If I were asked which food product I couldn’t live without, it would probably be organic coconut oil. From cooking to beauty care, coconut is versatile, healthy and a must for your pantry and beauty cabinet. Here are my top 5 favorite uses for coconut oil:
1) Coconut Oil for Your Hair: Take approximately 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and mix in between the palms of your hands. Gently apply to the ends of the hair and allow to sit overnight (place a towel down on pillowcases as a precautionary). How your hair responds to the conditioning treatment varies from one person to another. Because I’m an outdoorsy-type–which means I’m in the sun often–the coconut oil is usually absorbed throughout my hair (I tend to apply 1 inch away from my scalp). Wash your hair with a gentle shampoo the next morning & a light conditioner. This conditioning treatment is perfect for both men and women!
2) Coconut Oil for Cooking: Try cooking onions in coconut oil–you’ll fall in love with the exotic taste! I especially love using coconut oil as a marinade or dressing for fish and poultry. See my recipe below for Coconut Crusted Chicken!
3) Coconut Oil for Traveling: I recall the good ole’ days of traveling with body creams, conditioners, face creams, etc. Now, with all the strict standards of airline carriers I’m only packing a jar of coconut oil for most of my beauty care needs!
4) Intermittent Fasting and Coconut Oil: Intermittent Fasting (or IF) is getting some pretty good press lately. All the medically peer reviewed research to accompany this pattern of eating shows positive findings; essentially, you could compare IF to CR (calorie restriction) from studies within health and longevity. While I’ve used IF in my practice for certain cases–I do not recommend for just anyone. If you have a clean bill of health, you can try IF by fasting from 7:00pm the previous evening and going until lunch without eating (only drinking water). I do recommend taking in some coconut oil if you find yourself needing something (calorically speaking) to get you through the fast. More details about IF can be found here at THEIFLIFE .
5) Coconut as a skin & face moisturizer: Aside from using coconut oil directly from the jar, I especially love creating simple, easy-to-do moisturizers with essential oils. Here’s one of my favorite recipes from The Nourished Life using a Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter.
What you need:
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil (optional)
- a few drops of your favorite essential oils for fragrance (optional)
What to do:
1. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl. (You do not have to melt the coconut oil first.)
2. Mix on high speed with a wire whisk for 6-7 minutes or until whipped into a light, airy consistency.
3. Spoon the whipped coconut oil body butter into a glass jar and cover tightly. Store at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your house is so warm it melts the oil.
Tip: An electric hand mixer will work, but my KitchenAid stand mixer did an amazing job and I was able to get other work done while it was mixing away. A blender or food processor may also work, but I haven’t tried those yet.
Note: Your whipped coconut oil should stay relatively soft, even at colder temperatures. I noticed mine beaded into a froth of tiny coconut oil pearls that melt right into my skin.
Coconut Crusted Chicken
: Healthy, Low Carbohydrate, Organic Coconut Crusted Chicken Breast
- 2 Organic Boneless Chicken Breast
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut Flakes
- 1/2 Cup Ground Almond Flower
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- Sea Salt / Pepper
- Seasoning of choice
- In a bowl, beat the egg and set aside. Combine the coconut flakes, almond flour, sea salt and pepper and herbs of choice to a shallow dish. Butterfly the chicken and dip into the egg bath. Now the chicken is ready for the coconut-coating by gently pressing into the plate.
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until finished.
- Use fresh lemon or lime juice after cooking the chicken to create a tangy-flavor.
- Enjoy with steamed veggies or a tropical salad.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 2
5 : ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
