Music For The Morning

Check out my "Better Than Sex" Chocolate Oatmeal Tasty Tuesday post today here.
And enjoy your Tuesday!

Tasty Tuesday: Cooking With Coconuts!

Hey ya'll - it's time for another Tasty Tuesday: Cooking With Coconuts Blogisode here on Belle of The Desert! I went to Cracker Barrel this weekend and they have a new spring menu item called Six Grain Granola and Pancake Breakfast that is absolutely FABULOUS!!! 

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It got me to thinking... I wonder if I can make a version of this with coconut flour...? So I began googling and ran across this website that had a recipe for coconut flour pancakes - I tweaked it a bit and voila!

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Fluffly Coconut Flour Granola Pancakes

Recipe Notes: Both cow's milk and coconut milk work well in this recipe -  I chose coconut milk because I'm not a huge fan of drinking something that is made to make a baby calf gain like a gazillion times it's birth weight in a year... Keep the pancakes small and watch them so they don’t burn.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup coconut milk 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon raw honey or a pinch of stevia
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 Himalayan salt
• 1/2 cup organic granola of your choice
• 1/4 cup almonds (optional)
• coconut oil for frying
• 1 banana
• Raw honey for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, honey (or stevia) and vanilla.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, Himalayan salt granola and almonds - whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot with butter, honey and sliced bananas.

Tasty Tuesday: Cookin' With Coconuts - Blogisode 7: Gluten Free Strawberry Coconut Muffins

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It's that time again! 

I'm so happy that I found all of these user submitted recipes on the Tropical Traditions website! They have been quite helpful. I'm on a quest to eat things without flour, wheat or ingredients that are otherwise not necessarily good for you. I have a theory that I've got myself a bit of a wheat allergy - but it has not been proven yet...

Anyway, here's a recipe I found and wanted to share. The muffins are made with coconut flour - which is nothing but the fiber from the coconut meat after most of the oil has been extracted to make Virgin Coconut Oil. 

I'm currently pouring through tons of coconut flour recipes and this one caught my eye. I'm headed to Sprouts tomorrow for the ingredients. I'll share pictures of my attempts once I'm done! 

For now - here's the recipe:

Gluten Free Strawberry Coconut Muffins

Servings: 6-12 muffins

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

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Muffins:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen, chopped

Cream Cheese Topping:

• 1 cup homemade or store bought cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 - 3 tablespoons raw honey

For the muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl mix the eggs, honey, coconut oil and vanilla until well blended. 

Mix dry ingredients into the wet, blending with a hand mixer or by hand. Gently fold in strawberries.

Place batter in paper lined muffin tins OR oil small individual glass bowls and pour batter in about 1/2 - 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Take them out and let them cool and serve topped with Strawberry Cream Cheese.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Place everything in a blender or food processor and blend till smooth. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

When muffins are ready, generously top each muffin and enjoy!

Recipe submitted to the Tropical Traditions Website by Marillyn, Bloomingdale, IL

Tasty Tuesday: Cooking With Coconuts Blogisode 6

It's Tasty Tuesday again over at FTLOB and in continuing on with my sweet tooth fixation - I found this recipe on the Tropical Traditions website that I'm going to give a try on my cheat day this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out. Here's the recipe:

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No Bake Coconut Cocoa Chewy Bites

Servings: 1 dozen

Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes

• 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter
• 1/2 cup Gold Label coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1/4 cup organic cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded coconut

In small to medium saucepan, add butter and coconut oil. Turn on medium-low heat and as the fats melt, stir in cocoa powder until mixed. Add in honey and sugar and continue to mix until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and thickens with a shiny appearance. (Be careful to not overheat or scorch the cocoa.)

Remove pan from heat and add salt, vanilla and mix. Then add the shredded coconut and mix until all coconut is covered (the mix will become thick, similar to stiff cookie dough, as the coconut absorbs the moisture).

Use a melon scoop or rounded measuring spoon to scoop out mounds and place on parchment paper. Let them sit to cool and set up. Can be placed in refrigerator to firm up more quickly.

I'll let you know how they turn out!!!

Tasty Tuesday: Cooking With Coconuts Blogisode 4

I've got two recipes for you today.... Both sweet. I'm getting the sweets out my system before the diet starts. 

Mmmmmm Candy!

Vanilla Coconut Cream Candy

Vanilla Coconut Cream Candy

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 30 pieces about 1/2 inch thick

• 16 oz Coconut Cream Concentrate
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup raw honey (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup raw or toasted walnuts (chopped)

Slightly warm the coconut cream concentrate over a bowl or pan of hot water until it can be stirred.

Stir in the honey, vanilla and chopped nuts into the coconut cream concentrate until well mixed.

Before it hardens, shape mixture into rolls and wrap in waxed paper. Let harden in the refrigerator and slice into rounds to eat as candy once firm. Store in refrigerator or at room temperature if below 75 degrees.


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Coconut Cream Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups Coconut Cream Concentrate (heat if needed to soften)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat the coconut cream, sugar eggs and vanilla together until combined. Stir in baking soda, cream of tarter and salt. Beat in the flour.

Shape dough into balls using one tablespoon of dough per cookie.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. The sides should be set but not browned.

Remove from oven and let set on pan for 1-2 minutes before putting on racks to cool completely.

Makes 40 cookies.

Tasty Tuesday Blogisode 3: Cooking With Coconuts!

I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for my Tasty Tuesday post.... no? 

Well you don't have to wait anymore! ;)
I've been craving sweets a lot lately... wait... lately? 
No - all the time really... So I decided that I would make a (somewhat) nutritious sweet treat for my entry today. Are you as excited for this as I was????
I found this recipe and thought... I can make something like that - but I'll put my own spin on it! 
BRILLIANT! 
Do ya'll ever do that? And then experience epic fails? Maybe that's just me.... 
So out to Sprouts I go to get my super healthy organic ingredients for my "healthy candy". 
Aaaaand I made them. 
Aaaaand it was pretty much a big fat FAIL. 
So - here's what they were supposed to look like. Mine did not turn out nearly this well. 
Perhaps I'll try this recipe again another time...

Thirsty Thursday - A Mrs. K Inspired Cinnamon Toddy!

It's that time again! I heart Thirsty Thursdays at FTLOB! 

For this week's post I want to share with you a rather simple recipe inspired by the fabulous Mrs. K It's a wonderful bed time drink I've been using to help me wind down at night. It's soothing creamy and cinnamon! I call it Mrs. K's Cinnamon Toddy:

I'm drinking one as I type. Yum!

There's only 2 ingredients:
Westsoy Organic Unsweetened Vanilla Soy MilkOrganic Ground Cinnamon
Directions:Warm your milk, stir in your cinnamon and enjoy!

This soy milk is FANTASTIC and I love it because it has only 1 gram of carbs (yep - carb counter here!) as opposed to the other brands I've tried. It really needs no sweetening whatsoever! I prefer soy over regular cow's milk. It doesn't agree with me and frankly... I don't particularly want to drink something that was designed to make a calf grow like a zillion times its birth weight in a year... Just sayin... Yuck! Talk about ruining your diet plans... 
Here's the nutrition info on the milk. I found this stuff at my local Trader Joe's but it can also be found online at Amazon.com. I LOVE IT! And as you can see, I also like a lot of cinnamon in my Toddy! 
Enjoy lovelies! 

Tasty Tuesday! Blogisode 2: Cooking With Coconuts!

UPDATE 8:30pm Tuesday
Here's what mine turned out like. I thought it was delicious! Pops said he prefers his coconut in a pie - so I'll have to try out a sweet recipe for next week :)

Happy Tasty Tuesday lovelies!

Continuing on with my quest to add more of this healthy and nutritious fruit and oil into my diet, I bring you Cooking With Coconuts Blogisode 2: Cooking With Coconut Cream Concentrate.... mmmmmmm!
Now I must admit that I have not tried this recipe as of yet - however... I intend to make it for dinner - so pictures of my actual creations will be posted later. 
Let's talk a bit about Coconut Cream Concentrate before we get to the recipes.... I purchased mine from Tropical Traditions via their website. (No, they aren't paying me to review their products or giving me free stuff. I'm just sharing what I use.) It's a little tricky to work with - as it has to be melted prior to use. They do have a nice little video tutorial on their website that shows you how to properly melt the concoction so that you can easily mix the separated coconut oil back in with the meat prior to using it to cook with. Basically - you put the entire jar into a large bowl, leave the lid on loosely. Fill the bowl up with hot water and let sit 20-30 minutes. Stick a knife in - if it doesn't go easily to the bottom, repeat the process until you are able to mix the oil and coconut meat back in together easily. Mix thoroughly. For info on the benefits of this delish stuff - there's lots of good info on the TT website - so check it out. Now on to the recipe...

Creamed Corn

2 cups fresh chicken stock1 cup Coconut Cream Concentrate10 ounces fresh or frozen corn kernals1/4 (to taste) sea salt1/4 (to taste) teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Directions: 
1) Combine chicken stock and Coconut Cream Concentrate in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium high heat2) Add corn kernals. Stir and return to boil. Then reduce heat to simmer. Cook 3-5 minutes or follow package directions
This recipe came from the book Virgin Coconut Oil. I intend to modify it slightly - by adding some organic butter. I'm southern... everything's better with butter!  

Tasty Tuesday!

Adventures in Cooking With Coconuts!



I've been reading a lot lately about the benefits of coconuts and specifically coconut oil both topically for the skin and internally for the body. As you might have read here - I especially like using it as a body lotion/oil. Up until now, I haven't done much in the way of cooking with the oil. I've experimented here and there. But as part of Project: Do Me! I've committed myself to ensuring that I consume the recommended amount of coconut oil per day - approximately 3 tablespoons. 



First of all - let's talk a bit about what the benefits of coconut oil are. Coconut oil was once prevalent in the United States however - a negative campaign against saturated fats in general, and the tropical oils in particular, led most manufacturers to abandon the use of coconut oil in favor of polyunsaturated oils that come from the main cash crops in the US, particularly soy, and contain trans fatty acids. These polyunsaturated oils were not a big part of the diet of previous generations, so how has the health of Americans changed now that polyunsaturated oils are - for the most part all - the main oils consumed by Americans today? Hmmmm...


Research shows that the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil boosts the body’s metabolism, raises body temperatures, and helps provide greater energy which can lead to weight loss. When I began my coconut oil research I tried several different brands to see which had the best flavor, the best smell and soaked into my skin the best. The best I've found so far has been Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.

They have a lot of great information on their website - and I love, love, LOVE the fact that they employ local people and make the oil by hand - as opposed to the majority of what you will find in stores. Those oils are expeller pressed and I've found them to have a much less pleasing flavor, consistency and smell than the Tropical Traditions coconut oil. 


So... without further ado - my first Cooking With Coconut Oil experiment was lemon pepper asparagus. Here's the ingredients:

Lemon Pepper Aspargus

1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

fresh lemon 
(I used concentrate - wasn't too great)

dash of sea salt

dash of pepper

fresh trimmed asparagus

Directions: 

Melt coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Add asparagus and other ingredients once oil is completely melted. Sauté until slightly tender - or done to your liking.

These actually turned  out quite nicely. Hot out of the pan there was no coconut taste whatsoever. However, as they started to cool the coconut flavor did set in a bit - which was less favorable. Coconut Asparagus isn't so much a good thing. I think that next time I will try real lemon or lime juice and see if that helps the flavor out a bit. Tweaked a bit this could be a staple in my house.

Have you cooked with coconut oil? What's your favorite recipe to use coconut oil in?

xoxo Heather