How to add protein to your breakfast scrambles and made them super fluffy at the same time. Learn how to make the latest TikTok viral recipe step by step!
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Quick Summary tl;dr
Coconut oils is 65% MCTs, which are burned efficiently for fuel.
Coconut oil has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.
It’s important to only purchase virgin or raw coconut, never refined.
Coconut is controversial. Some people say it’s a superfood, others say it will poison your heart health. Why the confusion?
Fat Profile of Coconut
Let’s start by discussing the unique fat profile of coconut because, although coconut is almost entirely saturated fat, the saturated fats in coconut are very different from those in milk or meat.
Coconut oil is ~15% caproic, caprylic, and capric acid. These saturated fatty acids are between six and ten carbons in length and are called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
About 50% of the fat in coconut is lauric acid, a 12-carbon fatty acid. ( Dayrit, 2015) While it is sometimes commercially classified as a long-chain fatty acid, it is metabolically classified as an MCT as well. Isn’t that confusing? Sorry about that. Bottom line, about 65% of the fat in coconut oil is MCTs, and I’ll explain why that matters in the next section.
The remaining ~35% is mostly long-chain fatty acids, including myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids (14 - 18 carbons). These are the typical fatty acids found in dairy and meat. So, as you can see, coconut is not like other sources of saturated fat.
Medium Chain Triglycerides are an Excellent Fuel
What makes the 65% of saturated fats that are in coconut oil, the MCTs, unique?
Longer chain fatty acids, both saturated and unsaturated, begin their journey through the body in boats called chylomicrons. While in the intestines, long-chain fats get packaged into chylomicrons, then are transported via lymphatic vessels and get squirted into the bloodstream at the lymphatic duct, where the vein that runs near your left collar bone meets the vein coming down from the left side of your head.
Next, when the long-chain fatty acids get into cells, they need special transporters and transformers (carnitine shuttle) to allow them to get burned as fuel.
MCTs are different. Unlike most other fats, MCTs begin their journey by flowing, not through lymphatics and the lymphatic duct into main blood circulation, but directly through the “portal vein” to the liver. (Also, as a fun fact, MCTs are less dependent on bile acids for digestion and better absorbed directly in the stomach, which makes them easier to absorb for people with bile acid or pancreatic insufficiency.)
In this way, they are more like carbohydrates or proteins than fat. Perhaps more importantly, MCTs don’t require transporters and transformers to allow them to get burned by cells, which means that they are excellent fuels!
If that’s all very technical for you, the take away remains, MCTs are great easy-access fat fuel. Here are some data: In one human study, people were given a series of different fatty acids — palmitic, stearic, oleic, elaidic, linoleic, linolenic, and lauric — that were each labeled with carbon-13. ( DeLany et al, 2000) This just means that the researchers were able to trace how much of each fat was burned over the following nine hours. What they observed is that lauric acid was burned at a much greater rate than the other fats over this time period. You can see this very clearly on the graph, represented by the outstanding area under the curve in the back row.
Coconut oil is 65% Medium Chain Triglycerides, which get burned more quickly than longer chain fats because they don’t require the carnitine shuttle system.
Benefits of Lauric Acid in Coconut
Lauric acid, being the main MCT in coconut oil, deserves further details. Lauric acid itself can also activate fat-burning enzymes in the PPAR family, including PPARα and PPARγ. In this way, lauric acid acts similar to the monounsaturated fat, oleic acid, found in extra virgin olive oil, avocado, and macadamia nuts.
Additionally, lauric acid and monolaurin (lauric acid attached to glycerol backbone) have potent antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, including against C. difficile, H. pylori, Candida, Clostridium, and E. Coli.
It’s actually pretty cool! Pathogenic microbes aren’t easily able to evolve resistance to lauric acid and monolaurin because they work through three mechanisms: destruction of gram-positive bacterial cell membranes and lipid-coated viruses, interference with microbial signal transduction and transcription, and stabilization of human cell membranes. This is just me getting on my nerdy soap box, but the simple explanation is that lauric acid may be protective against pathogenic bacterial infections.
Interestingly, lauric acid and monolaurin are among the strongest antimicrobials in human breast milk. ( Gardner et al, 2017) Evidently, our evolutionary biology would not be trying to poison our infantile microbiomes, so it’s fair to assume that lauric acid is protective for the gut at best, and neutral at worst.
The lauric acid in coconut oil is also found in human breast milk. It may protect against H. pylori, Candida, Clostridium, and E. Coli.
Refined vs Virgin Coconut Oil and Antioxidants
Another important source of the coconut controversy comes down whether the oil is refined or virgin. ( Seneviratne et al, 2008)
When oil is refined, it loses 85% of the disease-fighting polyphenols, an impressive list that include gallic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, catechin, rosmarinic acid, myricetin glucoside, quercetin, and kaempferol. When recommending coconut, we are specifically recommending virgin or raw coconut.
As an example of one basic science study, treating colon cells with 100 μg of virgin coconut oil polyphenols protected the against oxidative stress-induced cell death induced by 75%. ( Illam et al, 2017) The effect was due both to the direct antioxidant effects of the above list of polyphenols and also their ability to upregulate the Nrf2 system, which controls the expression of the body’s own antioxidant enzymes.
In humans, the list of potential health benefits attributed to “virgin” and “raw” coconut products include the following: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, protection against infection, improved gut health, and increased HDL cholesterol. ( Khaw et al, 2018)
How To Use Coconut in Recipes
There are several ways you can incorporate coconut into your diet — in the form of coconut meat, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut yogurt and cream, coconut flour and coconut butter (also known as coconut manna):
- You can use coconut to prepare plenty of breakfast options: Keto Chocolate Coconut Smoothie, Keto Coconut Waffles or Anti-Inflammatory Keto Golden Porridge
- If you like nut butters, try this Toasted Coconut Butter, Keto Macadamia Coconut Collagen Butter or Homemade Coconut & Pecan Butter
- For desserts, check this No Bake Keto Bounty Bars, Keto Coconut & Rhubarb Cake or Keto Coyo Vanilla Popsicles
- You can also use coconut to prepare appetizers and complete meals including Keto Chicken Coconut Curry, Low-Carb Cream of Broccoli & Coconut Soup or Sesame Crusted Salmon with Coconut Cauli-Rice
- and many more recipes using coconut can be found here!
There are also so many creative ways you can use raw coconut in you diet. Here are just 15 recipes from our new book, The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook that incorporate virgin coconut oil, coconut cream, or coconut butter. Yummy!
- Breakfasts and snacks: Crunchy Vanilla Protein Bars, Spiced Antioxidant Granola Clusters, Creamy Cinnamon Porridge, Fat-Fueled Cereal, Strawberry Collagen Smoothie, or Ultimate Nut Butter
- Soups: Chilled Avocado Pesto Soup and Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup
- Dinners: Salmon Brain Bowl, Carb-less Crab Cakes, Coconut Shrimp Skillet, Halloumi Curry Skillet, or Moroccan Lamb Tagine
- Desserts: Chocolate Hazelnut Powerhouse Truffles and Protein Halva Slices
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This is a Czech version of coleslaw called Hanacky Salat which is using red cabbage. My cousin made it for a garden BBQ and it was a big hit. I knew I had to share it with you too!
It's just like regular Coleslaw but uses more mayonnaise and red cabbage instead of white, which means there are more antioxidants!
It's also similar to this Pink Sauerkraut Side Salad which is how some Czechs actually prepare classic Hanacky Salat.
You can watch me make this Creamy Red Cabbage Coleslaw step by step on YouTube!
Recipe Tips
You can add some sweetener if you like it sweeter although I find the sweetness coming from the cabbage, onion and carrot to be more than sufficient.
This creamy coleslaw is the perfect side to make for a barbecue as it goes well with meat, fish and even seafood. Our favorite way to serve this coleslaw is as a side with keto burgers, especially if you serve them bunless!
Preparation time
Hands-on: 15 minutes
Overall: 15 minutesNutritional values (per serving, about 1 cup/ 160 g/ 5.6 oz)
| Total Carbs | 9.4 | grams |
| Fiber | 2.5 | grams |
| Net Carbs | 7 | grams |
| Protein | 2 | grams |
| Fat | 34.5 | grams |
| of which Saturated | 4.9 | grams |
| Energy | 345 | kcal |
| Magnesium | 17 | mg (4.24% RDA) |
| Potassium | 287 | mg (14.3% EMR) |
Macronutrient ratio: Calories from carbs (8%), protein (2%), fat (90%)
Ingredients (makes 8 side servings)
- 1 head red cabbage (700 g/ 1.5 lbs)
- 1 large carrot (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
- 1 medium red onion (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
- juice of 1 lemon (about 4 tbsp)
- 1 1/2 cups avocado oil or other paleo mayonnaise (330 g/ 11.6 oz)
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional: 1-4 tbsp Allulose or powdered Erythritol if you like it sweet
Instructions
- Slice the cabbage or place in a food processor and shred using a grating blade. Peel & grate the carrot. Peel and slice the onion.
- Place everything in a large salad bowl. Add lemon juice, mayo, salt and pepper.
- Mix well and season more as needed. Optionally, add powdered low-carb sweetener to taste if you like it sweeter.
- Serve or store in the fridge for up to 3 days. This salad tastes even better the next day!
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This is the perfect keto dessert for spring and summer! No bake low-carb pie crust filled with sugar-free lemon cream filling and topped with fresh berries.
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There’s nothing more comforting than a good crispy roast chicken! This low-carb ginger & lime spatchcock chicken flavored with ginger and lime promises not to disappoint!
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Processed seed and vegetable oils are generally regarded to be unstable and potentially inflammatory. Sesame might be a delicious exception because of how compounds in the oil alter inflammatory pathways and fat metabolism.
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These Crab Salad Cucumber Stacks are an easy low-carb meal to serve when you don't have time to cook and don't feel like turning on the oven or using any heat.
It's a great high-protein and keto option for busy days. Four stacks per serving will be enough for a quick snack or an appetizer, and 8 stacks will be great as a light dinner option.
Using crunchy cucumber slices is just one of the many options you can serve this easy crab salad. The consistency is creamy which makes it perfect to serve with Keto Crackers or on top of baby lettuce leaves.
White Crab Meat vs Brown Crab Meat
Brown crab meat, which is found in the shell cavity at the top of the crab, has a rich, distinctive flavor. It's soft and creamy with texture that's close to a pate. Brown crab meat is a fantastic source of omega 3 fatty acids. Despite being super nutritious, it's a less popular option which means it's sold at a price lower than white crab meat.
White crab meat, which is found in the claws, legs and the body sections of the crab, has a more neutral, more delicate flavor with subtle sweetness. It's moist and flaky and it's low in fat and high in protein.
To get the best out of the two, in this recipe we are using part white and part brown crab meat. The combination of both white and brown crab meat makes these cucumber stacks super nutritious!
But if you prefer to use just white crab meat, simply substitute the brown crab meat with an equal amount of white crab meat.
Preparation time
Hands-on: 10 minutes
Overall: 10 minutesNutritional values (per serving, 8 stacks)
| Total Carbs | 8.4 | grams |
| Fiber | 1.9 | grams |
| Net Carbs | 6.6 | grams |
| Protein | 19.9 | grams |
| Fat | 18.3 | grams |
| of which Saturated | 3.2 | grams |
| Energy | 269 | kcal |
| Magnesium | 22 | mg (6% RDA) |
| Potassium | 299 | mg (15% EMR) |
Macronutrient ratio: Calories from carbs (10%), protein (29%), fat (61%)
Ingredients (makes 2 servings, 16 stacks)
- 1 medium celery stalk (40 g/ 1.4 oz)
- 1/2 small red onion (30 g/ 1.1 oz) or 2 spring onions
- 100 g crab meat (3.5 oz)
- 100 g brown crab meat (3.5 oz)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise (30 ml)
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp chopped dill or chives
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 large cucumber (285 g/ 10 oz)
Instructions
- Star by preparing the salad. Thinly slice the celery stalk and finely dice the onion. Place the crab meat, celery, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice and chopped dill (or chives) in a bowl and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Note: We are using part brown crab meat is high in omega 3 fatty acids. You can substitute the brown crab meat with an equal amount of white crab meat.
- Cut the cucumber into 16 slices, about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) each. Top each slice with the prepared crab salad (about 20 g/ 0.7 oz) per each.
- Serve immediately or store the salad separately from the cucumber in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Serve 8 stacks as a light dinner option, or 4 stacks for a quick snack or an appetizer. Tip: You can also serve the salad as a dip with Keto Crackers or serve on top of baby lettuce leaves.
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