talk to me about coconut oil...

[hildare]

so i've been reading nina planck's real food, & i like what i'm seeing about coconut oil. i know there are some mamas here who adore it. i'm going to get some, but.. what do i do with it (food wise)? any good tips/recipes? <3

[laohaire]

It's a good cooking oil for anything you cook on medium heat - like stir fry, curries, etc.

[Alyantavid]

It's really good for baking with as well. And in smoothies.

[isabchi]

We lives in CO...LOL!..
We use for cooking ...for Eggs, pankakes, smoothies, almost everything except Salad dressing..

We also use as Body lotion, hair condition,etc..

[robynholly]

I just bought some and it says it doesn't need to be refridgerated after opening...I thought all the good ones needed to?? Did I buy a cheap one?

[Alyantavid]

No if you refrigerate it, it will turn into a big rock. So keep it out at room temp.

[Pariah]

I've used it for baking and I really liked it. I've been dying to get some more, I just haven't had the money for it. I love using it on my skin and hair, as a PP mentioned.

[nichole]

I like to use it instead of butter on a baked potato, leftover rice, toast, etc.

[isabchi]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cocon...efits/#refined

[Magelet]

I use it in baking (I use it melted instead of liquid oils in bread, but in cakes or cookies etc, I'd look for a recipe based on butter or shortening, because it is a solid fat.).

I use it to cook just about everything sometimes. (sometimes I use other fats). sauted onions for curries, stir fries, whatever. It's also really yummy and tastes like dessert if you mix it with natural pb and raisins.

[lilcrunchymama]

What a great link. I had no idea that coconut oil was that good for you. I want to try it in a smoothie!

[sunnysandiegan]

We are roasting veggies tossed in melted coconut oil tonight for dinner.

Everyone loves it when I cook omelets in CO and salmon patties. MMMmmmm....

I purchased Nature's Way Efagold VCO the first time and it was good. I put some in a jar for beauty products and left the rest in the original container for cooking purposes.

Just as I was running out of the cooking portion, someone in the frugality & finances forum posted a sale on amazon for Nutiva VCO. It was two containers for less than one at our local hfs and free shipping. People say Nutiva is the best. We didn't notice a difference and I also asked some neighbors to try both for a test of sorts. (They were curious already.) No difference; both were great.

Anyway, CO melts at certain temperatures (70-something degrees farenheit) and is solid at cooler temps. We have more than half the year where the CO is liquid naturally.

[Pogonia]

I use it for almost everything mentioned above. Plus we keep a jar in the bathroom for deodorant. Also use after a shower while skin is still damp.

[Llyra]

It makes a great treatment for a flaky scalp, too.

[Amanda Williams]

We keep jar in our nightstand, too.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by Amanda Williams

We keep jar in our nightstand, too.

Just keep in mind that CO (or any oil) breaks latex down....

[lakeruby]

I love coconut oil! We use it in place of butter and oil in lots of recipes. I especially love using it to roast veggies. We also use it for oil-pulling (swish a spoonful around in your mouth first thing in the morning for about 10-20 minutes-- this is an auryvedic method of cleansing and pulling toxins out of your body through your mouth. I don't know much about auryvedics but my friend told me that this helped her dental health and so I've started doing it, too. I haven't been doing it that long, but she says it will also help whiten your teeth...)

My DP uses coconut oil in smoothies-- he says to be sure to drizzle it in after you get the smoothie mixed up and the blender is running, otherwise it will clump up at the bottom of the blender when it comes in contact with frozen fruit or ice.

[anomaly13]

I tried using co for cooking once and didn't like the coconut taste in that particular dish, so that jar went into the shower where we already were using co. is there a co with no flavor, if so i would make the switch but now we use olive oil or butter for cooking. will have to try it in a smoothie and baked goods where coconut flavor would go well.