Product Review and Giveaway: Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Have you tried Coconut Oil yet?

It's the new 'it' food making the 'healthy eating' rounds! 

So I was quite happy when the opportunity came up to review some from Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions! 

http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm 

Tropical Traditions was the first company to bring Virgin Coconut Oil to the states from the Phillipines, where it has been used for eons, for cooking, beauty and healing! There are literally hundreds of uses- check out How to use coconut oil!! Check out this video that explains about it all:








Mom did a trial test on her hands when we first opened the jar. The hand that she used it on was still smooth and soft a week after she put it on. The skin was very hydrated and she'd had no flaking, unlike the other hand. Now this worked for her, so I tried a test as well. Same results! Now will it work the same for you? Don't know- everyone's bodies are different. I'm not making a health claim, just saying it worked for us!

You can surf the web for beauty recipes (lotions, scrubs), but I'm gonna make it simple for you. 

Here's one I came up with after combining ideas from different sites, that really works at getting dead skin off hands and feet:


Java Coconut Sugar Scrub

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, NOT melted 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp coffee grinds (caffeine has a tightening effect on the skin) 
1/4 tspn vanilla extract 


Directions: 
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and coconut oil together at a medium-high speed. 2. Add coffee grounds and vanilla, and beat until soft and fluffy. 
3. Scoop scrub into your container and be ready for some smooth skin!


Note: While the sugar scrub is made from edible ingredients, it is not recommended to eat it, especially after it has been opened repeatedly, and stored at room temperature! This is a great scrub to make and give as gifts as well. The grounds will help remove smells like crawfish, garlic and fish! So you might want to leave a small tin by the kitchen sink too! 


If you don't like the coffee smell, and aren't worried about the tightening from the coffee, then you can substitute lavender or rosemary essential oil in place of the coffee and vanilla. Works just as well! Remember, Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up!


But cooking was the main area I wanted to test coconut oil with! In fact, you can pretty much use coconut oil in any recipe where oil is used! Baking, frying, candy making, salad dressings, you name, you can make it! Now it DOES leave a coconutty flavor, but depending on what else is in the recipe, whether or not you can taste it alot.


Experimenting with the oil has been interesting. In comes in solid form (think lard), and to use for cooking, you heat it to get it into liquid form BEFORE you measure what you need. The key thing is to have all your ingredients ready to go before you heat the oil, as it will start to resolidify the longer it sits after being made liquid! Especially when mixing, that can be problematic. 


I found this recipe online from Dinners, Dishes and Desserts food blog,and knew I could adapt to our needs- partial for Kiddo (sans chocolate) , partial for the adults (sans sprinkles)!

Coconut Sprinkle Chocolate Chip Blondies
 

1/2 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white (or semi sweet) chocolate (or peanut butter) chips
1/4 cup sprinkles
optional: peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 8×8 pan.

2. Blend coconut oil and brown sugar together until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt, mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate (and/or peanut butter) chips and sprinkles.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until it is set, and slightly browned. 


4, As an option, I took a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and spread on the blondies, while still warm, to give them a peanut butter glaze, as I used peanut butter chips. Cool completely before cutting.  And YES, Kiddo had to test them as soon as they came out of the oven! Got a big thumbs up! Whew, kid likes healthy food!

Note: I doubled the recipe, and as you can see, the bars did not rise very much. Next time I would triple the recipe, at least, for cake pan size.

Check out the Tropical Traditions home page for their excellent Coconut Oil, as well coconut oil  supplements, beauty products, household goods and even pet products!


And lucky you, Tropical Traditions wants to give ONE of you one quart of their Virgin Coconut Oil! Ready to try it out for yourself?

* a Rafflecopter giveaway *


Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this product,and the offer of the giveaway, for review purposes on this blog, free of charge, from Tropical Traditions, via Tomosson.No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. As with any health/beauty product, my experiences with the product are just that, MINE, yours may differ, as we're human everyone is made differently! I make NO claim that the product will work the same for you.