The Wonderful World of Coconuts

A couple weeks ago my husband had a "blonde" moment as he asked me, "What does a coconut look like?" I gave a brief description and later went shopping. While at the store, I decided to buy a coconut. I have always loved coconut so I knew we could find some use for this. We had done some research about coconuts and found out that the juice inside is water & not milk which I kept calling it. The water is very high in electrolytes and has been even known to be put in IVs for people needing fluids!!! Wow, God's Gatorade!!! We used a drill to get the water out & then a big scary knife to crack it open. Then we made coconut milk (in the Vitamix, of course)!!! What a fun experiment!!! There are some amazing sites out there with recipes for making your own coconut milk, but here is what I did.

       Coconut Milk

• I took all of the coconut meat & peeled the brown stuff off. 
• Then I chopped it into about 1 inch pieces & put them in the Vitamix. 
• Next, I poured about two cups of warm water in & turned it on.
• After everything was blended well, I took my juicer & put the mixture in it. 

I was able to use & reuse the coconut puree a few times & got about 1 liter of coconut milk!!! I did have to mix it with cow's milk to get the kids aquainted with it., but now they are enjoying coconut milk in their oatmeal every morning!!! Here is their morning recipe:

Coconut Raisin Oatmeal:
(sorry, but I didn't get around to taking a pic of the oats)

• 1 packet instant regular oatmeal
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 small box of raisins (or dried fruit of choice)

1. Put the oatmeal in a bowl
2. Pour in the milk
3. Mix in the raisins
4. Microwave for about 20-30 seconds (or more if you prefer it hotter)
5. Enjoy!!!

The Diva enjoying some yummy coconut milk!!!

Coconut Oil

Another thing that we found out about coconuts is that the oil is AMAZING for you!!!! I have a genetic disorder called Carnitine Uptake Deficiency which basically makes it so that my fat is not burned for energy. Apparently, when you eat coconut oil, it bypasses the carnitine system and raises your metabolism!!! This is very cool for me!!!! I have started eating coconut oil (instead of butter) every morning on either Cinnamon Raisin Bread or whole grain waffles... YUMMY!!! Just make sure that you use a brand that has a smell of coconuts when you open it.  I am still looking for that, but since it is pricy I use the one I already have. Check out this site for all of the info on coconuts!!!