Coconut Oil

"I'm coo coo for CocoPuffs Coconuts!!!!"

Yes, I am aging myself with pop culture references

to my childhood breakfast cereal commercials.

I don't care. 

Hopefully my beauty regimen of using

Coconut Oil on my skin will prevent me from

looking as old as my references.

I LOOOOVE coconut oil.

I've been using it faithfully since 2007.

2007 is a super significant year

in our families life.

It is the year that the four of us had the joy

of living life completely different.

SomeLovelyExtravagantlyGenerousJesusLoverFriends

of ours sent us on a Youth With A Mission,

Discipleship Training School

experience

that included a three month training

in Kona, HI

followed by a two month outreach

to the pacific island of

Samoa.

I will post some highlights of that trip

later

because today's posting is about

Coconut Oil.

It was in Samoa that TrueLove and I

fell so deeply in love with the

virtuous 

Coconut which led to our fascination

with the oil.

I mentioned Samoa because it was an environment

very challenging to eating a super healthy diet.

We were on a team and a budget,

which resulted in meals

that could easily be

stretched to feed

24 people.

The Samoan diet was very heavy in carbohydrates,

taro, rice, banana, coco samoa and you can imagine

that staying trim would be a challenge. We were

often served spaghetti sandwiches made

with canned spaghetti.

In this environment, TrueLove ended up losing

about 15 pounds rendering him his teenage 

body again.

The only thing he could figure out was that

he'd snack on the meat of a fresh

coconut every day.

They would fall from the trees,

and he enjoyed the process

of carving into them.

When we returned

to our normal life

he began researching Coconuts as a fat fighting food.

It turns out he had accidently stumbled on what

natural health people have known for a 

long time.

The medium chain fat properties of coconut

are used by the body as energy, 

rather than being stored as fat.

OOOOOH! Why did I not join him in his coconut eating ritual every day in Samoa?

So as we researched we began incorporating coconuts into our diet even more.

I began studying the benefits of Coconut Oil because

I had begun making raw meals for a friend

who was battling cancer the gentle way.

Many of the recipes required Coconut Oil

so I just started using it in my own 

cooking too.

I figured if it was good for her

then it was good for us too.

I almost never buy butter anymore.

I cook with Coconut Oil.

I spread it on my toast.

I put it in my smoothies.

I put it on popcorn.

I use it for RiceKrispieTreats instead of butter.

I use it for my MuddyBuddies instead of butter.

I fry eggs with it.

I use it for browning tortillas.

I put it in my oatmeal.

I put it on pasta instead of Olive Oil sometimes.

(I have nothing against Olive Oil but believe the coconut 

to have more beneficial qualities, 

so sometimes I reach for it before my Italian staple.)

I put it in on anything that I would normally use butter for.

When you cook with it, 

just keep in mind that it doesn't brown

the same way that butter does.

It is good for med to medium high heat

and I usually get a nice golden color

from frying with it.

I am not quite up to speed on how to use it for baking,

but I am searching out more recipes that incorporate

it.

The taste is lovely!

It isn't heavily flavored like you might expect.

It has a light, subtle, nutty flavor that in more savory dishes 

is hardly noticeable.

I don't miss butter at all!

My mom was a southern belle who still cooks like one

and I know the value of the comfort of butter in the kitchen,

I was raised on it!

And honestly, as much as I loved it,

I really do not miss it!

Honestly,

I put this post off for a long time because I knew it would be a long one.

Coconut Oil is so awesome!

Trust me,

no one is paying me write this,

I'm not receiving any free product (I WISH!),

not one kick back.

I love this stuff

and I wish that everyone would give

it a whirl in their kitchen

and see if they don't love it as much as I do.

Athletes use this oil,

I have an IronManFriend that scoops it right out of the jar daily

and puts it right down the hatch!

It boosts energy, endurance, and metabolism.

It's good for your heart.

Good for digestion.

Again, it's not stored like regular fats, it's burned as energy

which supports weight loss.

It has high levels of anti-oxidants.

But guess what?

The list goes on.

It is anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial.

So it helps fight things like-the flu, pneumonia, sore throats, meningitis, cavities, and all sorts of bacterial infections.

It can be used on your skin as:

moisturizer, make-up remover, massage oil, sunburn relief, 

and

for relief from problems like psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections.

Anti itch cream.

Mosquito repellant.

Healing balm.

Hair styling (smoothing the fly away frizzies).

Scalp Treatment.

Shaving bumps.

So I have a jar in my kitchen and one in my bathroom.

They both are used daily.

We don't stop there either with the coconut thing.

We drink Coconut Milk,

Coconut Water,

eat Coconut Flakes

and are even experimenting with 

coconut flour.

You might want to know which brand I use, 

but honestly I'm not partial to a 

particular brand.

I buy organic,

extra virgin and 

that's it.

I usually go with whichever is the least

expensive on the day that I am 

shopping for it.

I buy it wherever it is most convenient,

One Earth Health Foods,

 Whole Foods, Lunardi's,

but I am delighted to discover

that even Safeway

and Fresh and Easy carry it now.

So send me a comment if I've persuaded you to try it

or if you use it already for something that 

I haven't mentioned yet.

Enjoy!