Fat

  • Food

    Essential fats and the Vegetarian/Vegan

    Before reading this article, please understand I am not medically trained and these are just conclusions I have come to with my experience of being a vegetarian.

     

    Essential fats and the Vegetarian/Vegan

    In this article, I want to discuss how I add the essential fats Omega 3, 6 and 9 to my diet. Primarily my focus is on Omega 3 and the ratio between Omega 3 and Omega 6.

    The essential fats, benefical for brain and heart health are not produced by the human body and therefore require consumption from supplementation or food sources. Omega 3 is mainly found in the form of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA).
    EPA and DHA are readily used by the body and ALA is converted by the body to produce EPA and DHA. Vegetarians or vegans cannot get EPA and DHA via their diet directly and are required to convert ALA to EPA and DHA. From what I have read, the conversion rate of ALA to EPA can be between 8% to 20% and ALA to DHA 1% to 9%. This may or may not be true. Omega 3 and Omega 6 compete for absorbtion therefore I want the ratio of Omega6:Omega3 to be 3:1. It is also worth noting that this ratio may not be significant.

    essential fats

    Natural Omega 3

    Before I discuss the source of Omega 3 I use, I want to rule out supplements as a source of essential fats as I look to get the nutrients my body needs from food. In most articles I read flaxseed seems to be championed as a great source. However I am hesitant to use it for a couple of reasons.
    Firstly, flaxseed oil is unstable and can spoil easily which can be inflamatory and secondly the ratio is 0:2. This doesn’t mean my assumption is correct. Hemp seed is my favourite source, it matches the ratio and is largely unprocessed (the seeds are dehulled).

    I use 60g Braham And Murray Natural Hemp Protein Powder in a drink every morning (I will discuss the protein benefits and the drink in another post)
    The breakdown of Omega 3, 6 and 9 looks like the following:
    30g    60g
    Omega 9  500mg 1000mg
    Omega 6 2200mg 4400mg
    Omega 3  700mg 1400mg

    Using the conversion rates given above and the Omega 3 breakdown:

    Omega 3    | EPA 8% | EPA 20% | DHA 1% | DHA 9% | Total Worst Case | Total Best Case
    700mg      56mg    140mg      7mg       63mg     63mg                203mg
    1400mg       112mg      280mg        14mg      126mg    126mg                406mg

    The worst case scenario is I get 126mg of usable Omega 3s and the best case scenario is 406mg of usable Omega 3s daily.

    essential fats

  • Breakfast, Food

    Mini Breakfast Omelettes

    Eggs eggs eggs

    I don’t know about you but I find an omelette the perfect way to start my day, gearing up for a day of work or a relaxing brunch, an omelette helps keep me filled up until lunchtime. Eggs are incredible source of high-quality protein as well as heart healthy omega-3 acids. It is right up there with butter as another one of those food items that received a bad rap over the years and now back firmly in our diets again. The health food industry demonised eggs by saying the were the cause of high cholesterol levels which then made everybody just consume everything with egg whites only. Egg whites are perfectly healthy a great source of protein, but we should definitely be making room for whole eggs our diets, unless of course you have been advised otherwise by your doctor.
     
    Eggs are not a threat to your cholesterol, the real threat comes in the form of trans fats and sugars not through dietary cholesterol. There have been studies, one in particular from the University of Connecticut, which found that the fat in eggs actually helps to reduce your LDL, a.k.a your bad cholesterol. Eggs also contain a number of proteins and vitamins including vitamin B2, selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 as well as minerals such as copper, iron and zinc. So with that said let’s get on to the recipe.
     
     
    omelettes
     
     

    Mini breakfast omelettes

    Ingredients

    • 3 eggs
    • Roasted vegetables of your choice
    • And a dash of non dairy milk
    • Coconut oil (for frying)
    Mini Omelettes

    Mini Omelettes

    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 3 eggs
    • Roasted vegetables of your choice
    • And a dash of milk
    • Coconut oil (for frying)

    Instructions

    1. Mix 3 eggs in a bowl and beat
    2. Add a dash of milk
    3. Add coconut oil to the pan
    4. Then add your pre roasted vegetables to the pan
    5. Pull your egg mixture around your vegetables, covering the pan
    6. Cook until cooked on both sides
     
    You can make these omelettes full sized, or make a mini ones like I did. I cooked mine on a small pancake maker hot plate, which worked perfectly for these omelettes. You can batch cook these, keep them refrigerated and grab one (or two) every morning to start your day.
  • Food

    Keto & Low Carb Bread

    But Bread is off limits, isn’t it?

    Yes, you would be right, standard bread is too high in carbohydrates if you are following a Ketogenic diet and it might be something you are choosing to avoid or having in moderation if you are following a low carb diet, but that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on things like sandwiches, English Muffins or toast, because guess what? Help is here!

    keto bread

    Do I need many ingredients and is it hard?

    You do need a few specialised ingredients in and if you’re new to low carb or keto then they might not be something you have in your cupboards, but the good news is once you get them in stock it’s something you will always have, which makes this recipe super easy to whip up in just a few minutes. All you need is the ingredients and a microwave and it is that simple! Now, onto the ingredients and the recipe!

    keto bread

    Ingredients:

    • 3 tbsp of Almond Flour (but finely ground almonds works a treat, is are much cheaper too).
    • 1/2 tbsp of Coconut Flour.
    • 1 tbsp of Grass fed butter (We use Kerrygold unsalted).
    • 1 Egg (You can use the whole egg or just the egg white – with the yolk you’ll end up with bread more yellow in colour).
    • A pinch of pink Himalayan salt.
    •  1/2 tsp of gluten free baking powder (sometimes hard to find but this is always a good option).

     

    Method:

    1. Melt butter in microwaveable mug for 30 seconds.
    2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.
    3. Let sit for a moment in the mug, to thicken.
    4. Microwave for 2 minutes.
    5. Turn out onto a plate.

    I then always like to slice my bread into small rounds and toast on a low heat setting or pop it under the grill.

     

    This has the taste and texture of normal bread and is very low carb too, so it works with both a ketogenic and low carb diet.