Nora goes through a lot of heavy cream. She has at least 1/4 cup every day, most of it as “hot cocoa” as a bedtime snack.

We heavily rely on it as a source of concentrated fat. But we have learned from our dietician that Organic Valley Heavy Cream has been the only brand that her patients have been able to consistently rely upon to get 6 g of fat per tablespoon and 0 g of carbs. Other brands often contain a bit of the lactose (sugar) that should be left behind after they separate the cream, but they report 0 carbs because they are allowed to round down.

In addition, an at home tip: We often find that the fat separates and clumps within the carton of heavy cream. Big chunks can be stuck to the side or floating, so the fat distribution is uneven for each serving. We have learned to pour the whole pint out into a glass mason jar and stir it well initially and before serving. This last week, we were not doing that. There were probably several nights when Nora was not getting the required amount of fat in her hot cocoa before bed. I really noticed it when I used the last of the cream to make the scones. The cream just looked thinner to me at the very end of the carton. Another opportunity for measurement error.

Details matter. My brain is too full of details.