Are you a smoothie drinker? That would make a fine addition to a smoothie. What health benefit is there? Just interested.

Hello from Robin!

As for health benefits here are some I have read about from several sources. I am not an expert so please do your own research if interested.

speeds up conversion of food to energy

helps with weight loss

helps with yeast infections

good natural moisturizer for skin and hair

These are just a brief list.

As for smoothies I usually don't drink them. I do have a protein drink most days. I suppose I could add some oil to it....not sure what it will do to the taste.

I actually hate the taste of actual coconut. I did notice the oil (which is solid) does not have a coconut smell. Used it on someones sunburn. Not sure how much it helped.

Going to have some vegetable soup today so I will add a little and see what happens.

It has a lower melting point than butter, but I mix it with butter, which I keep in a small covered bowl on the counter anyway. You can use it on toast or hot cereal in place of or mixed with butter, and it can be used in baked goods. I have used it instead of shortening or butter for biscuits. When chilled, it is harder than butter so you have to find a happy medium for cutting it into the flour.
You can find it without the coconut smell/flavor, but it will have been refined, some less than others. Spectrum has one that has been mechanically refined, not chemically treated IIRC. I use both virgin(which smells/tastes like coconut)and refined for different things.
One thing, though, when you first start to use it, start with a small amount(a tsp)and work up to the higher amount, as it can cause some "urgency" in the bathroom department for some people. Also, avoid using it at night when first starting as it may keep you awake.

1. Soften it and mix with peanut butter. There is a product on the market that is a coconut oil/peanut butter mixture, but this is cheaper. Mix it with Nutella.

2. Use it as a bread spread instead of butter/margarine, or blend it with butter/margarine. Make honey butter, but use all coconut oil or part butter and coconut oil.

3. PEANUT BUTTER (or other nut butter) FUDGE:
1/2 c. liquefied coconut oil
1/2 c. honey or agave nectar
1 c. smooth or crunchy nut butter of choice
1/8 t. Vanilla Creme liquid stevia (or 1 t. vanilla)
1/2 t. sea salt

Blend with electric mixer. Pour into a large dish or cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper on the bottom. Top with mini-semi-sweet chocolate chips if you'd like, or any other topping like nuts, unsweetened coconut, etc...
Freeze for a couple hours, slice and store in the freezer.

4. It floats as an oily residue in hot drinks and sometimes solidifies in cold drinks (smoothies) and forms coconut oil "chunks" - and both are "gaggers" in my opinion. It works best in a flavored hot drink (CHAI, Flavored Coffees...) in my opinion.

5. Top a baked potato with it and a sprinkle of Molly Butter or Butter Buds.

6. Use it to make popcorn or top popcorn instead of butter.

7. COCONUTTY CANDIES
(source: Eat Fat Lose Fat - Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon)
1/2 c. almonds
1-1/2 c. coconut oil, softened
2/3 c. freeze-dried fine cut coconut (hard to find, but this stuff is wonderful)
5 T. cocoa powder
1/4 c. raw honey
3 T. butter, softened
1/2 c. natural peanut butter or hazelnut butter

Grind almonds in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until well blended. Pour into ice cube trays and refrigerate or freeze.

8. I make homemade pudding mixes and I'll add coconut oil to the cooked pudding.

9. PROTEIN PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

1/2 c. whey powder (vanilla flavored)
1/4 c. coconut oil (softened, not liquid)
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 T. agave nectar or honey
1 t. vanilla or almond flavoring
Mix thoroughly by hand with a fork. If desired, add 1/2- to 3/4-cup crisp whole grain rice cereal to the dough. Form into balls. If you'd like, drizzle a little melted chocolate over the top.

10. Melt some on a small plate and add some chopped fresh basil, coarse salt and fresh-ground black pepper and top with slices of fresh tomatoes.

The link below is from a Dr. Oz show about the health benefits of using coconut oil, but if you do a search on the health benefits of coconut oil I think you will be very surprised.

-Grainlady
(User of coconut oil and other coconut products for the last 20-years.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Coconut Oil Super Powers, Pt. 1 : The Dr. Oz Show

I love love love it on my hair (it's super long and this helps keep the split ends in good order) and skin. It's fantastic for those. I could see coconut oil in a protein shake. That might be good. I find the taste to be true coconut. I use it in place of butter in my bluberry coconut poundcake muffins. Although, the recipe also calls for shredded coconut, I can tell the difference when I use the butter instead of coconut oil.

I've recently incorporated coconut oil into my diet and daily routine, along with Bragg's apple cider vinegar. Every morning I make an apple cider vinegar drink (don't use regular cider vinegar, it has to have the "mother" in it.) Then I swish coconut oil around in my mouth for about 15 minutes to get rid of any acidity from the drink. I do a honey face mask twice a week and use coconut oil to help rinse it off. As far as adding it to your diet- I use it a lot in cooking and I love the extra flavor it adds. Yesterday I had a bean burrito with rice and veggies that were sauteed in coconut oil- about 1 tbsp. For lunch, fried rice- that's another tbsp. Dinner included broccoli that was roasted with it- that's another. So you see, it all adds up. No need to force it down- if you don't enjoy it, you're less likely to stick to it.

Just wanted to add there is some theory now it may be beneficial with alzheimer's disease. I don't believe it has been proven but sure worth a try.

You'll find conflicting data on coconut oil in the diet. Lots of claims for it and against it. It's pretty well established that heavily hydrogenated tropical oils, including coconut (such as what you'd find in commercial baked snacks--they hydrogenate the fat to increase shelf life) are bad actors, but that's likely due to the hydrogenation process and not the oil itself.

Coconut oil is a mid-chain mostly saturated fat. It may well be metabolized differently than other saturated fats. There was a study some years ago about a bunch of Sri Lankans who were convinced by Western doctors to switch from their traditional coconut oil in the diet to vegetable oil. The rate of heart disease went UP, ha ha. Now I don't know if they did other Western habits like smoking Marlboros while sitting on their hineys watching 'Baywatch', but I thought that was interesting.

I have used coconut oil for 'buttering' potatoes. I've also used coconut oil as the poaching fat in making duck confit (wowza, was that good!).

There is a difference in the quality of coconut oil. I can get some fragrant organic coconut oil from the Dekalb Farmers Market in the Atlanta area--it's wonderful. The local supermarket has Lou-Ana coconut oil--okay, but not spectacular. You'll also find that there are some claims made by people trying to sell you the stuff--"if you don't buy this particular brand of coconut oil harvested by sincere vegetarians who are kind to kittens, you're gonna miss out on all the benefits"--you just need to try to separate the hype from the fact. Hard to do sometimes.

Thank you all for the great ideas and information. I may start with mixing it with butter to put on hot vegetables. Also just to start using it instead of other oils in cooking. Those recipes sound delicious.

As suggested I will take it slow.

The kind I purchased is Spectrum organic coconut oil refined.

It seems there maybe many benefits so its worth a try.

Its not easy trying to eat healthy while you are remodeling your kitchen. Hopefully when its done I can do more actual cooking.

Any other suggestions are welcome!

Arley, that story reminds me of one I read about where we brought (processed) food and dental supplies to a tribe of Africans that were known for having amazingly good teeth. It wasn't long until their teeth were filled with cavities and decay. But I think us westerners tend to take these health trends a little too far- like green tea, for example. For a while we were being told that we should drink 8-10 cups a day. Why? Well, because the Chinese drink it and they're so darn healthy. But... the average Chinese person drinks 3-4 cups a day. Sorry for going off topic, I just get frustrated with the health roller coaster we're constantly being put on- one day something's healthy, the next it's not.

Hi Debra, I've been using unrefined organic coconut oil, as well as coconut milk in my diet for over a year now. If your oil is refined, it may not be good, because in the process of refinement it may have been hydrogenated.

It's solid at room temperature or colder, and liquid in warm weather since it is 92% saturated. If you want it softer or liquid, just warm some up in a cup placed in warm water.

My favorite way to use it now is to put a dollop in my morning tea. I also put a dollop of grass-fed butter in there too! You get used to it.

I don't use it much to cook with because the unrefined oil does smell and taste like coconut, and I don't want most of my food to get that taste. I read some brands are less flavorful.

I've also melted it together with some high-quality dark chocolate, and poured that on top of chopped macadamia nuts, then sprinkled sea salt on top, cooled it and broke it into pieces for a healthy bark treat.

I try to get more dietary good fats for energy and health, so sometimes I just swallow a spoonful of the solid oil.

I love extra virgin Coconut oil (I buy Nutiva brand which I find less expensive at iherb.com--when I order my other supplements and get free shipping--than my local stores). When we tried to start eating healthier a few years back, I began steaming veggies for our evening meal and decided to try Coconut oil on the the veggies in place of butter...and we haven't gone back; we love it.

And for awhile, breakfast was cinnamon brown rice with half-and-half homemade "raw" butter (Amish-made) and coconut oil.

Debrak_2008, I'm so glad you posted this question!
I have been wondering pretty much the same thing,
How to incorporate it into our daily diet.

The only kind I have found locally is the Lou-Anna brand.
How does one tell how 'refined' it is?
It is NOT solid at room temperature,
Nor does it taste like coconut.

I watched the "Dr Oz" link posted by Grainlady.
And while I have the utmost respect and admiration
For Graainlady, and her knowledge,
I have to admit I have reservations about Dr Oz.
I've only watched his show occasionally,
And I'm just not sure about him.

I've been receiving a lot of email
about the use of coconut oil for Alzheimer's patients,
And figure it is worth a try.
After all, it can't hurt,
Can it? ? ?

I will continue to follow this thread with interest!

Rusty

I like Dr.Oz for the most part. My only gripe with him is that on almost every episode he raves about the "one" supplement that can change your life- and it's a different one every time.

Truth be told, I've never watched a single Dr. Oz show (not a big fan of TV in general), but I thought the video was short enough to make an interesting case for coconut oil when I did an on-line search on the health benefits of coconut oil and it popped-up.

I have a number of great books and a thick file of research on the subject. I did a lot of research on fats a couple decades ago and that's how I got interested in coconut oil (and other coconut products). At the time it was called "coconut butter" and I was ordering Omega Nutrition Organic Coconut Oil (no coconut odor or flavor) from The Salt and Grain Society where I had a membership. Vegans have used coconut oil as a bread spread for eons and that's how it got the name "coconut butter". Coconut Oil Supreme(TM) was probably one of the tastiest products I've ever tried (but horribly expensive for general use). I now store a lot of LouAna brand in our home food storage as one of the "Seven Survival Foods" because it has a long shelf-life, it's a good price and readily available locally - out here in the middle of nowhere, right next to nothing. I use several other brands I order on-line.

-Grainlady

There's seemingly a lot of benefits adding it to your diet due to its medium chain triglycerides that help you lose weight. There's oodles of information on the web regarding its benefits. One I found interesting and very useful was that it can be used as a deodorant. It really works. For those who wish to avoid antiperspirants and its harms should give it a try. It's not greasy but it lubricates your skin as well.

I love coconut oil. I use it for oil pulling (whitens teeth and helps the gumline) and will add it to oatmeal and my green tea. I will also eat it just by the spoonful. My nutritionist suggested three teaspoons worth a day. I like both the "flavoured" and unflavoured oils. It would probably taste good in coffee too. I also use it as a spread.
Yeah, Dr. Oz is sure making the health stores do well. Every time I pick up something someone is there buying something he suggested. I don't watch the show so I have no opinion on it other than the booming business for the health stores.