The Ins and Outs of Coconut Oil

November 7, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Did you buy a jar of coconut oil because everyone is telling you it has soooo many benefits and you should jump on the coconut oil band wagon? Now your jar is in the pantry, but you remember that its got a reputation as being a bad fat. Instead of using it, you eye it suspiciously as your hand reaches past it for the good ole olive oil. Fear not, I am here to answer your queries about the controversy around coconut oil.

Coconut oil has received bad press because it was studied years ago, but the oil that was used was hydrogenated. As we now know, anytime you hydrogenate an oil it turns into a trans fat, which we should all stay away from. So, naturally, those studies came to the conclusion that coconut oil was bad for you.

Some of the benefits of coconut oil are that it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, and it also fights yeast (candida), because of its high lauric acid content. Coconut oil contains about 50% lauric acid. But, isn’t coconut oil a saturated fat and isn’t saturated fat bad for you? It is a saturated fat, but not all saturated fats are created equal. Coconut oil’s fat is made up of medium chain triglycerides (MCT), which behave differently in the body from other saturated fats. MCT’s get metabolized quickly and doesn’t get stored as fat, but gets converted directly into energy. There have also been studies done where high amounts of MCT’s help reverse Alzheimer’s. A doctor, whose husband was diagnosed with the disease, wrote the book ‘Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was a Cure?’ to document how adding coconut oil to her husband’s diet cured him.

Apart from the occasional times that you pull it out for frying and perhaps use as a moisturizer, what else is there to do with that fabulous jar of coconut oil that’s just sitting on your shelf like a Ferrari in a garage full of Chevettes?

Below are some of my favourite ways to use coconut oil. The following three recipes are vegan, gluten free and dairy free:

Dulse-licious Popcorn serves one hungry snacker

Ingredients:

1/3 cup popcorn
1 T melted coconut oil
1 ½ T Red Star nutritional yeast
1 T dulse flakes
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Pop the corn kernels in which ever fashion you desire, I use a hot air popper.
Melt the coconut oil.
Then pour oil over the popped corn, sprinkle with nutritional yeast, dulse flakes and salt.
Devour while watching your favourite movie.

Cheezy Toast* makes one slice
Ingredients:

1 slice of bread (Gluten Free if you wish)
½ T coconut oil
½ T Red Star nutritional yeast
pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Spread coconut oil on top of bread, then sprinkle yeast and sea salt on top.
Put in toaster oven for about 3 minutes.

Voila, delicious crispy cheesiness!

* When you see the words cheez or cheezy, most of the time it means there is no cheese in it, but still has cheesy flavour. Note there is a cheese cracker out there with the “z” spelling. But if you are in a health food store and see “z” spelling, chances are it is dairy free.

5 minute Chocolate Mousse serves 4
Ingredients:

I can (398 ml or 14 oz) pumpkin puree
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil
½ small avocado (mashed)
½ t vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
½ t sea salt
sesame seeds for sprinking on top (optional)

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 sec. or more if needed.
Portion into pretty bowls and serve. At this time of year we have pumpkins of all sizes everywhere you go, so I served the mousse in a hollowed out mini-pumpkin.
Note: This recipe was inspired by Must Have Been Something I Ate by Peggy Kotsopoulos.

Other Superfoods in my recipes:
Coconut oil: see above.
Red Star Nutritional Yeast: Full of B vitamins, nutritional yeast is really good for vegans and vegetarians because it has B 12, which comes mostly from animal products. I often use this as a substitute for grated cheese.
Dulse: High in vitamins and minerals, iodine (good for thyroid). Removes heavy metals from the body.
Pumpkin: High in Vitamin A, lutein, cancer fighting antioxidant and also beta carotene which is good for eye health. High in fiber as well.
Cocoa: High in vitamin B’s and magnesium, both of which supports the nervous system. It also has phenylethylamine, which stirs up happy feelings, and releases stress.
Avocado: Contains monosaturated fat which may help reduce bad cholesterol. It also contains lots of vitamins, in particular C, B’s and E and also minerals.

Other ways I like to use coconut oil, besides putting them in smoothies and chocolate peanut butter cups, I also like to put them in my coffee. There is a trend going around and perhaps you’ve heard of it – Bulletproof coffee. It’s coffee made with fat, either grass fed butter or MCT (a form of coconut oil). Drinking Bulletproof coffee in the morning is supposed to give you energy that will last until lunch. So essentially lunch would be your first meal of the day.

Well, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day so I can’t give it up. But I do make my own version, which is just coffee and coconut oil that is blended making a creamy satisfying drink that gives me a good boost through the morning.

One thing to remember about coffee is that it freezes your digestive system, so I wait at least 20 minutes after I’ve had my coffee before eating.

As for buying coconut oil for cooking and consuming, I use organic virgin coconut oil. It will have more of a coconut aroma/flavour, which I like. The version without aroma will be refined, which means more processed. If the oil is just for moisturizing skin then non-organic is fine and is less costly.

I leave you with a beauty tip, that is – I have been making my own exfoliator with coconut oil, which works really well. It has lactic acid containing yogurt, which has moisturizing and exfoliating properties. Yogurt also helps with lightening spots, as does the lemon juice. Coconut oil is moisturizing of course.

Coconut Lemon Facial Polish/Mask single application

Ingredients:

1 t coconut oil
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t lemon juice
1 T plain yogurt

Directions:

Combine coconut oil, sugar and lemon juice, then apply to face and massage the paste into face with a circular motion. Avoiding eye area.
Smooth yogurt over the polish and let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse it all off.
Use this once or twice a week.
If you have sensitive skin test on a small area by your jawline.

What I’ve shared is just the tip of the iceberg of all that coconut oil can do for you and what you can do with it, so I encourage you to crack the coconut shell wide open to find out more of its benefits for your insides and your outsides.

Eat healthy, live and look great! {Kake}

Keen for Zucchini

September 12, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Imagine you are a 10 year old girl from Hong Kong and tasting lots of strange food, like anemic cottage cheese, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, cheese with fruit, now throw in CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE??????? Chocolate with a vegetable? No, no, no! But once I had a bite and didn’t taste vegetable, just chocolate cake, my mind was boggled and intrigued. Later I realized zucchini essentially added moisture without flavour to the cake. This might have been one of my earliest lightbulb moments that delicious dessert can also mean healthy.

As part of the summer squash family, the zucchini, also known as a courgette in other parts of the world, orginated in Italy, hmmmm it seems {kale} and I are on an Italian theme this summer. We’ve got some growing to gigantic proportions as usual, because they grow so easily and sometimes we just forget the squash is secretly growing under their children’s umbrella sized leaves. It is best to eat them when they are smaller because they are sweeter, but alas. So with our bounty I’ve been making frittatas, baked zucchini sticks, zucchini muffins and stuffed zucchini blossoms.

One of the bonuses of having your own zucchini plant is having access to the blossoms. I remember the heavenly stuffed blossoms we had in Italy. The blossoms were filled with a creamy ricotta and then lightly breaded and fried. I did make a vegan version, substituting with tofu and mushrooms, which turned out quite nicely. But for a quick lunch, I dip the blossoms first in egg, then seasoned bread crumbs, and fry in a little oil. Now before you go and pluck off all the blossoms from your zucchini plant, pluck only the ones that do not have the actual zucchini ”fruit” growing out of them. These are considered the male flowers. They should be eaten on the same day as they are picked because of their delicate quality.

Years ago I had clipped a recipe out of a magazine that has served me well, a nutty seed quick bread. Hmmmm, what if I added zucchini to this classic. So I did and it turned out pretty well, I’ve cut down the sugar, but if more sweetness is needed, feel free to increase the sugar. I like to serve this bread with jam. And in this case, we’ve got {Kale’s} homemade blueberry jam.

The Superfoods in my recipe:
Zucchini – contain a high amount of vitamin C, vitamin B6, riboflavin, manganese, potassium and also lutein, which protects the eye against light damage and macular degeneration.
Black sesame seeds – are a good source of calcium, phosphorous, protein, magnesium, iron and is rich in vitamin E, which is an antioxidant. In Chinese medicine prescribed to reverse black hair going grey.
Pumpkin seeds – Good source of protein, minerals, Omega 3, tryptophan (which is an amino acid which helps with sleep). Because of the high amount of zinc in this seed, not only is it good for immune health, it can also have positive results for prostate health.
Flax – Has a high amount of Omega 3’s. High in soluble fibre, which lowers cholesterol, and a good of the bone strengthening mineral boron. Contains lignans which helps your body to rid itself of toxins ie. xenoestrogens (see broccoli). Make sure the flax seeds are ground/milled when you eat them, if not, the whole seed will just pass through your system undigested. Also, I store mine in the freezer, as they have oils in them and can go rancid quickly.

Zucchini Bread makes one 9” x 5 “ loaf

2 eggs
½ cup grapeseed oil (or any other vegetable oil)
1 cup light spelt flour
1 cup oat flour1/4 cup coconut sugar (can add more if desire)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup chopped nuts*
2 T. each: flax, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 9″x5″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
Whisk egg and oil together in a large bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.
Then add the dry to the wet ingredients until just mixed.
Then add the zucchini, nuts, and seeds to the batter, stir to mix.
Pour into the loaf pan and bake 50-60 mintues, or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

*Feel free to substitute other nuts and seeds.
Eat well, live great! {Kake}

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

July 4, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

I will be forever grateful to whoever was the first person to combine chocolate and peanut butter. The classic pairing that found its way into my mouth by way of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups when I was a child, still has a special place in my heart. When our family first immigrated to Canada I remember tasting peanut butter and almost gagged. I wasn’t used to the texture, and taste, because it wasn’t popular in Hong Kong at all. Over time Mom got me to eat it in PBJ sandwiches, but the combo of chocolate and peanut butter made it much more palatable.

Having a Peanut Butter (PB) cup always brings me back to my happy place; savouring one and listening to my Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road cassette tape and not caring that other kids were playing with their friends, while my friend was my piano. Our family moved a lot so making friends was always a challenge for me since I was usually the only non-white kid in the class. Are you playing a tiny violin now for me? No need, because now I have friends, and not just my piano, and I get to eat home-made-good-for-you PB cups, YAY for me!!

It seems that peanut butter has fallen out of favour, since so many people have developed allergies to it. So, for those of you who are allergic or are partial to almond butter, by all means, replace peanut butter with almond butter, or any other nut butter that you have on hand. How can I indulge in this treat but do away with the sugar and up the health quotient? Make it with superfoods of course, and in my recipe they are:

Coconut oil – Gives healthy fat burning benefits.
Dark Chocolate – Contains antioxidants and magnesium which can help with lowering blood pressure.
Maca – Increases energy, helps the body handle stress and contains antioxidants.
Peanuts – Contains protein, vitamin E and resveratrol (also in red wine).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups makes 10 mini cups

2/3 c. dark chocolate chips
¼ c. peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 T. coconut oil
2/3 t. maca
*Maldon sea salt

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
While chocolate chips are melting, stir the rest of the ingredients together, except for the sea salt. Set the filling aside.
Coat silicone 10 mini muffin cups with a layer of melted chocolate, make sure the chocolate goes up the sides about 2/3 of the way. You should only be using half of the chocolate. Then put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Then fill each cup with the filling. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Then with a small spoon, put a dollop of chocolate over the filling and smooth it out. Then sprinkle a little Maldon sea salt on top.
Put back in the freezer to set. These should be stored in there until they are ready to be eaten.

*If you don’t have Maldon sea salt, then put a pinch of regular sea salt in the filling, or you can leave it out altogether.
For more benefits of the superfoods in this recipe look them up in our superfoods list.

Eat healthy, live great! -{Kake}

Banana Coconut Bread with Chocolate Chunks

June 6, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures / 3 Comments

One summer when I was a teenager obsessed with my macramé handbag and wearing bell bottoms, our family went on a road trip to the Eastern seaboard and stopped in Boston. Whilst there, we visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and as usual went into the gift shop afterwards. And there my Mom bought me the most beautiful cookbook I had ever seen, it was a cookbook that compiled recipes of dishes made for special functions at the museum and along with the recipes were pictures of the art from the museum. Appealing to my love of art and food I consider this cookbook one of my treasures. The recipe that I made the most often from it is a banana bread. It is the only banana bread recipe I’ve seen where the bananas are not mashed but sliced, which to me is less work. Mom and I have made this recipe many times, always to spectacular results.

These days I have been baking a lot with almond flour; I love it, but not the cost. So I decided to add coconut flour to the mix, because coconut flour, though not cheap, is still less than almond flour. By adding coconut flour I am not only bumping up the fiber and nutrition but I also get more of a dense, pound cake-like texture. This banana bread, which I’ve renamed to include coconut, can be eaten any time – as a quick breakfast that gives you lots of energy or an afternoon snack to stave off junk food cravings. My recipe is inspired by Elana’s Pantry.

Superfoods in it are:

Almonds: Good source of vitamin B’s, magnesium, vitamin E and zinc. It also contains some Omega 3’s. The B’s and magnesium both help with feeling calm and collected because they help the body produce serotonin, which is sometimes called the happy hormone. Serotonin affects many functions of the body like, sleep, appetite, aging, memory, just to name some benefits.

Coconut: Contains protein, vitamins A and E, lauric acid which is in mother’s milk and help to fight off infections. It’s fat is in the form of MCT’s which are medium chain-triglycerides which has been proven to be turned into an immediate source of fuel and not stored as fat. A bonus for all you fiber lovers like me, a tablespoon of coconut flour has 5 grams of fiber!

Bananas: Contains Vitamin C, fiber, a significant amount of potassium. High potassium intakes are also associated with a reduced risk of stroke, protection against loss of muscle mass, preservation of bone mineral density and reduction in the formation of kidney stones.

Dark Chocolate: High in vitamin B’s and magnesium, both of which supports the nervous system. It also has phenylethylamine, which stirs up happy feelings, and releases stress.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and does not have added sugar.

Banana Coconut Bread with Chocolate Chunks Serves 12

2 ½ cup almond flour
½ c. coconut flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. sea salt
¼ c. melted coconut oil
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3)
¾ cup chocolate chunks, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F, then line a 9-inch pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Into a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Then mix this into the dry ingredients. Then fold the bananas and the chocolate into the batter and pour into lined pan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly, it is done. I don’t usually wait for it to cool, because it is soooo darn good warm out of the oven!! Let cool, if you have patience.

Eat well, feel great! – {Kake}