a to z: c is for coconut oil

Over the past two months, I have become addicted to coconut oil. I admit it… I’m a coconut oil-aholic. I turn to coconut oil for pulling, as a facial/body moisturizer and hair conditioner, to make popcorn, in my morning tea, and to cook/bake/flavor foods.

If you haven’t heard of coconut oil and all it’s wonderful benefits, Google it. I attempted to find a reputable site to link to but am running out of time and don’t want to link to any ol’ random site without making sure it’s reputable first. So I apologize for not having a link at this time.

However, I can tell you what I do, how I do it, and my experiences with it. And did I mention how much I love it?!?

Oil pulling

• What: Ayruvedic medicine technique of swooshing oil in one’s mouth for health benefits
• When: daily first thing in the morning
• Why: to detox body, increase metabolism, whiten teeth, clean harmful bacteria from mouth, increase energy, etc.
• How: put one tablespoon of oil in mouth, swoosh (pull between teeth, under tongue, in cheeks) for 20 minutes, don’t swallow as oil is full of toxins, spit out (I spit in toilet or shower drain, some people recommend spiting in trash can as to not clog drains/pipes), rinse mouth with warm water, thoroughly brush teeth and scrape tongue after

Facial/body moisturizer and hair conditioner

• Up until this week, I’ve been using coconut oil on my face and eliminated the use of store-bought moisturizer for the past two months. However, because of the amount of time I’ve been spending in the sun recently, I’ve added a light moisturizer with SPF into the coconut oil to protect my face. Warning: I experienced this and upon researching, others have too… breakouts when first starting to use coconut oil as a moisturizer. Theory is that it’s drawing toxins out of your skin and if you can tolerate the breakouts and get past them, breakouts will become practically non-existent. In my experience, I still have mild breakouts but about 90% of them is because of the way my lazy hypotonic body leans on my hand when I’m reading or surfing the internet since most of my recurrent breakouts are on my chin and left cheek, the places I realize I touch when leaning.
• On my body, I’ve been using it on my “twin skin” (I had 15 lbs 4 oz of babies in me with my twins, not including the placenta and all the fluids… they took quite a toll on my small-framed 5′ 3″ body). According to my husband, he thinks the coconut oil is helping to tighten up the skin, but maybe he’s just being nice. My girls are 5-1/2 years old so I’m not sure if skin can still heal to the point that I’d like it to.
• As a hair conditioner, I rub a very small amount between my palms and apply to dry hair then brush through to evenly distribute. Tames fly-aways and makes hair shiny.

To make popcorn

• Warning: you won’t be able to go back to whatever popcorn you used to love prior to trying this! It’s that good!
• Directions (when I have a chance, I’ll try to figure out how to make/insert one of those recipe cards here):

• Ingredients: 3 T coconut oil, 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, about 1/4 tsp fine salt = enough popcorn for a huge bowl for my husband and a medium-sized bowl for me)

1. Heat about 3 T coconut oil in a large pot on the stove.
2. Sprinkle some (maybe about 1/4 tsp) fine salt (like popcorn salt) into the oil so it has time to dissolve.
3. Place 2-3 popcorn kernels in the pot and cover. These are your test kernels so when they pop, you’ll know when the oil is hot enough to add the rest.
4. When the test kernels pop, add 1/2 cup popcorn kernels and cover.
5. Shake pot to evenly coat. You will be shaking every 10 seconds or so until done to prevent burning.
6. When popping sound slows to once every couple of seconds, remove from heat and continue shaking (covered) for 10-20 more seconds. Warning: some kernels continue popping during this time and if you uncover the pot too quickly, you may get burnt… not to mention your popcorn will go flying all over the place).
7. Add in arare and enjoy!

In tea

• I’ve tried it in the many different types of tea that I drink (Chai, green tea, genmaicha, Tazo’s Passion tea, Aveda’s comforting tea) and love the coconut oil in all of them.
• Lazy woman’s way: brew tea, add in a teaspoon of coconut oil into your hot tea and stir (i.e. try to stir – it won’t mix), enjoy tea even with oil sitting on top of the surface.
• Less lazy woman’s way: brew tea, take some out into a separate cup/bowl, slowly add in a teaspoon of coconut oil while constantly mixing (mixture will look kinda milky/creamy), add oil mixture back into main tea, enjoy tea with oil evenly mixed in.
• Oh, and for an extra kick (and metabolism boost), I add in a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Yummy!!!

Cooking/baking/flavoring foods

• Disclaimer: I’m not the cook in our family. I’m not the cook in any family. I’m not a cook. Period. So I can’t give you recipes, but I can give you ideas.
• Preface: Although I’m not a cook (see “Disclaimer” above), I LOVE to eat. And appreciate good food.
• Ways we’ve cooked with (and eaten) coconut oil:
  • stir fry: veggies, ham, chicken
  • curries: add to Japanese curry and Thai curry
  • as a jelly/syrup substitute: spread on toast, pancakes, waffles, etc.
  • in baked goods (I’ve replaced 1:1 any other oil in recipes with coconut oil) – especially good in brownies!

Do you use coconut oil? I’d love to hear about your experiences with it!