How to Use Coconut Oil in Food Preparation

You can use coconut oil as a substitute for any other solid or liquid oil, lard butter or margarine. It can be used for baking, cooking on a stove or mixed directly into foods you've already prepared.

Some Food Ideas

• Use coconut oil instead of butter to spread on your toast, muffins, veggies, noodles etc.
• Mix coconut oil into oatmeal porridge or other hot cereal
• Mix coconut oil or coconut milk into soups and stews
• Add coconut oil or coconut milk to smoothies, yoghurt or kefir
• Use coconut oil in a stir-fry to add a delicious flavour
• Sprinkle coconut shreds or flakes into fruid salads, yoghurt, cereal etc.
• Use coconut milk to replace milk from animal sources. For people with a soy intolerance it is a milk substitute.
• When blended with soy, oat or almond milk, it provides a delicious smoother, creamer milk, with more body.
• Coconut flour is a low carbohydrate, gluten free alternative to wheat. Coconut flour is naturally low in digestible carbohydrate, contains no gluten.

Cooking Tip

Coconut oil will smoke in your fry-pan if it's heated above 177 degrees Celsius. To avoid this, simply add a little olive or peanut oil. Mind you, this is just when you fry with it. Coconut oil can be used at any temperature in the oven, when it's mixed in with other foods.

Melting Temperature

Coconut oil liquefies at about 24 degrees Celsius. At temperatures above that it will be a clear or slightly yellow liquid. So if you get your coconut oil and it's solid as a brick, don't worry! Simply place the bottle in a container of warm water to melt the oil.

How to Store Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is extremely stable, and has a shelf life of at least two years when stored at room temperature. Remember, it will become very hard if it's stored it in the fridge. Putting the oil in ice-cubes is a good way of storing it in the fridge if you wish to do so.

How Much should I Take?

If you take the oil too fast, you may experience an upset stomach or diarrhea. So introduce it slowly with other food. Start with a teaspoon and gradually increase. For people suffering alzheimer's or other similar condition, Dr Mary Newport recommends up to 4-6 tablespoons a day, spread over breakfast, lunch and dinner. It depends on the size of the person and your individual situation.

Watch Videos

Watch Dr. Bruce Fife as he explains the benefits of cooking with Coconut Oil, and answers common questions.

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