Why Coconut Oil?

by Renée Rainville
Health improvement and wellness services by:rRainville.comrRainvilleLLC@gmail.com 
Find her at The Marketplace at Simpson Spring, Saturdays 10a-2p


I know you have been reading and hearing about the many health benefits of Coconut Oil on the news and internet. I'd like to give you some solid reasons to give it a try (pun intended as Coconut Oil will remain solid until it reaches a temperature of around 76 degrees F). Even Dr. Mercola and Dr. Oz have agreed the benefits severely outweigh the assumption this type of fat can be bad for us.  

• Cooking at a high heat - While I prefer keeping things as RAW as possible and use my Coconut Oil to finish a dish and grapeseed oil as my cooking oil, Coconut Oil can be used in place of olive oil while making daily dishes due to its high smoke point.  Some oils are unsafe to cook with at high temperatures so be sure to check labels while shopping. 
• On toast and grilled cheese sandwiches instead of butter - Simply use Coconut Oil on your toast instead of butter - jazzes up breakfast and makes your grilled cheese sandwich a bit more healthy.
• Eat it by the spoonful - Coconut Oil is that delicious and healthful to eat on a spoon each morning.
• Smoothies and coffee/tea - Add 4 tablespoons of Coconut Oil to your favorite smoothie recipe or 1 tablespoon to your morning coffee/daily tea and increase your energy with the amount ofMCTs present.
• Fry eggs - Lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with coconut oil to create a non-stick surface and delicious eggs.
• Popping corn - Use a heavy bottom pan when making stovetop popcorn.  Coat the bottom of the pot with Coconut Oil and use enough non-GMO popping corn (find it in the bulk section of your grocery store or in a package labeled non-GMO or GMO Free) to make a single layer over the bottom of the pan.  Shake to coat all sides of the corn kernel with oil.  Place the pot over medium heat with the lid on but slightly tilted so hot air can escape.  Popping should take about 5 minutes.
• Popcorn topping - Melting Coconut Oil in place of butter for your topping makes the snack a healthier alternative.  Follow that with a sprinkle of Himalayan salt for a boost of minerals your body needs!
• Oven baked sweet potato chips - Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Thinly slice sweet potatoes to 1/8 inch thick.  Place slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with Coconut Oil and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Add Himalayan salt to taste and serve w salsa or dip - or just eat them because they are delicious.
• Replace vegetable oil for baking - use Coconut Oil in brownies to test it out.  You will see it doesn't change the flavor as much as the texture and health benefits.
• Pan frying - French fries/sweet potato fries, chicken, when you sauté vegetables - choose Coconut Oil and taste the difference.
• Salad dressing - Use Coconut Oil in place of olive oil in your next batch of homemade salad dressing.  Remember my comment about it remaining a solid until 76 degrees and place it in a glass of warm/hot water to melt it after storing it in the fridge.  A great Ranch recipe is found here.
• For the body and hair - my articles tend to be long so if you are interested in specifics on using Coconut Oil in this way, please shoot me an email at rrainvillellc@gmail.com or make a request on www.rRainville.com and I'll happily discuss these amazing benefits in detail! shaving lotion, facial scrub combined w Himalayan salt at night - washing off is optional, body scrub combined w sugar, makeup remover - longer, healthier eyelashes is a bonus, homemade deodorant when combined with a few other ingredients, lip gloss, diaper rash cream applying regularly to baby's bottom, stretch mark preventerduring pregnancy applying multiple times per day, nipple cream during breastfeeding - popular choice for nursing mothers as it is more natural and can be ingested by the infant safely, personal lubricant, massage oil, body/facial moisturizer applying after showering daily, aides in fading age spots, sunburn care as it is a light moisturizer allowing the heat to escape while providing moisture, mix 1/4 cup in the bath water and soak, tanning oil - natural SPF of about 4-6, put in a spray bottle and apply liberally every other hour - sunscreen recipe here (one of my fave websites for natural alternatives!), dry feet foot scrub - mix with salt to form a foot scrub, leave-in overnight conditioner - rub in ends of hair and comb through rolling hair into a loose bun before bed and wash in the morning, hair flyaway tamer - use sparingly on ends or flyaways, defrizzer of split ends - using a tiny amount on hands run them through the frizzy areas, static reducer, toothpaste - used alone as I do or mixed with a few ingredients Coconut Oil makes an amazing natural toothpaste due to its natural antibacterial properties, oil pulling (google the term or click here), wound care in place of Neosporin, metabolism booster/thyroid support - 2 tablespoons per day has proven to increase metabolism and aid in an ailing thyroid.
• For pets - feed it to dogs - it is as healthy for them as it is for us, put it on cats paws for a healthy coat and less hairballs.

Homemade, natural products I will be supplying over the next few weeks at the Marketplace at Simpson Spring:

• Sunscreen
• Toothpaste
• Hair products
• Skin moisturizers
• Bug spray
• Anything you request - Have you seen something on tv, the internet or new and wanted to try it out but didn't feel like making it?  Ask me, I may have already made it!

Come see me at the RAW NUT TABLE and let me know how YOU use Coconut Oil.