Fat Burning Coconut Milk Custard

Coconut milk as an ingredient makes a great satisfying snack. And, the coconut taste does not overpower anything, in fact, it has very little flavor on its own. I made up this pudding recipe and it has become my new favorite snack or sweet treat. There are tons of great variations on it too and it only uses a few ingredients.

I am a huge fan of coconut. Not the sweetened flakes that you buy at the grocery store, but the real, unadulturated kind.

There is coconut milk that comes in a can (not the low-fat kind though!), there is coconut juice that makes a delicious, healthy energy/sports drink, and there is natural coconut meat. Coconut has a huge amount of healthy antioxidants, fat burning medium chain fatty acids, lauric acid–which helps fight infections, and monosaturated fats–good for your heart, your skin, and the rest of your body. You can read more about all the fat burning healthy benefits of coconut here.

Coconut milk as an ingredient makes a great satisfying snack. And, the coconut taste does not overpower anything, in fact, it has very little flavor on its own. I made up this pudding recipe and it has become my new favorite snack or sweet treat. There are tons of great variations on it too and it only uses a few ingredients.

Start with a can of organic coconut milk (use the kind with all the fat, not the low-fat kind)
Pour into a small sauce pan.
Add in a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup, honey or a touch of stevia (coconut is naturally sweet so it doesnt need much)
A tiny pinch of sea salt
A teaspoon or so of vanilla (add at end)
In a separate bowl, break an egg and beat it until is is well mixed and frothy.
Whisk the egg into the coconut mixture and heat over med/low heat stirring constantly. The mixture will begin to get thicker as it heats up. When the pudding begins to thicken up and it is hot enough to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and whisk lightly to make sure it is well mixed. Add in vanilla. Cool in fridge or eat warm.

Variations:
Add a couple teaspoons of dark chocolate or break up a small dark chocolate bar and stir into warm custard along with your favorite nut butter or a handful of nuts.
Stir in a sliced banana or other fresh or frozen fruit
Add unsweetened coconut
Garnish with a little bit of REAL homemade whipped cream

Enjoy! Serves 2-4

Luscious Coconut Milk Flan

Coconuts once were considered bad for you. It was thought that the saturated fat in coconut lead to high cholesterol, clogged arteries, heart disease, and weight gain. So the question is: Are coconuts really good for you or bad for you?

Sweet treats tend to be not only full of calories, but have the unfortunate downside of providing mostly empty calories.

But you can have sweet treats that have lots of health benefits too.

Coconuts once were considered bad for you. It was thought that the saturated fat in coconut lead to high cholesterol, clogged arteries, heart disease, and weight gain.

Now, coconuts have taken center stage for their nutrition value.

So the question is: Are coconuts really good for you or bad for you? Coconut is now sold in stores as coconut oil, the coconut meat itself, coconut milk and coconut water. While all parts of the coconut contain great health benefits it’s the oil that makes it a real superfood!

The fat in the coconut milk is the single best source of medium chain triglycerides.

Why does that matter?

This type of healthy fat gets burned immediately for energy. It also boosts your metabolism and help your body burn fat more easily for energy.

 

Besides its fat burning and energy promoting abilities, coconut oil possesses other great health benefits for your body as well.

Coconut oil is also rich in lauric acid, which boosts immunity and destroys harmful bacteria and viruses in the body. And the saturated fat in coconut also are healthy for your heart, your skin, your hair and for your brain as well.

Enjoy this dessert and know you are doing good things for your body and health as well!

Coconut Milk Flan

Ingredients

1 15 oz. can of full-fat, organic coconut milk
5 organic, free range eggs
2-3 Tbsp of pure maple syrup

1 tsp of real vanilla extract

3 Tbsp raw sugar
3 ounces of unsweetened shredded coconut for topping (optional)

 

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 325 °F. Fill a teapot with water and heat to a simmer.

In saucepan, heat the sugar until it melts and is a golden brown liquid. Pour sugar mixture in a glass pie plate.

 

Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with mixer. Pour into pie plate, and place inside a larger baking dish that is at least 2 inches deep. Then pour the hot water in the space surrounding the pie pan – allowing the liquid to reach about halfway up the sides. Bake about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the flan is set (when a knife comes out clean from the center).

 

For the topping–line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake raw, shredded coconut in the same 325 °F oven for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the toasted coconut once it’s lightly browned, and sprinkle on top of flan. Serves 4-5.

 

Enjoy!!

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!

Look for more great recipes like this in my new upcoming Fat Burning Superfoods Recipe book!

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

Mouth Watering, Healthy Chocolate Fudge

Enjoy small squares of this delicious healthy fudge for dessert and for small snacks throughout the day. This is about as good as it gets for a healthy yet delicious treat!

This recipe is from my good friend, fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary, author of The Truth About Six Pack Abs, and co-author along with me, of The Fat Burning Kitchen:

It’s a HEALTHY and DELICIOUS way to make chocolate fudge.

Ingredients
3/4 cup organic coconut milk (NOT the watered down “light” version which just replaces some of the healthy coconut fat with water…use the real full-fat version)
1 bar (3-5 oz) extra dark chocolate (at least 70-80% cacao)
4-5 tablespoons of your favorite nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, macadamia butter, etc)
3/4 cup raisins, dried cherries, or cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup whole raw walnuts or other nuts
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp whole oats or oat bran
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
A little stevia powder to sweeten

Note–Don’t be afraid of the fats in the coconut milk… coconut fat contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are more easily burned for energy and also contain a special fat called Lauric Acid, which is extremely healthy and supports the immune system.

Start by adding the coconut milk (cans of organic coconut milk are available at most health food stores and possibly even your grocery store) and vanilla extract to a small saucepan on VERY low heat. Break up the extra dark chocolate bar into chunks and add into pot. Add the nut butter and the stevia, and continuously stir until it all melts together into a smooth mixture.

Then add the dried fruit, walnuts, flax seeds and bran and stir until fully blended. Spoon/pour the fudge mixture onto some waxed paper in a dish and place in the fridge until it cools and solidifies together.

Store in a closed container in fridge to prevent it from drying out.

Enjoy small squares of this delicious healthy fudge for dessert and for small snacks throughout the day. This is about as good as it gets for a healthy yet delicious treat!

Even though this is a healthier dessert idea that’s lower in sugar and higher in nutrition than most sweet treats, keep in mind that there are still quite a few calories in it, so keep your portions reasonable.

You may want to forward this delicious and healthy chocolate fudge recipe to your friends and family… they will thank you!

Check out Mike’s presentation below with great tips to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach:

The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Till next time, stay healthy, lean and full of energy!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN,is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

                     Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.
           Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


Which is Best: Cows’ Milk, Soy Milk, Almond Milk, Or…?

 

 

“What’s the Best Kind of Milk to Drink?”

I hear this question often, and I know there are a lot of choices out there as far as milk and milk alternatives go, so I thought I would share what my good friend, fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary says about this topic. Mike, as you may know co-authored, The Fat Burning Kitchen and is also the author of the best selling ebookThe Truth About Abs”, so I trust his opinion.

Here’s what Mike has to say about milk:

If you have already read The Fat Burning Kitchen, you may already know that drinking regular, conventional pasteurized milk is not the healthiest choice.

We're talking about regular milk (no matter whether it's skim, 2%, or whole) that you get at the grocery store — which is almost ALL from factory farms where the cows are kept in horrendous conditions, poor health, and fed an unnatural diet that makes them sick.

Even if you find milk that is "organic" at your grocery store, it still has the problem that the homogenization process renders the fat molecules unhealthy within your body, and pasteurization that destroys the beneficial enzymes that help the proper digestion of milk proteins and lactose. Pasteurization also radically alters the milk protein molecule, causing allergic reactions in some who may be sensitive to dairy.

Raw, whole milk from grass-fed cows raised in a healthy manner, fed the correct foods, and treated right, is the ONLY healthy source dairy milk. 

And despite the propaganda against it, raw milk is NOT dangerous… not when it comes from a clean grass-fed farm operation certified to produce raw milk with healthy cows.

I'm living proof of that fact… I've been drinking hundreds and hundreds of gallons of raw whole milk for about 8 years now, and never once have gotten sick from it.  Nor have any of the families and friends I know who have been drinking it for years.  Certainly, if raw milk was "dangerous", we'd all be dead by now or at least have been sick multiple times by now.  But the answer to that is, no-not even once!

But for many people, drinking raw milk may not be an option, because they simply can't find a farm in their area that supplies raw milk.  You can search for raw milk near you by going to www.realmilk.com to see if any farms deliver in your area.

For those with dairy allergies or lactose intolerance, raw milk is tolerated much better, but some may still be allergic or lactose intolerant to dairy.

What are the alternatives?

How about soymilk?

Soymilk was the big thing a few years ago, but it's really not the healthy choice it once seemed. It's really just junk! Read this about soy and you may be shocked.

What about Rice Milk?

No!  Way too much sugar and total carbs and almost ZERO protein. It’s not too different from sugar water. If you want to shoot your blood sugar through the roof, rice milk will do the job, and will pack on the blubber just as fast.

What about almond milk?

Actually, I don't have a problem with almond milk as long as it's not heavily sweetened with added sugars or artificial sweeteners.  I've seen almond milk brands that have unsweetened versions and only has 1 gram of sugar per 8oz, just like the coconut milk.  These unsweetened almond milks are actually pretty tasty… I think a bit better tasting than the coconut milk drinks in my opinion.

The only problem with almond milk is that it is very low in protein similar to the coconut milk drink. 

Here's one of the best options I've found…

It's a new "Coconut Milk Beverage" that I've seen recently in the grocery stores here in the US. It seems to differ from the "coconut milk" that you see in cans simply that it's diluted down with water more than canned coconut milk, which usually has more of a thick coconut cream consistency. 

Side note:  try the thick creamy canned coconut milk (organic of course) in your coffee for a healthy creamer alternative… delicious!

As you may already know, coconut fat is one of the healthiest fats you can consume… Yes, it's saturated fat, but research has proven that it is a very healthy form of saturated fat, and is made up of mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are burned quickly as energy–not stored—and lauric acid, which supports a strong immune system.

If you want more info about why saturated fat is actually healthy, here are 2 articles to check out:

Why saturated fat is not so bad after all

The truth about saturated fat (written by a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry)

Back to the healthy milk alternatives…

The flavored "coconut milk beverages" do have some added sugar, but still only have 9 grams of carbs per 8 oz, which is less sugar than a glass of cows’ milk.

There is also an unsweetened version, which only has 1 gram of carbs.

The only problem is that this "coconut milk beverage" only has 1 gram of protein too.  This is one place where this milk is lacking, nutritionally.

So here's the solution… get a good quality vanilla whey protein, preferably grass-fed whey protein (sweetened with stevia instead of typical artificial sweeteners) and mix 3-4 scoops of whey protein into an entire half gallon carton of "coconut milk beverage"… possibly in a blender and then transfer to a new pitcher or container of some sort.

Now you have a milk alternative that's high in healthy fats (fat burning MCTs in this case) and also quality protein, with only 1 gram of sugar per 8 oz serving!

I still won't give up my raw whole cows milk for this (since I do have access to a good raw milk farm)… but this coconut milk mixture would be one of the only options that I would actually drink if I couldn't get my good raw milk.

And one of the newest alternative milk beverages out there now, is hemp milk. So is hemp milk ok? Hemp milk contains healthy fats omega 3 and 6, is low carb and comes sweetened or unsweetened.

Adding the whey protein to hemp milk or almond milk would make a great mixture too and make it more balanced as a good healthy milk alternative as well.

 

If you liked Mike’s information, click below to see more great nutrition and fat burning information from him:

 5 Foods That Fight Abdominal Fat

 

Till next time,

Stay healthy lean and energetic 🙂

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.