I have two recipes to share…and unfortunately I had a hard time getting “good” pictures! Maybe it’s just because they aren’t pretty foods…or I just don’t have the right lighting at the time I’m photographing them. Whatever the case may be, please do not pass these by based on looks! (and I’ll try to get a better pic tomorrow!)
A while ago, I wrote a post about saturated fat benefits, coconut oil, and why I eat so much of it. Well, nothing much has changed about my diet since then, except that I did the elimination diet and realized I was overdoing the omega-6 fatty acids sometimes by eating too many nuts. Also, I’ve added a couple new supplements that seem to be awesome so far. I’m going to actually post (for real this time) a couple days of my daily food intake. I get a lot of requests for it, and I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I want to make sure I’m showing it accurately as well as not giving anyone the idea that everyone should eat how I do (you know, it’s that Many Roads to the Same Place thing…).
As a precursor to that post, I want to share these recipes and talk about why the heck I’m eating this everyday…
I’m calling these “frostings” and you could definitely use them as frosting (on something chilled…or they’ll just melt), but I’m just eating one or the other out of a bowl every morning for breakfast (I skipped 2 mornings for 2 different reasons).
Peanut Butter Frosting
3 Tbsp solid coconut oil (NOT melted!)
1 heaping Tbsp natural peanut butter or other nut butter (if you’re worried about the mold content in peanuts or if you’re avoiding legumes…but I’ll be honest, pb tastes the best in this but any nut butter works!)
1/2 tsp grade B maple syrup (to taste)
pinch of sea salt or himalayan salt
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients with a spoon until well blended…. Eat it straight or frost something with it. Note: if you use a warm bowl or if you frost something warm with this, it will just melt—so use a cold bowl!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
3 Tbsp solid coconut oil (NOT melted)
1 Tbsp natural peanut butter or other nut butter
1/2 – 1 tsp grade B maple syrup (to taste)
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (to taste—this depends on the brand of cocoa and your taste buds!)
pinch sea salt or himalayan salt
Follow the same instructions as above!
Like I said, no attractive pictures, but I had to share this somehow!
I’ll admit, I like the chocolate one better—I didn’t start adding chocolate till a couple weeks ago, and I think the bitterness of it balances out the sweetness of the rest of it… It’s especially good with coffee 🙂
Now for the explanations…
Why Grade B maple syrup?
I actually would use stevia in this if I had some that tasted good (I’m out of the brand I prefer!). However, I’m also a fan of small amounts of grade B maple syrup due to its awesome micronutrient properties. Specifically, it is high in B vitamins, amino acids, and Manganese. Manganese may play a role in gray hair reversal, and that, frankly, is on my list of things to accomplish this year 🙂
Another note about the syrup: You know I’m not a sugar-fan. But, I can justify adding it to things that are high in fat and/or fiber, like this frosting or the coconut flour mini cakes. The reason for this is because the high amount of fat and fiber slow down the absorption of the sugar into the bloodstream. It’s like turning on the slow-release function. This is ideal for me (and really, I think for most people) because it keeps blood sugar more stable and heads off cravings and artificially induced feelings of hunger.
Why So Much Coconut Oil?
First, if you haven’t read the explanation of how and why coconut oil is good for you, please read this.
Coconut oil is truly a superfood, and since it has antimicrobial properties, can improve the health of skin and hair, and also causes an increase in metabolism, it just seemed like I should experiment with a therapeutic dose for myself. It’s no research study, but unfortunately, there aren’t many credible studies going on to prove coconut oil’s worth because there’s not much money in it (you can’t patent a natural ingredient). There is even some speculation about the role coconut oil may play in relieving symptoms of (reversing?) Alzheimer’s disease. (It has something to do with ketone production and the brain). My grandma has Alzheimer’s, and I’d love to test this on her, but unfortunately, I’m 100% sure she’d tell me to go fly a kite if I suggested trying it.
Side note about the thyroid and metabolism: One reason coconut oil may improve thyroid function (and thus metabolism) is because unsaturated fats (canola, etc) actually can bog down the thyroid… if you swap in coconut oil, this can help to un-bog the thyroid by default. People do, however, claim significant weight loss by using coconut oil in cooking and ingesting the therapeutic dose everyday (without changing other things about their diets). I can’t comment on this definitively, but I don’t think it hurts to try.
The therapeutic dose is 3-4 Tbsp per day. I usually cook with coconut oil (except when I’m jonesing for that awesome toasty walnut oil…. or indulging in a fancy olive oil), so I figured if I do 3 Tbsp coconut oil in frosting in the morning, I’ll probably end up with about 4 by the end of the day. (Besides, 3 is probably plenty for me—I’m not that big).
I’ll tell you that I definitely noticed a boost during the first week of following this. I was starving in the evenings and I felt more lean after just 3 or 4 days. I had more energy too, and my skin wasn’t dry on my legs anymore. I’ve been doing this for almost a month, and so far I like how satisfied I feel in the mornings. I do not thrive on eating many times throughout the day, so I love it when I find something that will hold me over for half a day (till I get my green juice). I feel pretty energized, but I need to give this a little more time (and stop staying up so darn late on the weekends), so I can be more accurate in my assessment about the coconut oil’s role in my energy.
I’ll weigh myself and check my body fat too, so I can reflect on that changing (or not) over time.
I’ll keep you posted!
Are you a coconut oil fan? Have you tried the therapeutic dose consistently?
Side note: I’ve made this with mac nut butter and a couple drops of essential oils (peppermint!). It’s really good. Like, really really good. But I still like the pb version best!
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we have a few movies going on in austin at the moment. It’s fun to go scope them out! And love the maple syrup addition. A little goes a long way there. Coconut on the other hand.. more more more please. I am so happy for you. Seem to be right where you need to be.
I respect that you really love coconut oil, but I’m still not convinced of its superpowers. Plus, I’m jealous because my low fodmaps diet prevents me from being able to eat it 🙁 I love coconut too, it’s such a shame.
I can’t believe you can’t find NuNaturals in California. That’s the shock of the day! I love that stuff. And, love the boots!
Love you. First of all, YUM for the breakfasts… I’ve been trying to maintain a super low carb intake coupled with high amounts of fat. I’m talking bacon on bacon on bacon. And coconut oil on coconut oil. It’s helping, I’m leaning out, and now I’m considering trying this — homegirl just needs some pb back in the fridge! (perfect excuse 😉
On that note, I was reading about the benefits of a paleo-approach diet and high fat into nutritional ketosis — it’s fascinating and (duh) what you have accomplished, and now what I’m trying to do. I’m working super hard to keep my energy levels up without any carbs, and it’s doing okay — probably going to have to up the veggie intake a bit more (have fresh veggies, but eating a lot of steamable broccoli and green beans – the frozen kind from wegmans), but other than that, doing awesome (and limiting my nut intake to 2 nut butter tablespoons a day).
Matthew is precious. You two make me swoon. And hmmm sushi date?! We are going to skype this week… I can do pretty much any night, just let me know what your time works best and maybe we can use FaceTime on our iphones because my internet here isn’t that impressive.
Love you! Have a bomb day in SM! And good lord we gotta get brunch over Thanksgiving/Winter break!
I have been eating a good amount of coconut butter and definitely find it gives me lots of energy! I am also upping my coconut oil intake and am curious to see if I notice any differences! This is what I do with my coconut butter, but I bet it would work with coconut oil as well: http://sweethealthyliving.com/2012/11/lemon-coconut-meltaways/
I have just recently been made aware that high fodmap foods are what has been causing me some discomfort. But from what I have read and researched, all coconut is high fodmap EXCEPT coconut oil. Coconut oil isn’t supposed to have any fructose in it. I tested myself out on it and had NO reaction. YAY!!! Of course, I am not an expert, but thought I would throw that out there. Here’s to health!
I love coconut oil and I’ve heard of the therapeutic dose, but haven’t tried it… this post has left me feeling intrigued! 3 Tbsp though… I guess because I’m in weight loss mode at the moment that amount of calorie feels like A LOT! I’m tempted to wait until I’m maintaining and not trying to lose.
I’m confused by what you mean when you say you were starving in the evenings… before or after trying this regularly? Or do you mean you eat this for breakfast and you don’t eat again until you’re feeling very hungry in the evening? I’m practicing IF regularly (16 hours most days, sometimes 18 hours) so this is part of the reason I’m asking so many questions!
I think we are close in age? (I’m 33) I too need something to reverse gray hair! I don’t have a ton, but more than I can yank out of the top of my head now! I need to find Grade B maple syrup, STAT!
Thanks for a post filled with so much to think about and try!
I’m back with an update already!
So I decided to go for it today, I started with baby steps… 2 Tbsp coconut oil, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 tsp of maple syrup (only because it spilled over my 1/2 tsp measure) and tsp or so of cocoa powder too. First of all, it was unexpectedly good! (I kept thinking “I get to eat this for breakfast?!”) Second, I should have KNOWN how satisfying it was going to be… it really was. And it only totaled 360 calories which is actually less than a typical first meal of the day for me anyway. I plan to up it to 3 Tbsp tomorrow. It’s been about an hour since I’ve eaten my frosting, and I do have to say that I am feeling more energetic than usual, and I don’t typically have issues with energy anyway!
I’ll report back again after a few days or a week of this, THANKS Lisa!
Thanks for letting me know how it went!! I have that same feeling….like, how can this possibly be breakfast?! Today I added 1/2 tsp chocolate balsamic just for variety, and whoa, that was good too!
To answer the question about starving in the evening…. After I posted, I thought that may need a little more explanation. Basically, my normal way to eat is breakfast as late as I can wait (which somedays is 7am and others is 10am), then wait till hungry for lunch instead of eating on a schedule (so the range is usually 11-3). I eat my biggest meal for lunch (usually), and then have a snack in the evening and sometimes a small dinner (if with other people). When I started doing the coconut oil, I was finding I was consistently hungry as soon as I woke up (and part of that may be craving the frosting/oil because it’s good and my body wants it?). After eating the frosting, I’d be full till early-mid-afternoon. Usually I’d have a green juice between breakfast and then but sometimes just water. I’d then eat my normal lunch (usually with lots of coconut flour and some fat too to help with fullness). This quantity of calories and fat/fiber would generally keep me full till morning (and I’d just have a pb cup or a couple pieces of cheese in the evening, along with water). But when the calories came from the frosting in the morning… I’d be starving in the evening, and some days I weighed myself at the end of the day and I’d weigh less in the evening than I had in the morning. I don’t want to speculate too much on what’s going on, but I’m definitely leaner now with more muscle tone and less belly puffiness.
I haven’t calculated the calories, but I know for sure when I’m consuming the coconut oil first thing in the morning I’ve increased my caloric intake compared to what I’d eat before (by a couple hundred cals). So….then based on being hungry, I seem to be eating more later in the day too. My overall daily caloric intake is definitely higher, and I’m going to check my body fat on Thursday (going out to dinner tonight so I don’t think it will be totally accurate tomorrow morning after a glass of wine!). My weight is approximately the same, just a little bit less… but my body fat was hanging around 16% before this. So it will be interesting to see! Side note: I loved the Intermittent Fasting thing too… but for some reason I don’t want to do it first thing in the morning, and I’ve been sort of applying the principles of giving the body a rest from digestion by just keeping open spaces in the day when it fits (like at night or between early breakfast and late lunch). I’ve never been able to do this before eating the high fat diet. I realize it doesn’t line of with the theories of IF, but I definitely feel the best I’ve ever felt! p.s. I’ll keep you posted on the gray hair thing 🙂
Can’t wait to hear your update after a few days of frosting!
On Tue 13/11/12 11:12 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Love love love the chocolate frosting!!! I am definitely loving the bitter and sweet together! I indirectly did an experiment today and thought you would appreciate it….so i saw this post early this am and decided to make the frosting for breakfast. It kept me full until about 1:30 and I felt so energetic all morning! I even noticed my belly puffiness had decreased. For lunch, I had some homemade chicken soup with veggies and had a small piece of GF pumpkin pie that I made for the girls at work. After I ate the pie, my belly puffed up, I felt soooo sluggish, fatigued, and just out of it which i attribute to the grains/sugar. Tomorrow I plan on making the coconut oil frosting again and not eating any refined sugar nor grains to see how I feel. I am very intrigued with coconut oil. I have read about it in Traditional nutrition, can you direct me to some other research on it? Also, does wegmans sell grade B maple syrup? Keep these awesome recipes coming!
Oops the book the was referring to was Deep Nutrition!
I really have to make a habit of consuming coconut oil on a daily basis. I tried making the PB frosting once, but the taste of the coconut oil was too strong for me to enjoy it. I think adding cocoa just might do the trick! I’m excited to try it this week. I’m trying not to eat PB at the moment, so I might have to try with Sunbutter. Fingers crossed it comes out good! Thanks for the mental reminder to get in the coconut oil!
Thanks for this response… one of the reasons I can go so long with IF is that I drink coffee with half and half or heavy cream every morning, I would definitely need to eat sooner without it. I love the ritual of it more than the buzz (I don’t even feel a buzz!), it’s just a nice bonus that it pushes hunger away for a few more hours.
I DO feel leaner after a few days of the therapeutic dose of coconut oil, it’s wild. I’m down a couple pounds this week (finally!) so that probably makes a difference in how I feel as well, but the timing is certainly interesting!
Yes, interesting for sure. It’s funny because I hesitate to come to conclusions about this—because, really, could this actually be true and accurate?! I don’t want to make biased conclusions…which is why I’m taking so long on this one. I seem to keep throwing wrenches in, like eating weird stuff on the weekend or drinking wine… Then I can’t really conclude anything.
Except. I feel darn good and energetic, and my belly is never puffy when I’m starting my day with frosting…
hmmmm….. I think we’ll figure it out sooner or later 🙂
On Thu 15/11/12 21:24 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Yes, interesting for sure. It’s funny because I hesitate to come to conclusions about this—because, really, could this actually be true and accurate?! I don’t want to make biased conclusions…which is why I’m taking so long on this one. I seem to keep throwing wrenches in, like eating weird stuff on the weekend or drinking wine… Then I can’t really conclude anything.
Except. I feel darn good and energetic, and my belly is never puffy when I’m starting my day with frosting…
hmmmm….. I think we’ll figure it out sooner or later 🙂
On Thu 15/11/12 21:24 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
When I saw your post about (mostly) coconut oil for breakfast I thought, “that must be like eating the greasy frosting that you get on grocery store sheet cakes.” Having taken your nutrition class last semester though, I trust your opinion. How surprised was I when it was actually tasty?! I’ve been having that for breakfast for the past two weeks and you’re right; it’s filling and I don’t get hungry until lunch.
Even better…it seems to be helping my Fibromyalgia (FM) pain! Then, while researching for my current class, I came across a journal article describing the positive effect of medium- chain triglycerides on FM pain. I couldn’t believe it. Such a simple dietary modification with a huge impact!
I’m sticking with it to see what the ultimate impact is over the next few weeks. Talk about a very happy coincidence!
Can’t wait to try this. Not sure if I will have a place nearby to buy grade B maple syrup. Do you think honey would be a good substitute for the syrup?
Definitely! You can really use whatever sweetener you want and it will work. I hope you like it 🙂
On Wed 22/01/14 16:43 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Make it raw honey and that will help your immune system as well.
I’ve tried coconut oil a couple of times, but my stomach was really upset and felt sloshy all day for a day or two after I tried it, did that ever happen to you? and how long did it take you to adjust to taht much oil in your stomach all at once?
That’s a good question… I eat a high fat diet to begin with, so when I started doing this, it didn’t really affect my digestion at all. I would say that it is common to feel funny for some people when they eat a concentrated amount of fat (even leading to needing to run to the bathroom for some). The only effect I feel sometimes with this is that if my stomach is totally empty and I’m not used to the coconut oil in the morning, I can get a bit jittery. This is due to the fact that you can’t store the energy in coconut oil, you have to use it—the body can be a little confused about what to do with it when it’s not used to it. So for either effect (feeling icky from the high amount of fat or feeling jittery), I think the best thing to do is to start with a much smaller amount and gradually work up to the full amount. That said, you really have to experiment a bit, and trust how you feel — if you keep feeling yucky, then maybe practically straight coconut oil is not what your body wants. If that’s the case, you can still add up to 3-4 Tbsp a day by using it to cook with, etc. You might just not get as obvious or dramatic results. But everyone is different! Good luck!
What would you think of adding an organic protein powder instead of the peanut butter?
Do you have to eat it right after you make it, would it be ok to make it ahead of time, like the night before?
You could make it the night before—just don’t put it in the fridge or it will be rock solid by morning. As long as you keep it covered at room temp, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be ok that way!
On Wed 12/02/14 00:10 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
You could try that—I’m not sure how well it would incorporate if your coconut oil is pretty hard. The nut butter seems to help soften the coconut oil… so I don’t know how a powder would work to do that (or how the texture would be—nut butter makes it smoother too). If you have an awesome smooth coconut oil, the protein powder would probably work!
On Sun 09/02/14 16:35 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
thanks! I made the chocolate one this morning, started with half of the ingredients, I love it!
What a great time to add in some gelatin and probiotic powder !! Genius recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing (:
Great ideas! I haven’t tried those additions yet… but I will 🙂
The recipes here, do you eat them all in one sitting or is this something you need to dip into a few times a day? I did the chocolate recipe except I used sunflower butter as I’m trying to go 100% paleo. Thanks 🙂
That’s a great question—I usually eat one “batch” (3 Tbsp coconut oil) with my coffee over about 15-30 minutes. I love the energy boost I get from that, but for someone just trying it, it can cause a belly ache if you’re not used to eating that much fat at one time. The large amount of coconut oil can also cause a jittery effect if you’re not used to it or haven’t eaten in a while. You could go ahead and just try the whole amount at once, or ease into it. Even if you do spread the intake over a whole day, it will still give the therapeutic benefits just not the quick boost of energy! Oh, and I think it’s also yummy with macadamia/cashew butter, and sometimes I add a bit of strawberry jam instead of syrup to sweeten (I don’t know how paleo that is though) 🙂
On Sun 23/02/14 12:30 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Wow, incredible treat! Thanks for the recipe! I used almond butter and a half packet of Truvia sweetener. I also added 1 T unsweetened protein powder. I can’t wait to try it tomorrow before a hard pace run. I will let you know how it goes.
I’m so glad you liked it! I love this stuff 🙂
Looking forward to hearing about how it works for your run!
On Wed 09/04/14 18:42 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Carlye, if you haven’t already eliminated it, try eliminating wheat from your diet. Wheat causes an inflammatory response in the body. I took it out of my diet and my fibro pain is almost non-existent. HOWEVER, if I happen to indulge in something with wheat, I pay for it for about three days. I can barely move.
I got my tonsils out last week and basically haven’t been able to keep anything down since. I’ve been through a couple of nausea and pain meds and more antibiotics. I just made a bowl of this looking for something protein rich to help my stomach. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this post. I will let you know as I continue to improve but this may be the turning point! Thank you!
could you let this harden into something like your peanut butter cups or is it best to eat the coconut oil room temperature? i was thinking of making a large batch into a bar like your pb cup bar and then having a piece for breakfast….
You can let it harden—I don’t really like it that way because it has a higher ratio of coconut oil to pb than the pb cups, so I’m not crazy about the flavor when it is hardened… and it gets pretty hard in the fridge!
That said, it definitely works—but you may want to refrig it in blobs or wrappers like the pb cups to make it more bite sized. I think it would work in a pan (and cut into pieces) but I’m not totally sure how easy it would be to cut.
On Wed 18/06/14 17:39 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
one more question… do you have to have the full therapeutic does of 3-4 tbs to get the benefit?
Hi, I am 68 yrs old and I have been drinking the bulletproof coffee.I have noticed an improved memory with the coconut oil. I made the breakfast frosting. I put it in the freezer for about 5 mins just to make sure the oil was cold. I had to share with my 4 yr old Grandson. He loved it and now has been telling his Mom that Nana gives him frosting for breakfast.
This was really awful. I could only finish about half before I gave up.
love this! I think adding oats or shredded coconut and then chilling it, it would taste like macaroons. would be a great way to add crunch!
Did you by chance come up with an approximate calorie count for this?
I do this every single morning and I add shredded coconut as well and then its like eating a macaroon for breakfast ! I look forward to this every day. I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one doing this concoction . Just one question? Do you do this in place of your breakfast?
I have a hard time with virgin Coconut oil, I can barely stand the taste. I know that refined doesn’t have as many benefits as the virgin, but do you think it would be worth trying?
I absolutely love this. I spread it out on wax paper, chill it a bit, then cut into pieces. I eat half for breakfast and the rest I snack on throughout the day.
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I love it!
Great – if you like nuts, maple syrup or peanut butter. Yuk, I can’t eat any of those 3
Have you lost weight by doing this? Great Idea By the way. I love me some frosting xD
I’ve been eating this for a few weeks to get more fat in my diet. I’m off dairy and gluten for 4 months now, and when dairy went, so did most of my fat. Does it matter what time of day I eat this? I usually eat it mid morning between breakfast and lunch. Last night about 9 pm I got super hungry, and thought about eating this, but chose something else. I also add chia seeds. At first it made me super nauseous to eat it, but now I crave it and love it. I use cashew butter. My kids are allergic to peanuts, so none of that for me 🙁 . It hasn’t affected my weight, but I don’t really need to lose any. There’s always those 5 vanity pounds, but I don’t really worry about it as a size 4.
I don’t usually eat it later in the day because coconut oil can be energizing… which is perfect for morning! I’ve never tested whether it would keep me up at night, but I think there’s potential for that.
Whenever I take a break from it for a long time and then start again, it does feel icky in the belly at first (so much fat!), but definitely over time there’s a craving for it! I love it best with coffee…
Glad you’re enjoying it!
On Mon 02/02/15 08:59 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
I am so making this in the am, yummy!
Thanks for this great little recipe! I’m a huge fan of things that require less than 5 minutes to make. Anyways, I made this but instead of adding sugar I finely diced 4 craisins( my weakness) and added a dash of cinnamon to make it something special. It was heaven in a cold ceramic bowl. For the past 2 weeks i’ve been having 1 tablespoon coconut oil mixed into coffee or tea along with a few tablespoons of cream and I feel great! If I switch my usual breakfast for this, its not only tastier, but it also is a way to incorporate EVEN MORE coconut oil into my diet which can only cause good things. I can feel my belly shrinking just thinking about it.