Wicked Wednesday: I ain't afraid of no fat. Marathoners, listen up.

"Fat" is a word that comes with a bad connotation, almost no matter the context in which it is used. In excess, I will agree that fat of any kind, whether it be body, monounsaturated, trans, polysaturated, animal, vegetable, etc. is a bad thing, but almost anything in excess is a bad thing, even if it's a good, uh, thing. But dietary fat gets a far worse wrap than it deserves, and I'll even go so far as to argue that many of us don't get enough of it.

Fat won't make you fat. Fat paired with crappy, rubbish carbohydrates, sugar, and other dietary nonsense will make you fat. Yes, a gram of fat contains more kilocalories (9 kcal for every gram) than a gram of carbohydrate (4 kcal) or a gram of protein (4kcal), but good fats not only have health benefits, they are essential for thriving. Funny how walnuts look like the brain: they are rich in polyunsaturated fats (you may know them as omega 3 fatty acids) which promote brain function and protection of the cardiovascular system, reproductive system, and have been linked to positive effects in depression patients. Fats help the body absorb fat-soluable vitamins like K, D, and E. And apart from all the physiological benefits, fat make you feel full. Fatty fat, make you full long time (sung to the tune of this song.)

It's Wednesday, and aside from Hump Day, it's also the day I designate an a**hole, or the Villain of the Week. I had contemplated getting serious with this one, but in order to avoid opening a potentially large can of worms, I'm going with this one: cell phone texter-and-walker who can't watch where he is going simultaneously. I see this on campus all the time, and frankly, with that many people trying to navigate narrow sidewalks at the same time, I'm strongly tempted to Heisman the next person who is on a crash course toward me and they have no idea because they're too busy telling LOLing and FingML. If only I saw more incidents like this.

With the VoW comes the Superfood of the Week. The trophy goes to coconut this week. A chameleon of sorts, the coconut is versatile, and its various body parts can be used across the culinary spectrum. I am a firm believer that the solutions to many of the world's problems lie in nut butter, and I am becoming increasingly aware that most are not familiar with any kind of nut butter aside from the usual PB. Don't get me wrong; I love me some classic Jif. But as beer is to champagne, PB is to coconut butter. Flaked coconut meat in a smoothie? The bomb. Coconut butter on top of the smoothie? Yep. Bee's knees. Coconut oil is better for cooking than olive oil due to its higher smoke point, and it has also been shown to promote weight loss. Marathoners and other super-endurance athletes should be interested in coconut oil because the fatty acids in it are of the medium chain triacylglycerol type (MCT) which are burned faster and more efficiently than most other types of fatty acids. That way, your bod works less in order to use MCT's as substrate during extended bouts of work so you keep those blood glucose levels protected (and you're not bonking hard and eating shit.) 

I try to consume a tablespoon or two of the stuff a day; I'll throw it in a smoothie or saute some tofu in it. But last night I was craving some sexy sauce on my lemon almond smoothie, and a serendipitous date with the blender led me to the best raw vegan caramel sauce evah.

Gurgling over the edge of the jar, all flirty-like. It's nights like this that make me glad that I live alone. There was a bit of the batch that wouldn't fit in the jar:

I first took a spatula to it (which I of course licked clean) and what I couldn't access with that, I got with my finger. Fingers. Completely shameless. Then I threw that biz on my lemon almond smoothie and topped with coconut flour, all before I could even get my argyle socks off.

Raw Vegan Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup medjool dates (about 5-6 dates, pitted)

1 cup unsalted cashews

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)

pinch cardamom

1/2 cup water + additional if needed

Soak the cashews in water for at least one hour. Combine the dates with 1/2 cup of hot water, set aside for a minimum of ten minutes. 

Once the soaking is finished, combine all ingredients in a blender on high speed until smooth. Add additional water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Clean pitcher with fingers at your own risk.