The first time I heard about bulletproof coffee was when I was in Chicago this May for my friend Jayne’s wedding. My group of friends are spread across Canada and the States and the wedding was an opportunity for all eight of us to be together, in one condo!!
At “family” breakfast we sat around the kitchen table and my friend Scott brought up bulletproof coffee, or as I referred to it, “butter coffee.” My first thought was, of course my Vancouverite friend would be into this weird butter coffee stuff.
Within the last couple of months I’ve been inundated with bulletproof coffee. It seems to be the newest health trend. I’ve also read a fair share of blog posts bashing bulletproof coffee and its apparently not-so-amazing benefits.
So, I decided I might as well give it a shot and see for myself what all the hype (and hate) is about.
Benefits of bulletproofing your coffee:
• Mental clarity and focus without the usually caffeine-fix crash
• A bounty of energy
• Weight loss via ketosis (a metabolic state that is trigged by lack of carbs that burns fat)*
• Helps fight cravings.
And there are some other benefits, too, but these are the biggest/most common perks of trading your everyday breakfast for this butter-coffee stuff.
*I’m personally not interested in bulletproof coffee for the third benefit listed. I’ve done my research on the ketosis diet and I’m not a huge fan of the concept. Well, I’m not a diet supporter at all; it’s all about making lifestyle changes. Also, I’m not agreeing that these are all proven benefits.
Anyways…
I trolled through all corners of the Internet looking for recipes for this miraculous coffee bevy. To be honest, I did pick and choose a bit between the recipes I found. Bulletproof coffee is basically three things– coffee, butter, and oil. The key to making legit bulletproof coffee is to use special coffee beans that are free of mycotoxins (essentially fungi and mold), butter made from grass-fed, organic cow’s milk, and MTC (medium-chain triglyceride) oil. I used coconut oil as my MTC oil because I’m not willing to shell out money for the fancy stuff that is marketed exclusively for making this bevy. Another confession, I didn’t use fancy coffee beans. So shoot me!
At the upper end of the butter scale, you can put 6-8 Tbsp of grass-fed butter in your bulletproof blend. Does anyone else think that sounds a little, uh, crazy? I opted for a starter’s variation. Maybe I’ll work my way up the butter scale, one day.
Here’s what I used:
1 Tbsp unsalted grass-fed butter
1 Tsp coconut oil
1 Cup coffee
Directions:
1) Pour freshly brewed coffee into a blender.
2) Add in butter and coconut oil.
3) Blend until it’s a light caramel colour.
It should also have a layer of buttery-coconutty froth on top.
My verdict:
I’m currently on day three of (possibly) seven of bulletproofing my morning bevy, but I have a pretty solid opinion formed already. Some sources told me I should give it at least 10 days because I might not notice any benefits before that.
I don’t know if I can make it to day 10.
I’ll give bulletproof coffee a few pros, but I think there are definitely some inherent cons, for me at least.
Pros:
• It tastes pretty decent.
• Zero caffeine crash (I don’t usually notice this after my morning coffee though)
• I did notice I had more energy than I do when I drink regular coffee with almond milk.
• It was moderately filling. Maybe this was a psychological thing, though.
• I felt more alert, albeit for short time, first thing in the morning.
Cons:
• I’ve missed the sensation of sinking my teeth into actual breakfast food.
• On day two, I did get a bit hangry by lunch time…
• I don’t think it’s helping to keep things moving/flowing in my system.
• Greasy teeth. Enough said.
I don’t think this is a health fad I’ll be continuing in the long term. I like eating, not drinking, my breakfast. But in desperate situations, I would recommend trying bulletproof coffee over guzzling an energy drink. Don’t get me started on energy drinks, though. That’s a whole other blog post.
Have you tried bulletproof coffee? Let me know your thoughts, DM on Instagram @thelifeof_lucky, or send me an email– breanne.thelifeoflucky@gmail.com
The Life of Lucky 