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Coconut Oil is one of those, readily absorbable, multi-beneficial, MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride), healthy fats. Likewise, it’s an edible, health food product, that tastes really, good, and it helps to improve your digestion. Coconut Oil is a really, rich, thick type of Oil that is solid at room temperature; However, it is not considered a saturated fat. Even better, it smells delicious (like tanning lotion), and there are a many uses for this product. We have some great ways for you to incorporate it into your health & wellness lifestyle. We like Coconut Oil because it’s great for baking with, and you can use it in place of the margarine or butter in a recipe.
Of course, as always, we have some great, healthy recipes for you to try. See below for ways to get creative with Coconut Oil.
Strawberry Banana Bread (Vegan)
This bread is delicious to have with tea – Just for you, we’re making it gluten free. Thanks a latte! – We suggest a large, chai, tea latte (or whichever tea you like best). To make, just steep your tea, and fill ½ your tea cup with Almond, Rice or Soy Milk.
Recipe
-2 Cups of Oats
-2 tsp baking soda
-1 Cup Sugar
-1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
-1/4 Cup Almond Milk (Rice or Soy works here too)
-1/4 Cup Silken Tofu
-2 Bananas (this recipe is great if you have overripe ones)
-1 Cup Sliced Strawberries
Directions: Puree the Tofu and Almond Milk in a blender. Add in the Coconut Oil, Sugar and bananas; pulse to puree. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and add the puree to this mixture. Blend together well. Then, add the sliced Strawberries, and mix well. Pour it all into a lightly greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until set. (Or make Muffins)
Fried Zucchini
If you like breadsticks, the kind that come along with your pizza, then you’ll like these. This is a healthy, gluten free recipe that is easy to make, and tastes delish! If you want, you can dip them in Low-Fat Ranch or Marinara Sauce.
Recipe
-2 Zucchini
-1 Tbsp Oregano
-1 Tbsp Parsley
-1/8 Cup Parmesan Cheese
-1 Tbsp (Melted) Coconut Oil
-1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Directions: Slice the Zucchini into 2 inch pieces, like you would prepare carrot sticks. Melt 1 Tbsp of Coconut Oil in the Microwave. Toss the Zucchini sticks in the Melted Oil. Sprinkle all of the spices over the Veggies, and toss to Coat. Follow up with the Parmesan Cheese. Make sure everything is well coated. Layer the Zucchini into a baking pan, and bake until soft. Remove from oven and add 1 Tbsp of Coconut Oil to a frying pan. Fry the Zucchini in the Oil, until crispy on the outside. You can skip this step, if you want. Baking is good, but this is a healthy way to fry the veggies, to make them crisp.
Coconut Oil is also wonderful, for our favorite – homemade health & wellness beauty products! We love this Oil, as an ultra moisturizing, skin cream, but please be mindful, it’s not intended for sensitive skin. If you are struggling with dry skin, however, this is your new best friend. You can use the plain, Coconut Oil to wash your face with, but don’t leave it on as a moisturizer; it will become too greasy. We also like it to clean the rest of your body because it smells really nice.
For great, naturally, moistened skin, upon stepping out of the shower, try this recipe for Homemade Soap. This will make 2 bars of really, soft, luxurious soap – Treat yourself.
CoCo-Licious Cupcake Soap Recipe
You’ll love this recipe, and it’s simple to make, No Lye!
–1 Bar of Soap (We know it’s already made, but trust us. We don’t [cook] Lye.)
-1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
-1/4 Cup Soy Milk
-1 tsp Vanilla
-1/4 Cup Blueberries or Strawberries
Directions: In a large pot, melt down the Bar of Soap, along with the Soy Milk and Coconut Oil. Combine. Stir in the Vanilla, and Puree the fruit. For Blue Soap: Use the Blueberries. For Pink Soap: Use the Strawberries. Heat and Stir for a total of 15 min. to melt and combine everything. Do not overheat. Remove from heat and pour into the molds. You can cut the bar of soap in ½ and do ½ the recipes, one blue and one pink. This will make the top and bottom of the Cupcake. Set it in the freezer. Let the soap dry for at least 1 week, so it’s dry, hard and ready to use.
Coconut Oil is a healing Oil that’s great for chapped lips too. For really, smooth, glossy lips, try a lovely, natural lip balm. This recipe will soften your skin, for the sweetest, full-lip look, and it’s Vegan too – Kiss your puppy’s little forehead!
Coconut Lip Gloss Recipe
-1/8 Cup Coconut Oil
-1 Tbsp. Sesame Seed Oil
Directions: Blend the Sesame Seed Oil into the Coconut Oil, and transfer into a lip pot. Done and Done.
From baking and cooking, to soaps and lip balm, you can use Coconut Oil for just about anything. This is a great, natural Oil to add into your health & wellness lifestyle, and you are sure to find enough uses for it, that you will go through the whole jar in no time. This is a really, flavorful Oil, that adds a great taste and scent, to all of your cooking. Don’t eat your beauty products, but indulge in the rich moisture and heavenly aromatherapy that you get from this stuff; it’s great!
Our second choice of Oil, for all of your health & beauty needs, is Argan Oil. We love this one because of its high Vitamin E content. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that improves your circulation and repairs your body’s tissues. So, it’s great for your skin, and leaves you with naturally, beautiful, healthy skin; This Oil is known for minimizing fine lines and imperfections in your skin, such as stretch marks. We love Argan Oil as a moisturizer; this is a really, intense, hydrating moisturizer, that is especially great for tough skin (think – the soles of your feet). We like it for your body and soul too, as it’s a great addition to a relaxing massage. Argan Oil has a really nice scent to it, so it’s great as an aromatherapy treatment. Referred to as liquid gold, you are lucky if you find a massage practitioner who knows about this natural, luxury Oil because they will often use it as a base for you massage. Let your stress dissipate, as the room becomes diffused with the rich aroma of Argan Oil.
For smooth, silky skin, that’s worthy of massaging, use your Argan Oil as a shaving lotion or even after waxing, as a smoothing ointment. The anti-inflammatory properties of this, natural Oil, help to calm your skin and soothe sensitive areas. We like it as a Body Butter – try this one; it’s Vegan.
The rich texture that Argan Oil provides, is not only great for your skin, it’s good for your hair too. You can improve the overall thickness, volume, condition and feeling of your hair, by using this Oil; We like it as an ultra, deep conditioning, hair mask. You don’t have to go to a fancy salon to get the best treatments, you can prepare your own home salon, specialty, hair, treatment service, with a few simple ingredients.
Argan Oil Hair Mask
For a rich, thick, hair treatment, try this recipe to restore to rejuvenate, dry, brittle strands. This is a wonderful treatment, especially if you’ve experienced chemical damage. When you have a home hair kit that goes horribly wrong, you can use this to quickly, restore, damaged hair. Don’t fret hair regret. When you have these products on hand, you always have a solution at the ready.
Recipe
-1 Avocado
-1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
-1 Tbsp Argan Oil
Directions: Mash the Avocado, blend in the Coconut Oil, and add the Argan Oil. Mix everything together well. If needed, you can microwave for about 10 seconds, just to soften up the Coconut Oil – Remember, it’s solid at room temperature. Blend it all together well, and smooth it over your hair. You should let this sit in your hair for about 30 minutes, or for best results, wrap your hair in a towel, and sleep with it in your hair overnight. Your hair will rinse out silky smooth.
Hot Oil Treatments with Argan Oil
For another great treatment, to use in your hair, on a regular basis, you can try monthly hot oil treatments. Hot Oil helps to strengthen your hair, which is great, if you are trying to grow it out long. These treatments can increase the shininess of your hair and enhance it softness, giving it a silky, smooth look and feel. These are good, all over, hair treatments, as they conditions the skin underneath your hair, and repair your entire, hair shaft, from the roots, right down to the ends.
Recipe
-2 Tbsp Honey
-2 Tbsp Argan Oil
-2 Tbsp Sesame Seed Oil
Directions: Mix all of the ingredients, together, in a bowl. Microwave for about 30 seconds, or just until the honey is melted. Once everything is combined, together, paint it over your hair, while the mixture is still warm. Leave it on for 30 minutes, and wash out with a very, mild shampoo. Your hair will feel softer and lighter.
We also love products containing Argan Oil, for those of you with curly hair. This makes a really, rich, conditioner, that texturizes your hair, and it’s great as a detangler, too – Just don’t use too much. Too much Argan Oil can soften your hair, to the point where you no longer have control over it because it will be too soft to work with. When used in the right amounts, however (we suggest about 1 quarter sized amount), it really works to define your curls, leaving it in perfect condition, to create your prettiest style. That reminds us, the Oil itself, can be used as a styling lotion too – Direct from the bottle, just like that. Likewise, there are many hair care products that you can find that contain Argan Oil, so check your drugstore aisles, and find the ones that work best for you.
This one can also be used in the shower; you can make delicious, smelling soap with it too! Try another recipe for making homemade, natural soap, this time using your Argan Oil
Chocolate Cupcake Soap Recipe
You can set these little cupcakes around your shower, giving it a cuter look; they smell nice too.
-2 Bars of Soap
-1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
-1/8 Cup Chocolate Soy Milk
-1/8 Cup Regular Soy Milk
-1 tsp Vanilla
-1 tsp Turmeric
-Soap Molds
Directions: This time, you will make two types of Soap. You will need to divide the mixture in half, and create two different colors. Start the first batch with one bar of soap, use the Regular Soy Milk, and add in the Turmeric. This will be your yellow. In the next batch, you will use the Chocolate, Soy Milk and Vanilla. The Coconut Oil is used in each batch, with 1/8 Cup added to each recipe. Make the Yellow Soap first: In a large pot, melt down one Bar of Soap, along with the Soy Milk and Coconut Oil. Combine. Stir in the Turmeric. This is the base of your Cupcake. Make the Chocolate Soap Next: In a large pot, melt down the second Bar of Soap, along with the Chocolate, Soy Milk and Coconut Oil. Combine. Stir in the Vanilla.
Heat and Stir each batch for a total of 15 min. to melt and combine everything. Do not overheat. Remove from heat and pour into the mold. The Yellow goes into the base mold, the chocolate, is for the swirled, icing mold. Set it in the freezer. Let the soap dry for at least 1 week, so it’s dry, hard and ready to use.
The Wishy Washy
Both Oils are a good addition to your health & wellness lifestyle, and they offer many uses, and benefits in numerous, healthful ways. However, we prefer Coconut Oil, slightly better than Argan Oil because of the variety of things you can do with it. We find that there are more options for this product, than the latter. For example, there are hundreds of delicious recipes to try, beautiful, beauty products to create and a more simple, ease with its use, if you are experimenting at home. We also like that it’s an edible, MCT Oil, and it’s kind of neat that it can be substituted in place of a saturated fat. We are always looking for more healthy alternatives to higher fat foods, and this one is a good find, due to its solid state at room temperature.
Argan Oil on the other hand is a great one to use in your beauty regimen; however, we recommend purchasing products containing this Oil, rather than trying to make them at home. This one is a bit more complicated to use, and we don’t recommend it, so much, for cooking. Argan Oil is very hard to make thick and creamy, without adding in other ingredients, and low and behold, Coconut Oil is one of the products that you add in to make it that way. So, go for the Coconut Oil, and save the Argan Oil for the pre-made, manufactured, products, which are also healthy and well. “We get by, with a little help from our [manufacturing] friends.” We think they do at least some of it better; Argan Oil included.
Advice: Buy a big jar of Coconut Oil, and start getting creative with it. We think this health & wellness product will keep you busy for a long time. It’s fun to learn how to do new things, and creativity, in turn, is good for your overall health & wellness too – you will feel more calm and peaceful, as a result. Making your own beauty products is a great way to clear your thoughts, relax your mind, and feel a sense of pride in being able to create some very beautiful things, to contribute to your Balanced, Beautiful Life.
Fun Finale – Once you have the Soap making directions down pat, share with friends! These are cute, little gifts for Christmas presents, or, simple treats for your friends. Just remind them not to eat the cupcakes.
Final Verdict: You can have your cake, but you shouldn’t eat it too. Not this time – Choose one or the other, not both. Reminder – It’s the Coconut Oil. That was the right answer.
Published by Jennica B.
7 years ago 
