Chocolate Peppermint Fat Bombs!

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Wanna impress your friends with a healthy treat that looks like it came from a French Chocolatier?

You can.  And it’s really easy!  Five ingredients or less and you’re a rock star!

The real star of the show here is the Coconut Oil!

…..I promised a dissertation on coconut oil…so here it goes!

Coconut Oil is mostly saturated fat. Of that health promoting fat about 66% is in the form of Medium Chain Triglycerides or MCT’s for short.

  • Caprylic Acid
  • Capric Acid
  • Lauric Acid

MCT’s have a myriad of health benefits!  Being a Nutritional Therapist I particularly appreciate the fact that I can recommend MCT rich coconut oil for someone who doesn’t have a gallbladder or for people who have a hard time digesting fat. Since MCT’s do not require bile or a ton of enzymatic activity to be digested, they are easily absorbed and converted to Ketones.  Ketones are one out of two fuel sources that your body can use to make energy. The other being, Glucose!  You might be thinking “What about protein?” Well, interestingly protein actually has to be converted to glucose first before it can be used for energy.

Blood Sugar Balance

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It’s really common for people to have challenges with both blood sugar handling and digestion at the same time.   It can be tricky to get nutrients into somebody when digestion isn’t working properly.  Since coconut oil is so easily absorbed, we can get that fat into the body despite digestive issues.  Providing a predominantly sugar burning metabolism with fat instead of sugar to burn for fuel is a key step in balancing blood sugar!

The typical Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) offers a consistent supply of glucose (sugar). This is like “low hanging fruit” to a body’s metabolism.  Because sugar is such an easily accessible fuel source,  it can cause your metabolism to become “lazy” and can negatively influence your body’s capacity to burn fat for energy.  This is one of the reasons it is so hard for people to give up or reduce their sugar consumption and also why it’s so hard for many people to lose weight!

The idea is to limit sugar and increase healthy fats so the body will be encouraged to fire up that “fat burning” machine again.

Studies have shown that the fats contained in coconut oil may have a positive effect on insulin resistance and diabetes. Making energy from fat does not require the use of insulin. Therefore, your pancreas gets a break and your cell membranes aren’t being assaulted by repetitive surges of insulin which is what causes them to become resistant. Instead the MCT’s easily slide right in through the cell membrane and are ready to be used for energy production.

Brain Food

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The energy derived from ketones has been studied to be of benefit to people suffering from Alzheimer’s Dementia.  Prior to the onset of cognitive decline, it has been reported that the brain’s ability to metabolize glucose is greatly reduced.  Therefore ketones step up to the plate as a replacement source of energy!

A ketogenic diet which includes MCT’s found in coconut oil, has also proven to be a very effective treatment  for people with drug resistant epilepsy.  Especially kids.  Many people have reported that their seizures were greatly reduced or stopped while maintaining an MCT containing ketogenic protocol.

Weight Management

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If you’re reading this post then I’m sure you already know that consuming healthy fat doesn’t make you fat! Right??

Since fat makes you feel “full” you are less likely to overeat which is helpful to those trying to drop a couple extra lbs or just trying to maintain a healthy body weight.  Fat also helps curb sugar cravings because it supplies you with a longer lasting source of energy.  This keeps those “EMERGENCY NEED FOR FUEL……SEND SUGAR NOW” signals at bay.

When part of a balanced meal, fat also helps to slow the absorption of glucose and assists in protein digestion.

Energy Boost

Digestion and metabolism are very energy intensive processes. Fat in general is a condensed source of energy potential but additionally, since MCT’s are small in size, you’re body doesn’t need to use a lot of energy to digest and metabolize them, this means more energy left over for you to enjoy!  This makes a Fat Bomb more like an Energy Bomb!  Pop one of these Yummies at 3pm to perk you up instead of a candy bar or coke and I think you’ll be much more pleased with the way you feel.  The chocolate kinda helps with this too:)

Cancer

Another benefit to making energy from ketones is that cancer cannot feed on ketones the way it does with glucose.  So if you’re going to have a sweet treat, and you’re concerned about cancer, a coconut oil based chocolate with a very low sugar content might be a fantastic choice.

For someone undergoing chemotherapy treatments, these can be really refreshing.  Nausea and poor appetite are common side effects of chemotherapy.  The peppermint oil can ease nausea symptoms while the fat in the coconut oil can provide a good source of nourishment and energy for someone who doesn’t really feel like eating.  Its usually not TOO hard to convince someone to eat chocolate… no matter how bad they feel!

Anti Aging

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Coconut oil is rich in antioxidants.  Antioxidents help keep your skin looking supple and youthful!  Not only does coconut contain its own antioxidants, it has also been studied to improve absorption of antioxidants from other food sources.

Coconut oil was found in studies to improve glutathione production which is your body’s master antioxidant. Glutathione is necessary to proper liver function supporting phase II liver detox. You need antioxidants to keep oxidative stress to a minimum, protect against cancer and also to help with inflammation.

Anti Viral

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In addition to all of these wonderful things mentioned above, Coconut oil is a powerful Antiviral. Certain viruses such as, Epstein Barr, HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, shingles etc…protect themselves with a fatty outer membrane or skin. Because the lauric acid found in coconut oil is similar to the protective coating on the virus, it has the unique ability to attract to these viruses and slip right through their defenses, dissolving the protective coating and killing the virus.

Aside from coconut oil and some other tropical palms, Lauric acid is pretty rarely seen in nature.  However, it is a component of human breast milk!  It is believed that lauric acid helps to protect the nursing baby from infection. Some manufacturers of baby formulas include it in their recipes.

Anti Bacterial, Antifungal, Antiparasitic

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Microbial imbalance in the gut is more “The Rule” than “The Exception” these days.  Thankfully, the MCT’s in coconut oil also possess anti bacterial, anti fungal and anti parasitic power!  Similar to their effect on viruses, the MCT’s in coconut oil digest the protective lipid coating that protects these organisms leaving them defenseless.  This is extremely helpful in warding off infections of the gut!  This includes H.Pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers and in extreme cases, stomach cancer.

Even many topical skin infections, irritations and injuries can be aided with the application of coconut oil. The various compounds in coconut oil work as a team to speed up wound healing time and it’s really moisturizing to the skin.

Cooking

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Coconut oil is one of the few fats I will using in my pan.  Because coconut oil is a saturated fat, it will stand up to heat.  Poly unsaturated fats such as canola, corn, safflower, soy and other vegetable oils should not be heated!  Due to their chemical structure, polyunsaturates are easily damaged when subjected to heat and light.  If fact, you should really trash these oils all together.  90% of them are GMO.  AND they have to be heated and chemically treated to be manufactured in the first place.  Then they are packaged into clear plastic bottles and stored under fluorescent lights on a grocery store shelf.  So by the time you put them in your shopping cart, they are already oxidative stress in a bottle.   Not good!!!

 

On a happier note….Thanks to those wonderful saturated fats, coconut oil becomes solid at 76 degrees so it’s great for making sweet treats…especially  in the winter time!

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Chocolate Peppermint Fat Bombs!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup virgin unrefined organic coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup 70% cocoa or greater chocolate chips
  • 1/8 tspn sea salt
  • 5-6 drops of doTERRA peppermint essential oil (optional)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
  • Silicon candy moulds

Instructions

  1. Over low heat melt coconut oil and chocolate chips stirring continuously so the chocolate does not burn to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and peppermint oil & mix thoroughly.
  2. NOTE: I put my salt in the coffee grinder to make it very fine. This prevented the salt granules from sinking to the bottom of the mixture.
  3. Carefully pour the chocolate mixture into the silicon candy molds and sprinkle with nuts.
  4. Refrigerate until solid. This only takes about 10 - 15 minutes.
  5. Once solid you can turn them up side down and pop the chocolates right out:) EASY!
  6. Get creative with what you add to your chocolates. I used peppermint oil & nuts but you can use whatever you like or just keep them simple.
https://happytummiesdigest.com/2017/02/11/chocolate-peppermint-fat-bombs/

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With all the healthy benefits of coconut oil, these decadent little delights will surely become a fav that you can “Feel Good” about!

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Post By:

Hollie Donelson, NTP

Happy Tummies of The Lowcountry, LLC

167 A Bluffton Rd.

Bluffton/Hilton Head, SC 29910

843-227-1042

info@happytummiesdigest.com

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Please note. I am not a Doctor.  The content on this site is not intended as medical advice. Always check with your doctor before starting any type of health or nutritional protocol especially if you are being treated for or have been diagnosed with a medical condition.

 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26788013
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20645831
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/07/peanut-butter-coconut-oil-alzheimers-detection.aspx

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22866697

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3625124/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3766957/
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Science/Trans-fats-and-nutrient-intake-linked-to-Alzheimer-s-brain-shrinkage

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24328700

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24328700

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20523108

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