Yikes! What's a fat bomb?

I am a serious low carber and have been in ketosis for six and a half years now, with an occasional lapse. But I feel so bad, both physically and mentally, when I do lapse that it is happening rarely now, since I stick with this way of eating.

A mistake many people make when they try low carb is that they cut out carbohydrates and replace them with protein. Nope, not good! You replace your carbs with fat. Yes, you heard me right - with fat! And hopefully you will stay away from trans fats, and limit your polyunsaturated fats. Go for saturated fat, coconut oil being the number one choice, but butter and lard are not far behind. Try to get organic, or at least grass fed, butter and lard. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oil are good, but one really shouldn't do more than a light saute in olive oil. Best leave it for dressings and that big jar of pesto, a staple for us low carbers.

So what on earth is a fat bomb? It should be something that is about 85% (or higher) fat, and 10% (or lower) carbs, the remainder being protein. They are satisfying, especially when you get the post-dinner munchies. They are so filling that one bomb should make most people happy, and you will quit thinking about food.

If you do a search on "fat bombs," you will come up with hundreds of recipes. I'm going to pass on two of them to you in this blog. The first is amazingly simple and amazingly satisfying. You can even indulge in two or three of them. But if you space them apart by a few minutes, you will not want a fourth.

#1 simple fat bomb:

Take two nice fat pecan halves, top one with a slice of cold butter, sprinkle the butter with a few grains of sea salt, top with the other pecan half, and chomp that baby down in one bite!

#2 more involved, but DELICIOUS fat bomb:

I like to make my recipes detailed enough that you are happy with the end products, and not confused while making them. So I will give credit for most of the ingredients for this within the recipe, but the methodology is all mine. It looks a little involved, but it's not. Start at the top with the "mise en place," which just means get everything ready before you start, then start measuring and mixing, and the whole process (once the fats have softened slightly from sitting at room temperature) from start to sliding the tray of bombs into the freezer should not take more than 15 minutes. And with practice, maybe only ten.

Please note the information about Xylitol at the end of the recipe, especially if you have dogs. It can be toxic to dogs, so keep away from them, just like you keep the chocolate away from them, and the potato peels away from your chickens.

All that being said, here is the complete recipe, from mise on place to finished product. Oh, one last note on this one. It really doesn't meet the requirement for ratios of carbs, fat and protein, but it's close. Remember, there is always that pecan bomb. It definitely meets them.

Finished product

STRAWBERRY FAT BOMBS

Mise en place:

• Put 10 mini cupcake liners into a mini cupcake pan and set aside.
• I like to use weights rather than measuring cups, as it is more accurate and faster, so if you have a scale, get it out, and set to grams.
• You will need a small bowl for the hulled strawberries (weigh after hulling) and a second bowl for the cream cheese and butter.
• I use a 2-tbsp. ice cream “trigger” scoop for easy measuring. (See picture below.)
• Get out your vanilla and a one-tablespoon measuring spoon. I love Mexican vanilla. Madagascar is okay, too. For the best taste, don't use artificial vanilla, but if that's all you've got, go for it.

Pan is ready. Trigger scoop for portioning out the bombs is on the right.

Now start measuring!

Ingredients

1/2 cup (2.5 oz or 70 g) strawberries, fresh is best, but thoroughly thawed frozen will do

3/4 cup (5.3 oz or 150 g) cream cheese, softened

2 oz (60 g) butter, softened (If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt.)

1-1/2 tbsp. Xylitol, put in food processor to make consistency of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Put butter and cream cheese on counter for about 30 minutes to soften slightly. Put the softened fats in the bowl of your processor, right on top of the powdered Xylitol. Blend, but don't over-beat. You do not want it to get too soft. Add vanilla and strawberries. Blend briefly. If you chop the berries a bit before throwing in the processor, they will incorporate faster and the batter will be stiffer – easier to measure out into the muffin cups. (You can always set the bowl into the fridge for a bit if the batter gets too runny to scoop out.)

Ready for the final step.

This makes 10 nice sized bombs. When frozen solid, unmold the fat bombs and place into a freezer bag. Keep in the freezer and enjoy any time. I think they taste best if you can let them sit out at room temperature for a few minutes.

Nutritional information per serving:

Carbs, 1.83 grams (14.6% of total)

Fat, 9.56 grams (76.4% of total)

Protein, 1.12 grams (9.0% of total)

Calories 106

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I started with a recipe from a blog called

LOW CARB, SO SIMPLE.  That blogger got it from a guest blogger, Martina from KetoDietApp. My only adaptation of ingredients were 1) I used Xylitol for my sweetener, as it is one of the healthiest and I like the taste the best of any of them, and 2) I listed my choice of ingredients when given a choice. Go to the original recipe if you want to see other options, because I didn't include them.

However, for the method, I did change it considerably. Mine is a lot easier, and the end product is very nice. You will need a food processor. If you don't have one, then go back to that original recipe, which is linked in this post.

More info on Xylitol – Glycemic Index = 13. Calories per gram = 3. It works a little differently in our bodies and does not affect blood sugar significantly, the way other low carb sweeteners can. It is much sweeter than sugar, so when I substitute, I am quite satisfied using only half the amount of sugar called for in a recipe. If the recipe calls for another low carb sweetener, I reduce the amount by about a third.

It's for an occasional treat – like these fat bombs. Over-consumption can lead to diarrhea, so take it easy on these. One a day will make you happy.

WARNING: Keep out of reach of your pets, as Xylitol can be toxic to dogs!

Susan Siemers, adapted from recipe on Low Carb, So Simple blog

for Devonshire House Dishes

July 25, 2016

Ready to pop in freezer

Ready to eat, with low carb chocolate cookie.