Fat bombs are delicious little morsels which are fabulous for those of you following a very low carb diet. If you have been trying to follow a fat-burning ketogenic diet and have been struggling with getting enough healthy fat in each day, then these little bombs will do the trick.

Fat bombs, carbs and getting keto-adapted

I am finding that when I let my carbs creep above 20 grams a day my weight loss stops and I get kicked out of my fat-burning keto-adapted state. And let me tell you is doesn’t take much!  Just a handful of nuts here and a few strawberries there. Sad but true.

I find that the best way to keep on track is to input my daily food diary into www.myfitnesspal.com. It calculates your carbs, fat , protein and calories. It is such a useful tool to get a reasonably accurate reflection of what you are eating. It is so easy to go off course, especially if you tend to be a bit of a snacker. Try it for a few days as it will help you to face the truth of how many carbs you are actually consuming in a day.  It’s a bit like “mirror, mirror on the wall …..” .

Recently, Prof. Tim Noakes tweeted that “most people who are overweight need to keep daily carbs to below 50 grams in order to lose weight”.

Let me put that tweet into perspective for you. A ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and a banana at lunch time will clock up 63 grams of carbs in just that meal alone.  Or if you have an apple, nectarine and a small bunch of grapes as snacks during the day then that comes in at 62 grams of carbs just for your daily fruit intake.

So, if you decide to really cut the carbs in order to lose weight, you have to replace them with something, right? Too much protein will also turn to glucose in your blood stream and will be converted to fat and stored. So the only thing left to do is to replace the carbs with healthy fat. Fat in your diet will not raise blood glucose or insulin levels AT ALL. It will also leave you feeling full and satisfied and you will lose the craving for sweet things and starchy food.

A low-carb, high-fat diet, will kick your body into a fat-burning state called ketosis, which is amazing for losing weight and general good health.

That is where these little fat bombs come in. People following this type of eating plan often struggle to get enough fat into their diets as most of us are not too keen to eat butter off a spoon.

Fat bomb recipe:

Makes around 24 bombs

Ingredients:

• 185 grams coconut oil
• 50 grams nut butter (almond or macadamia)
• 4 to 6 teaspoons xylitol or equivalent sweetness using stevia (sweeten to taste)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 125 grams unsalted butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract/essence

Method:

1. Melt all ingredients together in a pot. I left the nut butter till last to create a swirl effect.
2. Cool mixture slightly and pour into ice-cube trays or silicone moulds.
3. Put into freezer to set for a few hours.
4. Once set, pop them out of the mould and place in freezer bags or a plastic container for a quick and easy snack.

Each of these fat bombs contain:

• 1 gram of carbs
• 14 grams of fat

Note:

You can also make them a little more gourmet by adding a few other ingredients such as coffee, dried coconut flakes, nuts, cocoa nibs etc.

Download a printer friendly version of the recipe. Chocolate fat bombs.

Nicky’s verdict?

Currently my diet is 75% fat to stay in ketosis and lose weight. You can take your jaw off the floor now. My daily goal is to consume 120 grams of healthy fat, 18 grams of carbs and 72 grams of protein. So popping one or two of these into my mouth each day is certainly going to help me to achieve my goals.

This morning I did a 2.5 hour hike up the mountain and the only thing I had to eat beforehand was one of these fat bombs as I ran out of time for breakfast. The amazing thing was that I wasn’t even that hungry by the time I got home around lunch time. And the bonus is that they are chocolatey and very yummy. Give them a try and let me know what YOU think.