiful bits of butter I could get in my coffee, since I didn’t want to waste them on the often-lukewarm food. 

The purpose of a bulletproof beverage is to get healthy fats into your body. Note that in Keto * Low-Carb we go by science when we think about what fats are healthy, not by what big national organizations claim are healthy fats— they’d have us using CANOLA oil! Remember there are people trying to sell us on the idea that sugary Honey-Nut Cheerios are ‘heart-healthy’ just because they have oat ingredients in among all the sugar and carbs.

Because ‘keto’ is trendy right now, you have to beware of trying random advice about what is allowed on Keto * Low-Carb. You can’t use ‘creamers’ in your coffee— not only are they processed food, but they have sugars and starches and probably very little HEALTHY fat. 

A bulletproof beverage consists of three parts— the basic beverage (coffee, tea, cocoa/carob and hot water, bone broth), a healthy fat (butter, coconut oil, MCT oil, extra-virgin olive oil, home-made ghee, perhaps heavy whipping cream or coconut milk/cream as a lightener) and, possibly, additions. Like cinnamon— healthy for diabetics— a pinch of sea salt or a bit of kelp powder, or any other thing that is healthy in small amounts and tastes well in your bulletproof beverage.

I have never been a big coffee drinker, but I started using some instant coffee when I read about the oxalate problem with tea. I still drink some tea, but not as much and I don’t care for additives in it. I currently have three brands of instant coffee in my house, one of them imported from Germany. 

On the few occasions I have been able to afford Kerrygold butter, I reserved it all for bulletproof beverages so the goodness wouldn’t be wasted. I use MCT oil when I can, because it’s helpful in getting into ketosis or staying in ketosis. Since I can’t afford a lot of MCT oil, I use coconut oil as well— it CONTAINS some MCT. I used to use butter as well, but ever since I first made ghee, I prefer the taste of that. 

When I was in the rehab center I got some extra-virgin olive oil to put in my coffee, but that tasted just too dire. Butter in my coffee was a treat, EVOO in coffee just wrecked a good cup of coffee. Since coming home, I found that if I put in 1/2 Tablespoon to 1 Tablespoon of EVOO in my coffee and have 1 Tablespoon of MCT oil, butter, ghee or some other tasty fat source, I can’t taste the EVOO. 

SWEETENERS are not normally used in bulletproof beverages, but when I do a hot cocoa/carob BP beverages, I use a few drops of liquid Stevia (Sweetleaf.) On Fridays on other penitential occasions I use as few drops as possible and can handle a hot cocoa with only 2 drops of stevia. Carob doesn’t even need a sweetener really. If you are really ‘hooked’ on sweetened beverages, so that you needed a couple of Tablespoons of sugar in your coffee or tea back when you ate carbs, you can use whatever amount of liquid stevia you need, but try to taper off, and also sometimes take a break from the sweetener. We need to break our addiction to constant sweet things!

Have you ever made a bulletproof coffee, bulletproof tea or other bulletproof beverage? Did you like it? Is it a regular part of your Keto * Low-Carb life right now? Please share your experiences in a com

How & Why I Made Ghee

Jar of Home-Made Ghee

I made ghee for the first time yesterday. Ghee is a kind of clarified butter which originates in India. It removes the milk solids so some dairy-sensitive people who can’t eat butter can use ghee. It also has the benefit that it can cook at higher temperatures without burning, and it has a nutty taste that is different from butter and that some people like a lot.

I made the ghee from unsalted butter from the grocery store. I have heard that some people make ghee from grass-fed butter like Kerrygold which is healthier, but I don’t have the kind of income to do that. I used the ghee recipe from Fran McCullough’s Living Low-Carb (2000.)

The recipe makes 2 cups of ghee from 1 pound of unsalted butter. It says to melt the butter over medium-high heat and cook for 15-20 minutes to drive the water out of the butter.  Then you reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 15 minutes until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden but not brown.

Recipe and Butter

I thought my milk solids got kind of brown at the end, but the flavor of the ghee was alright. I strained it into a canning jar, using a canning funnel and a ‘non-gauze milk filter’ which they use to filter milk on farms. I get those at the farm store— I used to keep milk goats— and I use them for many kitchen filtering tasks. You can also use a coffee filter.

I used the ghee in some fat bombs (high-good-fat candies) and in my morning bulletproof coffee which was half-MCT oil and half-ghee this morning. It adds a nice flavor to stuff. I have read the flavor described as ‘nutty’ and ‘like butterscotch.’

Ghee keeps for up to 3 months without refrigeration and 1 year in the refrigerator. It gets solid as a brick in the fridge, though. I took mine out of the fridge as I anticipate it getting used up well before it goes bad. If you don’t use much ghee at a time, you can make smaller batches, or divide your ghee supply into smaller jars and keep most in the fridge or freezer. Write the DATE on every jar of ghee you make— you don’t want to push it in a corner by accident and eat it years after the expiration date.

Have you ever made ghee? Did it turn out the way you wanted it? Or have you purchased store-bought ghee? What do you like/dislike about ghee? What do you use it for?

Starting to Make Ghee

Midpoint in Making Ghee

About to Strain Ghee