This process can be very overwhelming. Looking at a recipe that has "foreign" ingredients can be intimidating and you don't know where to even begin. I know this because I have been there. It was very hard at the beginning. I had no one to help me, only Google. I started making changes with my grocery list. I found the "Dirty Dozen" list and started buying organic produce, picking 1 fruit/vegetable every grocery trip. After doing a lot of research I started learning about the ingredients that I use on a daily basis. With help from my sisters we would experiment and cook with these "foreign" ingredients. The more we used them, the more comfortable we would feel. We would find ourselves reaching for the "foreign" ingredient instead of its unhealthy alternative.
You have to start somewhere so start here. On your grocery list add the ingredients that I will spotlight. If you don't have it in your house you will not use it. If there's an item that you would like to use please let me know. Leave a comment and I will add it to my spotlight list.
Also you will notice a new tab in my navigation bar labeled "Ingredients". I will add the items that I spotlight to that list. If you read a recipe and there is an ingredient that you want to learn more about check the "Ingredients" tab.
Want to know what out first Spotlight is?
Virgin Coconut Oil
(yes, this post is long BUT in order for you to feel comfortable using a new ingredient I want you to understand and respect the benefits of that ingredient. Please take the time to read)
It is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts. Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry. Coconut oil is very heat-stable, which makes it suited for methods of cooking at high temperatures like frying. Because of its stability, it is slow to oxidize and, thus, resistant to rancidity, lasting up to two years. (Wikipedia)
Some of you might have been told/heard not to eat Coconut Oil because it is high in saturated fat and will raise cholesterol levels. There was a study done many years back on hydrogenated (chemically modified) Coconut Oil showing that when used it produces higher cholesterol levels. The study also told us that trans fatty acids cause health problems. Coconut Oil does NOT have trans fatty acid, it has medium chain fatty acids, there is a big difference between the two.
More recent studies have been done with Virgin Coconut Oil showing many health benefits. The health benefits include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc. (click here to read more about the health benefits)
What are the different Coconut Oils?
Refined Coconut oil
This type of coconut oil is extracted from copra (smoke-, kiln-, or sun-dried meat of coconut). The meat is then crushed to produce the crude oil. Before the oil is usable, it still goes through a sanitizing process to remove impurities and its odor. Such process is called RBD or refining, bleaching, and deodorizing. With RBD, the coconut oil becomes tasteless, odorless, and colorless in the end.
You don't want to buy something that has been altered this much, especially since it has been bleached. Once this mush processing has been done it looses its health benefits.
Hydrogenated coconut oil
Hydrogenation is a chemical process that prolongs the shelf life of the coconut oil or to prevent early rancidity. This is done through forcing hydrogen gas into oil with use of high pressure and not through heating as what is usually believed.
This procedure actually converts good fatty acids of the coconut oil into trans-fatty acids (true to other hydrogenated oils as well). Trans fats can be detrimental to a person’s health increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. Thus, any type of hydrogenated oil should be avoided.
This definition pretty much says it all. Stay away from hydrogenated foods!
Fractionated coconut oil
Fractionated coconut oil is the most stable and has the longest shelf life. In the process of fractionation, the little amount of long chain fatty acids are completely removed from the oil that only the medium chain fatty acids are left.
This type of oil is good for cooking and as shortening; however, it is more suitable as ingredient for beauty soap, facial cream, lotion, shampoo, and conditioner formulations.
This is used more for beauty products. It is a much more expensive oil because of the processing it goes through to remove the long chain fatty acids and give it a very long shelf life. It is not cost efficient to use in cooking. This is a great massage oil or a carrier oil for essential oil.
Virgin Coconut Oil
The virgin coconut oil (unrefined coconut oil or raw coconut oil) comes from premium grade coco oil wherein it is extracted from fresh coconut meat. Because there are no mechanical processes involved in oil extraction, a lot of people would prefer to use unrefined coconut oil. Wet milling method makes use of coconut milk in extracting the virgin coconut oil
Ding Ding Ding......this is the one to buy! It should smell and taste like coconut. Nothing chemically done to it. Pure, clean, healthy coconut oil.
How do I use it?
I use Virgin Coconut Oil in all my baking. I rarely use it for cooking (I prefer grapeseed oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
I would start using it in muffins, breads and pancakes. There is no taste at all when baked. Your family will have no idea you replaced it with butter. I will post a few recipes (Maple Popcorn & Chewy Granola) in a few days. It will be easy for you to use Coconut Oil in these recipes and your family will love it!
I do have Organic butter in my fridge that I use on occasion. I prefer to bake with Coconut Oil because it has many more health benefits than butter. I think of food as fuel. Coconut Oil will give me more fuel than butter.
Where do I buy it?
I purchase Virgin Coconut Oil from Azure Standard or Preparing Wisely (click on baking supplies and scroll down to Oils). To understand what Azure is and how is works read this. Azure Standard is always cheaper than grocery stores but for some people it in inconvenient. Preparing Wisely is cheaper than the farmers markets/grocery stores. To start cooking with it I would suggest buying a 15 0r 16 oz container from the grocery store (Sprouts, Sunflower Market, Trader Joes, Frys Marketplace in their healthy food section). The 2 brands I love are Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and Natures Way Organic Pure Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. The words you are looking for are:
Organic (this is always the safe option. If it's Organic then they can't chemically process it)
Virgin- Don't worry about finding Extra Virgin. There is no regulation on Coconut Oil like their
is on Olive Oil. Company's will add Extra so it sounds more "clean" but it
means the same as Virgin
Unrefined- look at the ingredients- it will say "100% Organic Unrefined Cold-pressed, Extra-
virgin Coconut Oil." Cold Pressed means they did not use heat to extract the Oil
from the Coconut.
I will post a few recipes using Coconut Oil in a few days. Digest this information, go to the store, buy a tub of Coconut Oil and get ready to start baking!
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If you have any questions about Coconut Oil please post a comment!
Coconut Oil I am very grateful for the support and wonderful comments I have received about this blog. coconut water health benefits
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