Let's Talk About OILS & FATS.

In almost all my recipes, especially the baked ones, you will find that I almost exclusively use COCONUT OIL. For me, it is a magic fat. It bring the fullness of butter with a slight hint of nuttiness, sometimes making the end recipe even better than the butter version!. But why did I start using it? Which one to buy? How do you substitute it for butter?

Besides remembering all the whoo-haa around movie popcorn made in coconut oil when I was a kid, I was more recently introduced to coconut oil by The Cleansing Diva. Oh yes, she is that, and oh so much more. On my first cleanse in some years, she sorted me out about coconut oil. Not only is it NOT bad for your heart, it actually assists your body in pushes out the "bad" fats, the ones that "make you fat." So we were sauting in it and putting it in soup and smoothies. Finally, off the cleanse (Yes!) I could bake with it!

Coconut Oil is a saturated fat, so it is solid at room temperature. What got a bad rap those years ago was processed, hydrogenated coconut oil. "Hydrogenation" is the process that turns vegetable oil into a solid at room temperature. Whenever any kind of processing has taken place with a fat, it alters the molecular structure of that fat. As such it makes it near impossible for your body to process this odd molecular element. Thus you have the problem with all the negative publicity around "transfats." They are an unnatural molecular structure and , in thier case, seriously compromises the body's functioning. So, when eaten, the body covers this odd structure in fat and stores it on your body somewhere... hips, belly, thighs, love handles... you get the picture.

Seek out UNREFINED coconut oil. It is in its natural state, hard at room temperature, and a bit tropical smelling. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid whic also facilitates brain function and boost the immune system. It is this component that makes it different than other saturated fats. They are not all created equal.

Yo can substitute coconut oil for butter or vegetable or olive oil in any recipe. Just use 25% less as it has less water so is more concentrated. Also, you will have to melt it to use it. As it states in all the recipes here.

I haven't seen many pre made baked good using coconut oil .. YET. I imagine they will come, if we are willing to pay for them. It is highly stable. All my cupcakes, muffins, etc can last a whole week... when I hide them! When you are buying pre-made baked goods- READ TEH LABEL. Transfats are not labelled as "transfats." They are labelled as "hydrogenated vegetable oil," "rapeseed" or "canola" oil or "margarine". IF I buy a pre-made baked good, I look for butter.

Love Your Body*Know Your Mind!
Healthyfully Indulge.... everyday!


By the way, if you want to check out The Cleansing Diva, you can find her at
www.purelyhealthyme.com
For other internal and external uses of coconut oil look at
http://www.naturalnews.com/coconut_oil.html

Give the Sponge a Squeeze

You know what I mean, right?
The sponge that stays wet and when you pick it up it squeeze and use it, well, it stinks. It is also full of germs that belong nowhere near food, clean dishes or maybe your kids dirty faces!

It doesnt take much, when youare finished rinsing it, just GIVE THE SPONGE A SQUEEZE.

Enough said. Be happy in your kitchen.

Egg Replacers

I love to find recipes without any eggs. We have no allergies to them, especially when they are baked into cakes & cookies! It is just fun to mess with my husband's taste buds! He is your image of a frenchman who loves good cakes... cream, sugar and butter please~! I have found some good replacements. They most often work, but not always. So don't try them for the first time if you are baking for 20! I got these from an old Vegetarian Times!

1/4cup coconut milk per egg.
Coconut milk naturally has a high fat content, so you don't need to add extra oil. It will add flavor.

1 tablespoon flax meal or 1 tablespoon flax seed pureed with 1/4 cup water
If you choose the flax you may have to add a bit more liquid to your batter if you are baking. Do this at the end. I have used this in meatballs to get them to stick togther!
Watch out for adding too much sharp-nutty flavor. You recipe needs to have enough flavor to mask the taste.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, almond butter or tahini mixed into 1/4 cup soy milk.
Great in cookie recipes. Most of the cookie recipes on this blog are no-egg. As a matter of fact, I will post our favorite right now!

Conversions - US to Metric

Liquid and Dry Measurements
1/4 teaspoon(tsp)/coffeespoon = 1 ml
1/2 teaspoon(tsp)/coffeespoon = 2 ml
1 teaspoon(tsp)/coffeespoon = 5 ml
1 Tablespoon(TBL)/soupspoon = 20 ml

1/4 cup = 60 ml = 30 grams
1/3 cup = 80 ml = 40 grams
1/2 cup = 125 ml = 75 grams
2/3 cup = 170 ml
3/4 cup = 190 ml
1 cup = 250 ml = 125 grams
1 quart = 4 cups = 1 liter

Temperature Conversions

Fahrenheit Celsius
250 120
275 140
300 150
325 160
350 180
375 190
400 200
425 220
450 230
475 240

Beans-Soaking, Seasoning & Cooking Timetable

Soft Beans
Green lentils, red lentils, mung beans, split peas
Soaking - not necessary (makes them into a mush)
Add seasoning - after 45-50 minutes
Total Cooking time - 1 hour

Medium Beans
Small/light azuki, pinto, kidney, navy, lima, black, turtle, and other medium sized beans
Soaking - 2 to 4 hours
Add seasoning - after 1h30min to 1h45min
Total Cooking Time - 2 hours

Hard Beans
Big/dark azuki, chickpeas, black, white, yellow soybeans, and other hard beans
Soaking - 6-8 hours or overnight
Add seasoning - after 3h15min to 3h30min
Total Cooking - 4 hours

Cooking Beans for Better Digestion

Eating beans does NOT have to mean you become musical, or suffer from bloating or cramps ... if you know what I mean. It simply necessitates a bit of pre-preparation AND/OR cooking know-how.

Soaking
Beans can give g_s if they are not ünlocked". Beans stay locked until they are sprouted, when they sprout they are digestible. That is why we SOAK hard beans before we cook them. 'Firstly, if you don't soak or sprout them, they will take forever to cook, if they cook at all! Soaking or sprouting releases the oligosaccarides in the beans, which is what keeps them hard. I'll list recommneded soaking and cooking times below.

Cooking
But before I do that, I'd like to talk about KOMBU. It is a dried deep water seaweed, readily available at health food stores. It not only increases digestibilty, it adds amazing amounts of trace minerals and vitamins. When my kids are sick and they only want to eat white rice, I cook it with Kombu to get those minerals back into them.

Use a 1 inch (5 cm) piece when you cook. Try and add it to the water before the other ingredients you are cooking to let it pre-soak a bit, but don't worry if you forget. Just push it down into the bottom of the pan under the other stuff before you put it on the stove.

Some people even love to eat it fried!

TRY IT.