Black and White Layered Peppermint Patties
This is a guest post from Louise Hendon, co-host of the 2017 Keto Diet Bundle, which runs this week from Feb 7-11th.
My own interest in a ketogenic diet started when I realized that it could help me with my epilepsy. But a ketogenic diet has other potential benefits, and Louise’s interest in the diet started because of its weight loss and mental clarity advantages.
Here’s Louise:
Hi everybody!
Let me start by talking a bit about what a ketogenic diet is – just in case you’re not familiar with it…
The basics of a ketogenic diet
A ketogenic diet (AKA keto) was originally developed to help kids with epileptic seizures. And in that original form of the diet, the main focus was on eating very few carbs and eating a ton of fats.
Over time, the diet has evolved, and it’s now pretty similar to a good Paleo or Primal diet. The main difference is that on a ketogenic diet, you avoid starchy vegetables, fruits, and “Paleo” sugars (like raw honey and maple syrup).
Cutting back on your carbohydrate consumption means that your body can stop using glucose for energy. Instead, your body will start producing energy from fats and ketones (which are produced from your fat stores – hence why keto is great for weight loss).
For how long do you need to be on a keto diet?
If you’re using a ketogenic diet to treat specific health conditions (e.g., controlling your blood sugar, treating cancer, or treating epilepsy), then you probably need to be on the diet for an indefinite period of time.
However, if you’re trying keto for weight loss or for boosting your energy, then think of the keto diet as a “tool.” (This is how my friend Chris Kelly from Nourish Balance Thrive describes a ketogenic diet.)
What I mean is that this “tool” has its uses at times, but you don’t need to use it all the time – just like you’d use a hammer when you need to pound in a nail, but you’d use a screwdriver if you need to screw in a screw.
If you’re looking to lose weight quickly, or if you’re working on a project and need a boost in energy, productivity, and concentration, then try keto for a few months. And when you’re ready to relax a bit, you go back to a regular non-inflammatory diet (such as Paleo).
What do you eat on keto?
In general, a healthy ketogenic diet consists of lots of green leafy vegetables, fish and seafood, meats and organ meats, healthy fats (like olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, tallow, & lard), and small amounts of nuts and seeds and berries. For a more comprehensive list of keto foods, check out our keto food list.
To give you a clearer idea of what this translates to in terms of foods, here’s what I might eat in a day:
Breakfast
I often make a shake with greens powder and MCT oil followed by a cup of black coffee or tea while I work.
Lunch
Lunch is often a quick affair for me. I enjoy salads, so I’ll usually throw together a quick salad with avocado, organic salad leaves, a few berries, and some protein (e.g., leftover roast chicken, poached eggs, or smoked salmon, canned tuna or sardines). For the dressing, I love a really good extra virgin olive oil with a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice.
Dinner
I love making stews in the winter months – they’re easy, delicious, and warming. My favorite stew right now is one made with diced pork shoulder cooked in coconut oil, with lots of fresh ginger, cabbage, leek, and parsley.
What about desserts?
The thought of giving up bananas, sweet potatoes, and Paleo treats often scares people at first. But it can be really liberating to not be dependent on sugars (even naturally occurring ones).
Plus, you can still enjoy delicious desserts on a Ketogenic diet. These Black and White Layered Peppermint Patties for instance, are sweetened with stevia. You can also make a Paleo version of these peppermint patties by using a tablespoon of raw honey in the mixture and then adding in less stevia to boost the sweetness to a level you enjoy.
If you do decide to give keto a try, then please go check out the 2017 Keto Diet Bundle that’s on-going. You’ll save over $900 on keto cookbooks, meal plans, tips and tricks, video workshops, and more.
There are over 1000 recipes and 20-weeks of meal plans. Plus, if you’re trying to de-stress, then you can try the Calm meditations for free (no credit card required) for a whole month. Just click here to check it out!
- ½ cup (120 g) coconut butter
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) unsweetened peppermint extract
- Stevia to taste (optional)
- 4 oz (115 g) 100% dark chocolate
- 4 Tablespoons (60 ml) coconut oil
- To make the white layers, soften the coconut butter and the 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and mix them together with the unsweetened shredded coconut, stevia, and peppermint extract.
- Spoon 2 teaspoons of the white mixture into each mini muffin cup and refrigerate for 1 hour to set. Check this layer is solid before proceeding to the next step. If you don’t have a mini muffin tray, then use a regular muffin tray - serving size will be half of a patty.
- To make the black layers, melt the 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and the 4 oz dark chocolate and combine together well. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the black mixture into each mini muffin cup so that it forms a thin layer above the already solid white layer. Set in fridge for 1 hour. Check this layer is solid before going to the next step.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 for as many layers as you want.
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