Coconut Oil / Butter - a Superb Superfood for super health and a recipe for Golden Crunchies

There are jars of Coconut Butter / Oil all around my house, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, and in my handbag and suitcase when travelling. I can't be without this Superfood .... I admit it, I'm addicted!

I use Coconut Oil for cooking - frying, desserts, cakes, cookies, as a skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, for Oil Pulling, eating - in raw cake and pie recipes, salads, smoothies and cacao chocolate, as massage oil and even as a suntan lotion! The list of uses for Coconut Oil seems to be endless. See what I mean about it being a Superb Superfood for super health?.

In Sanskrit, the Coconut Palm is known as the "Kalpa vriksha" which means "the tree that supplies all that is needed to live". People from all around the world for thousands of years have regarded it as one of the most valuable sources of food AND medicine. I love that everything from this tree can be used, not only for food and medicine; but matting, furniture and ornaments as well, so nothing taken from this tree goes to waste!

A truly Superb Superfood.

Read on for more about Coconut Oil and I've included my favourite Recipe for delicious moreish Crunchies (Flapjacks).

Did you know?

Coconut Oil is anti-fungal, antimicrobial and antibacterial and there is a wide range of illnesses and ailments with which it is supposed to possibly help.

The list includes abscesses, bronchitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis, kidney stones, lice, malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurvy, skin infections, painful menstruation, jaundice, normalizes blood sugar levels, alzheimers, increases energy, candida, fungal conditions, tonic, sore throat, ulcers and more.

In World War 11, during the Pacific Battles 1941 - 1945, medical staff used coconut water to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers is it was discovered that coconut water is nearly identical to human blood plasma - how awesome is this?

As it's a completely natural product, not chemically manufactured, to my mind that means it can't hurt you to try it out! Make your your own lotions and potions with Coconut Butter.

It's wonderful for cooking as it has a high temperature tolerance - the fat molecules stay intact making it safer and more stable and healthy for use as a cooking oil. Substitute Coconut Oil for butter and other fats listed in cooking, baking and frying recipes - you'll be doing your health a great favour!

It's widely used in the raw food world for salad dressings, cakes, cookies, chocolate, soups and more as a source of delicious plant-based fat and high nutritional content.

And of course, let's not forget that Coconut Oil as a beauty product is awesome - as a moisturizer for skin care, conditioner for hair and as a suntan lotion. Try adding some of your favourite essential oils, not only as a remedy but for the delicious aromas available, to create a blend unique to you. With the added essential oils, it makes a gorgeous Massage Oil too.

Yes, as I said, Coconut Oil is Superb Superfood for super health!

We're all searching for a miracle cure for something ...

Whether it be an anti aging wonder, a beauty treatment, a remedy for a minor ailment or a miraculous cure for something life threatening; we search and search - sometimes finding that one essential thing that helps and sometimes not.

There are countless books on countless remedies, cures, therapies, preparations mixtures and tonics for countless health and beauty issues and I have chosen a few on Coconut Oil, listed above.

Would love to hear your opinions on these books ....

Coconut Butter melts at room temperature and becomes an oil.

The creamy white butter becomes a clear oil when heated above about 25 degrees Celsius. As the climate in the United Kingdom is generally cold, this oil will usually solidify at room temperature.

Simply stand the tub (with the lid on) in a bowl of fairly hot water and the butter will melt back into an oil.

If using to moisturise the skin - the warmth of your hands will melt the butter.

A Recipe to share with you (using Coconut Oil)

Made with Oats, Crunchies are very similar to Flapjacks as they are called in England; but are more crisp and chewy; delicious with a coffee ... or a cup of tea... or for breakfast ... or as a snack ... or picnic ..... or just because ...

I try to use ingredients that are as natural and unprocessed as possible, so adapted the original recipe to try to make it more healthy -

* Use Coconut Butter instead of butter or margarine. Once I began to make Crunchies with coconut oil, margarine and butter no longer taste good to me in this recipe!

* Use Honey or agave instead of syrup.

* Use Organic Coconut chips - taste sooo much nicer - pop them into the food processor to shred - instead of shop bought desiccated coconut.

All of these work well and I feel that they are a more healthy choice for me.

However, I tried swapping the flour for coconut flour - yuck, disaster! The crunchies were crumbly and oddly dry; not at all a good taste for me, so definitely won't try coconut flour in my fave recipe again!

This is one of my most favourite delicious cookie recipes in the world -and here it is to share it with you.

By the way, mention Crunchies to just about any South African and they will know what you are talking about!

Add Coconut Oil and you have Cacao Chocolate perfection!

My own use of Coconut Oil began when making healthy Raw Chocolate with Cacao Butter, Cacao Powder and Agave, (which means I eat chocolate that is sugar free, dairy free,has no unhealthy fats and is additive free). Adding some Coconut Oil makes the chocolate just that bit more smooth and velvety and deliciously moreish!

Raw Chocolate is considered by some to have the highest concentrations of anti-aging, life-enhancing antioxidants! Also know as the Food of the Gods. Blend together Cacao Powder, Cacao Butter and Agave, pour into ice-trays and keep refrigerated and you have healthy delicious chocolate.

So blend in some Coconut Butter with the raw chocolate ingredients for a smoother taste and then you have Cacao Chocolate perfection!

And adding coconut oil to the mix makes the best-est chocolate bliss ever!

"......Only mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun" --Noel Coward

Conventional suntan lotions have received a lot of bad press recently because of synthetic ingredients and preservatives in them; the possibility that they are not good for our bodies and could be the cause of skin damage.

My Quest for radiant health and wellbeing for my family and our planet and wanting to use natural resources led to Coconut Oil at the perfect moment (synchronicity is awesome!).

It sounds really odd to use an oil when going out in the sun, you would think you would fry; but having tried and tested over many summers, it works. I have spent a weekend in the sun recently, applying coconut oil as needed and my skin went a golden brown. A few days later, I spent a half hour during my lunch hour in the nearby park, didn't have my coconut oil with me and in that short time my face (especially my nose) burned red! - note to self - don't go out in the midday sun!

REALLY USEFUL TIP: Don't go out in the midday sun! Keep out of the sun at the hottest times of the day, that's usually between about 11:30 /12 midday and 3pm.

It seems that as a suntan lotion, Coconut Oil works better if you are eating and using it in your diet as well as it on the skin! I use a lot of Coconut Butter in my diet, in smoothies, Cacao Chocolate, salad dressings, Raw cookies and cakes etc; perhaps that's also why it works so well for me.

Make your own potion.

using that superb superfood - Coconut Oil.

A few years ago, my son broke his arm during the summer and fortunately a waterproof cast meant he could still enjoy a trip to a Waterworld Fun Park. The cast was a bit loose by then and as he ran around throughout the day, it kept moving, exposing the skin on his hand and wrist that had been covered up.

That evening, this patch of skin was horribly red and swollen with sunburn. I mixed up a potion that I hoped would soothe this and kept applying the lotion during the evening. I really was amazed the next morning to see the sunburn swelling had gone and the red burn had changed to a golden brown colour.

It's such a simple recipe; but so effective. Try this if you ever do get sunburned; I hope it works as well for you as it did for my son.

Sunburn Potion:

* Half a cup of Coconut Oil

* 6 - 8 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

Mix well and apply as often as possible to the sunburned area of skin.

Using Coconut Oil - a superb superfood!

Oil Pulling is a practise from Ayurvedic medicine that involves swishing oil in your mouth for 10 to 15 minutes.

There is huge long list of reported benefits using this method to detox your body and here are just a few:

* Healthy gums

* Clear skin

* Increased energy

* Decreased allergies

* Improved PMS symptoms

* Helps with migraine headaches

* Helps decrease asthma symtoms

* Clearer sinuses

* Better sleep

* Aids weight loss.

And some people have reported results ranging widely from whiter, straighter teeth, curing gingivitis, weight loss or even reversing grey hair!

Well, maybe some of these are truly an exaggeration; but trying this product is not going to cause you any harm - that's what I love about a natural product.!

- First thing in the morning before breakfast, swish about a tablespoon of oil (coconut oil or sesame oil) slowly around your mouth, making sure it reaches every corner of your mouth.

- Do not swallow the oil as it is contains the toxins it's drawing out of your body.

- Swish the oil for 10 -15 minutes. The oil will become foamy and thin.

- Spit out and rinse your mouth out well with water; then brush your teeth and tongue with a natural toothpaste.

Oil pulling can be done daily if you choose.

I've been doing this for a while; usually only a couple of time a week though - it's an amazing feeling having such a clean feeling mouth.

Bruce Fife has written some amazing books on Coconut Oil - makes for fascinating reading - and who knows? You may find something in one of his books that will help you to better health and wellbeing. Check out his websites too!

Coconut Oil as a remedy for Jewels the Cat @ SynchronicityHouse

A couple of years ago, Jewels the Cat @ SynchronicityHouse, started to get bald patches round her sides and back and it looked really awful; she got quite stressed out with scratching. Maybe she picked up something from the foxes that enjoyed visiting our garden or possibly it was from fleas. I knew it would cost a fortune to take her to the vet and didn't want to use commercial chemically based products, so decided to try a homemade remedy first.

Being addicted to using Coconut Oil (knowing it has antiviral, antimicrobial and antibacterial properties) together with delicious Essential Oils as the answers to all sorts of skin conditions myself, I concocted a potion! I knew she'd be cleaning and licking her fur, so the remedy had to take that into account as well.

After about a week I could see the areas begin to change, she wasn't scratching as much and at the end of about two weeks her fur began to grow back. It was amazing! I then used the potion once or twice a week until her fur began to get thick and then stopped applying it and she has never had a problem since then.

Anyone else had success with homemade remedies? If you try my potion, I would love to hear if it worked for your pet too!

(by Barbs at SynchronicityHouse)

Jewels the Cat @ SynchronicityHouse - Potion for Bald Fur Patches!

A homemade potion that worked for my Cat.

1. Put Coconut Oil into a container and stand in hottish water until it turns back to oil - about 1 cup

2. Stir in the tiniest amount of Tea Tree Essential Oil (too much is toxic so err on the side of caution) - easier to put a drop of tea tree on a tissue and just wipe it over the bottom of the jar you are using

3. Shake the jar (The potion will solidify if you live in a colder climate; but will melt easily in warm hands).

5. Apply to the affected areas every day for about 10 days or so.

When the fur begins growing back, apply only once or twice a week. Stop applying when the fur is beginning to grow more thickly.

The tree of life - nothing goes to waste, everything from the coconut tree is used to make furniture, gifts, for food and medicine.

Look at these lovely lamps from the shells of coconuts - they make me smile every time I look at them!