The Benefits of Coconut Oil

After the last post I was asked where I find so many 'weird' ingredients?!  To me they are not weird, just unusual and sometimes the research is new so supermarkets haven't quite cottoned on to them yet.
Coconut oil is certainly not weird, it is delicious!  And has been used for cooking in countries like Sri Lanka for a very long time.
More recently it has been heralded as an answer to Alzheimer's disease, with its' ability to boost the brains energy supply through Ketones - high level fuel that is produced by converting medium chain triglycerides (MCT), which are abundant in coconut oil.  Coconut oil has the largest concentration of MCT, apart from human breast milk, and these go directly to the liver and are transformed into energy and not fat.  
MCT's promote what is called 'thermogenisis', which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy, so not only is it recommended for Alzheimer's, it is also very useful for athletes or weight loss.
Lauric acid is the name of the fat found in coconut milk, it is a saturated fat that is known to enhance the immune system through it's antiviral and antibacterial effects.
So how can you use it?
There are so many uses of this gorgeous oil, it's hard to know where to start!  You can add it to pretty much anything - it makes smoothies really creamy, and I use it in baking instead of butter.  Another friend spreads it on his toast in the morning!  And because it has a high smoke point, it is very stable, and slow to oxidise - perfect for cooking food at high temperatures, stir-fries for instance.
And it's not just for eating - massage it into your skin or hair for a really indulgent treat.

Creamy Sultana Porridge

Serves 1

40 g rolled oats

30 g sultanas

300 ml non-dairy milk

1 tsp Coconoil

1 knob stem ginger, diced

½ banana, peeled and sliced

drizzle of honey

• ·          Place the oats, sultanas, non-dairy milk and 200 ml water in a pan and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
• ·          Place over a medium heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring most of the time, until thick and creamy.
• ·         Stir in the Coconoil until it has melted, then serve the porridge in a bowl.
• ·         Sprinkle with the diced ginger and sliced banana and drizzle with honey.

  More of my recipes can be found on the Coconoil website.

    

   Joy xx

   PS  For any Triathletes reading this, go to Total Sports Nutrition magazine for my latest feature, to help your improve your performance.

Eating for the rest of your life

It's now a few weeks since I gave up so many of the foods I thought I couldn't live without, and still I don't miss any of them.  It helps I suppose that I wasn't really 'hooked' on anything too addictive - no caffeine or alcohol to speak of, but it's more that I really want to feel that I am 'feeding' my body good nourishing food. ( I do have to admit to one slight glitch - a visit to beautiful Southwold would not have been the same without a portion of fish and chips on the seafront!).
We don't tend to think of eating as feeding ourselves, the way we do when we 'feed' plants, when we think they need nourishing - well so do we!  So instead of eating because we are hungry or because we happen to be passing a shop that sells foods that our body actually has no idea what to do with (most junk food), we need to get the idea into our heads of eating foods that can help our bodies to function, and hopefully carry us on into healthy old age.
And that is another way to think about 'diets' (how I hate even the word!) - unless you can sustain that way of eating for the next ten years, then there is no point - you need a healthy eating regime that fits into your everyday life FOREVER.
But even when eating healthily you need a few treats, and for me the Happy Kitchen brownies are one of the best raw chocolate brownies I have tasted - I just love the texture and thick fudge-like consistency.  So, needless to say, over the past week I have been trying to make my own version, and this comes pretty close, using ingredients from two of my favourite suppliers - Coconoil and Naturya, trying to use the healthiest ingredients I can, keeping them gluten and dairy free.

'Raw' Chocolate Fudge

Makes 30-40 squares

175 g Coconoil
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
100 g dates, stoned
100 g Naturya Cocoa Nibs
75 g brown rice flour
20 g hemp protein powder
50 g mixed ground seeds (linseed, sesame, sunflower or pumpkin)
grated rind of 1 orange

Place the Coconoil and molasses in a pan and gently heat until the Coconoil has melted.
Meanwhile, place the dates into a food processor and blitz until broken down.
Grind the cocoa nibs in a coffee grinder to give a smooth powder.
Stir the ground cocoa powder and rice flour into the Coconoil and molasses mixture and then add to the food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
Spoon into a base lined 18cm square tin and press until level.
Chill until firm, and then cut into squares and store in an air-tight container.

Try not to eat all at once!

J xx