Category: Smoothies & Beverages

MatchaMonday – Keto Bullet Matcha Milk / Latte!

This recipe came about as I was looking for an alternative to the Bulletproof Coffee and my version of the Bulletproof Chai Latte. I’m sensitive to caffeine and should avoid (high doses of) it, but I needed something which had a bit more of a kick to start the day, without the jitteriness from coffee.

Tea, caffeine & epilepsy

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Before I start, note that caffeine and epilepsy aren’t exactly the best of friends, and all teas do contain some amount of caffeine so epileptics do need to drink it with caution.

However, tea is my weakness and I’m from a part of India where we love our tea but I try and limit myself to 1-2 cups a day.

Depending on the serving, a serving of Matcha contains approximately 35mg caffeine. This normally isn’t enough to make you feel “wired” like coffee does. Bearing in mind that an average cup of filter coffee has 145mg of caffeine, and a cup of instant coffee can have up to 170mg per cup.

The caffeine in Matcha is also absorbed differently due to ‘catechins’ which are antioxidants and known to have many beneficial health properties. Caffeine molecules in Matcha bind to catechins and are absorbed slowly over time. Whereas caffeine molecules in coffee go straight to the bloodstream leading to a high followed by a crash within a few hours. With Matcha however, the caffeine is absorbed over the course of up to six hours.

This is a literature review of the beneficial effects of green tea – many of which are related to catechins, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallat content. Recently it has been suggested that Matcha has greater benefits than other green teas as indicated in this study. This is due to the concentration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) available from drinking matcha which is seen to be 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available from China Green Tips green tea, and at least 3 times higher than the largest literature value for other green teas.

So overall, I think the nutritional health benefits are worth it! 

Keto Bullet Matcha Milk / Latte

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Apart from Matcha, the key ingredient in this brain boosting Matcha Milk is MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) Oil.

  • MCT’s are found in coconut oil, but also in palm oil and high fat products such as cheese and butter.
  • MCT’s are considered to be good fuel for the brain because they are smaller and easily metabolised.
  • MCT oil is a manmade supplement produced from coconut oil, palm oil or safflower oil.
  • This study highlights that MCTs offer neuro-protective benefits for a range of diseases including epilepsy as well as dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke and traumatic brain injury.

Ingredients

1 serving

You will need:

  • Matcha green tea powder: 1-2 tsp
  • Almond Milk: 1 cup
  • Vanilla Stevia drops: 1-2
  • MCT Oil: 1 tbsp
  • (Optional) Butter of choice: 1 tbsp
  • (Optional) For a bit of a twist, sometimes I like to add 1/2 a teaspoon of Cinnamon to my Matcha milk / latte.

Method:

  • In a bowl, whisk the matcha powder in some warm water.
  • (Warm the almond milk if you’d like a warm milk).
  • In a high-speed blender, add the almond milk, matcha, vanilla stevia and MCT Oil.
  • Blend for 30 seconds – 1 minute – A froth will have formed on top when you stop, and the matcha should be well combined.
  • Pour into your mug and serve hot or cold!

Macros:

1 serving (Excluding butter)

  • Energy: 161 kcal
  • Caffeine: 35-70mg
  • Protein: 1.9 g
  • Net Carbs: 1.69 g
  • Fat: 17.15 g
  • Vitamin A:938 IU
  • Vitamin D: 100 IU
  • Vitamin E: 10mg
  • Vitamin K: 58 ug
  • Calcium: 208mg
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Berry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt

The temperature has been steadily creeping up in London recently, and today it reached a sunny ☀ 29°C! I find it incredibly difficult to eat enough and hit my macros when it’s warm outside. I know my tactic ‘should’ be to eat higher fat/calorie food. However, this recipe isn’t that. It’s my summer comfort food – FROZEN 🍓 YOGURT (FroYo) – which is keto friendly if berries are on your list.

Berries on Keto

As a fruit lover (I went through a raw vegan phase once upon a time), the hardest thing for me to let go on this diet has been fruit. If this was a zero fruit lifestyle I don’t think I could have done it, so the fact that berries are allowed are a saving grace. I’m of the mentality – Measure it. If it fits in your macros, it’s OK! 👌 If I could, I think I could happily survive on berries.

Just for your information, according to Cronometer (which is the app I use to measure and monitor my nutrition), summer berries have the following Net Carbs:

  • 1 cup strawberry halves: 8.7g
  • 1 medium strawberry: 0.7g
  • 1 cup blueberries: 17.8g
  • 1 blueberry: 0.2g
  • 1 cup blackberry: 6.2g
  • 1 blackberry: 0.2g
  • 1 cup raspberries: 6.7g
  • 1 raspberry: 0.1g

As it’s summer and berries are very much in season in the UK, I intend on incorporating them in my diet until they’re not! (and then freezing enough to last me the winter 😏).

Meal prepping desserts

As a dessert addict, I think meal prepping applies as much to desserts as it does to breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Especially for someone with a sweet tooth like mine as you really need to watch your macros. The carbs can creep up on you on anything sweet. Meal prepping is an opportunity to control your portions.

I think this good weather called for some frozen yogurt prepping in a massive batch, so I made a large LOG of frozen berry cheesecake yogurt.

This made approximately 10 portions which I then cut up and froze and can de-frost and blend with some additional yogurt or nut milk as and when I desire!

Besides being a fabulous dessert or snack, I think this makes a great base for a breakfast. You could turn it into a strawberry cheesecake smoothie, or even a quick hearty breakkie bowl with a homemade keto ‘cereal’ made from nuts and seeds.

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Hiding my fat (in my food)

As I’m always seeking ways to “hide” fat in my food without it overpowering the flavour of the food, this recipe has some avocado hidden in it which gives it some creaminess, but nothing else. Love it or hate it, you can’t taste or see it at all.

I wouldn’t say the cream cheese is “hidden” fat because it’s supposed to be a cheesecake FroYo after all, so you should get a hint of cream cheese, but in terms of fat content – you do get a significant amount of it from the cheese. If the amount of fat isn’t enough for you going by the macros below, I would just increase the amount of cream cheese rather than anything else.

Increasing the amount of avocado might make it overpowering, and increasing the amount of yogurt might affect the amount of carbs. But play around and use your judgement!

I blended it with some almond milk and sprinkled hemp seeds on top one day which boosted the protein and fat without affecting carbs *win win*!

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Ingredients

1 log (10 servings)

You will need:

  • 1 freezer friendly loaf tin
  • Fresh or frozen strawberries: 2 cups
  • Fresh or frozen blueberries: 0.5 cup
  • Greek Yogurt: 1 cup
  • Cream Cheese: 45g
  • Avocado (ripe): 1 large / approximately 120g
  • Vanilla Stevia (or other sweetener): 2-3 drops (adjust as required).

Method:

  • Blend strawberries and greek yogurt in a food processor until well combined. (Note: If you intend on eating some of it immediately, use frozen strawberries).
  • Add cream cheese, avocado, and vanilla stevia and continue processing for a few minutes until the FroYo mixture is a consistency you would like.
  • Taste and adjust at this point as required.
  • Prepare a loaf tin by lining it with parchment paper.
  • Add blueberries to the bottom of the loaf tin.
  • Pour the FroYo mixture into the loaf tin and freeze for 2-3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes if possible.
  • Once the block of FroYo is solid, cut it into servings and re-freeze for future use!
  • To defrost and devour just let it stand out for a bit, or to turn it into more of a soft FroYo, add a bit of yogurt or nut milk and blend.

Macros per serving

(1 log = 10 servings)

  • Energy: 74.8 kcal
  • Protein: 1.7g
  • Net Carbs: 4.9g
  • Fat: 5.7g
  • VitaminA : 160.8 IU
  • VitaminC: 19.9 mg