Nuts About Coconut

Do you go through phases of smells or tastes that you love? I definitely do. I went through a major peanut butter phase which (luckily) has simmered down a bit lately. As far as smells are concerned, I went through a major Victoria’s Secret Love Spell phase (which I still love) and before that, The Body Shop’s white musk perfume (makes me think of middle school). Lately, I’ve been loving the smell and taste of coconut!

It started in Thailand, where coconut is used quite a bit. They use coconut milk in soups, desserts, and drinks. One night we had coconut juice (I have no idea what that was) but it was amazing! And of course, sticky rice with mango had a coconut milk sauce on it which was delicious.

I’ve heard good things about coconut oil but have yet to try it. All you foodie’s out there, have you used coconut oil? Is it pretty versatile?

Here are some of the coconuty foods/products I’ve picked up lately!

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Luna Bars

These are really tasty. They remind me of Samoa girl scout cookies which I could eat all day long. Great snack!

Shredded Coconut

I try to buy unsweetened shredded coconut. You can always find the sweetened version in the baking section and sometimes the unsweetened. I like to add coconut to my oatmeal, yogurt, and always in my Schweddy Balls. I love those darn things. If you haven’t made them (or a version of them) go do that tonight!

Coconut Lara Bars

These are another delicious snack option! They actually have a couple flavors that feature coconut: coconut cream pie, tropical fruit tart, and the chocolate coconut chew. All very tasty! I love Lara Bars in general because their ingredients are simple, whole foods. For example, the ingredients in chocolate coconut chew are dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, and unsweetened coconut. Proof that you don’t need a ton of ingredients to make delicious food.

Thai Coconut Milk

We buy a couple cans of coconut milk every time we run to the grocery store. Now that we’re thai cooking experts (ha) we’re using coconut milk a lot more. We’ve used it in the thai chicken satay peanut sauce, sticky rice sauce, and I’m using it tonight in a salad dressing. It’s pretty fattening and caloric so I try to buy the light versions…but sometimes there’s no replacing the original!

Coconut Milk

Okay, so I know I just listed coconut milk but somehow, this version is different. This is basically a replacement for cow’s milk or soy milk. The ingredients in canned coconut milk are coconut milk, water, and guar gum. The coconut milk in the carton has a much longer list of ingredients. Somehow it’s much healthier than the canned version…I’m not quite sure why.

I’ve tried soy milk, almond milk, and now coconut milk, I have to say my favorite is soy (well my favorite is cow’s but I’m talkin’ in the alternative milk category). This coconut milk is a little too sweet for me. I’ve been using it in smoothie’s and it works most of the time, but even in some smoothies it’s too sweet for me. I prefer my unsweetened chocolate soy milk….

Coconut Scented Shampoo and Conditioner

This smells so good! I love getting whiffs of it throughout the day…it reminds me of the beach in San Diego…or Cabo…or Acapulco…or Greece…or Chicago…or anywhere with a beach :).

 

Do you like coconut? If not, what smells/foods are you loving these days?