With new food trends popping up almost daily it can be tricky keeping up with them all; and just when you finally think you’ve grasped the latest concept, a new one appears. Although not entirely new, you may have heard Bulletproof® coffee bantered about over the last few years; and it’s really gaining momentum particularly with Paleo, Keto and clean eating fans.
“Bulletproof®” is the name Dave Asprey gave his brand of coffee products after discovering the concoction while travelling in Tibet, then taking the brand worldwide on his return to the US. He has refined the recipe over the years and now many people are buying the ingredients and making their own. The idea behind bulletproof coffee is replacing your breakfast with one of these high-fat, zero -carb and zero-sugar drinks.
So what goes into a Bulletproof® coffee? It’s more than just throwing some butter in with your morning brew. Following the Keto diet principles, grass-fed butter and a good quality XCT or Brain Octane Oil are added to your black coffee as alternative energy sources to glucose, but without the blood sugar spikes.
Proposed benefits of using these oils include improved cognitive function and better weight management. Bulletproof® coffee drinkers swear by the improved energy, focus and concentration they get. On top of this, some will go so far as saying they eat less due to the energy from their coffee lasting through the day.
Around New Zealand Bulletproof® coffees have been appearing on café menus as a “Fat Black”. The ingredients making up this coffee can vary, with some cafes adding a dash of hot water and natural vanilla for flavour, as an example.
Something to watch out for are the additional calories this drink adds to your daily intake, so be careful if you are already consuming a high proportion of fats and/or sugars in your diet.
While the jury is still out on whether the health benefits have merit or not, some advocates swear by “bullets”, while critics just aren’t sure; if you want to try one for yourself just for the novelty factor then check out the quick recipe below.
How to Make Bulletproof® Coffee?
- 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee (made from beans ideally)
- 2 tablespoons Westgold unsalted butter
- 1-2 teaspoons of Asprey’s original XCT or Brain Octane Oil (These are exclusively available from functionalself.co.nz in New Zealand). Start with 1 teaspoon then you can work your way up to 2 tablespoons.
Combine the ingredients in a blender and mix for about 20-30 seconds or until there is a foamy layer on top, like a latte.
Our tip: Don’t try to make your own quickly with substitute ingredients – it just won’t taste the same. You really need to use a high quality grass-fed butter and coffee made from beans to get the full taste and benefits. Also don’t take the shortcut by simply stirring the ingredients together; using a blender makes this drink much more palatable with a nice foamy texture on top, instead of floating oil.
