How To Open A Coconut

If you want to open a coconut and have never done it before, you may have some difficulties. First you need to drain coconut’s liquid. Find the three dents on coconut’s surface and poke a hole in them with a sharp object. For example, you can use a wine opener. Now turn the coconut upside down and drain the liquid into a cup. You will get clear coconut oil which is perfectly fine to drink. Although it is not particularly tasty, it is very good for rehydration and is very rich in potassium. It comes recommended to athletes.

Now put the coconut on a plank and hit it with a meat chopper or a hatchet. Several hits right down the middle and the crust should crack. You should be very careful. Never let children play and try to open a coconut. Practice makes perfect.

Remove crust from the edible matter carefully, using a kitchen knife. When peeled, insides of a coconut are white and the outer layer is darker. The darker outer layer is simply peeled off with a knife. The white edible matter can be eaten raw or be used in many forms as a cooking ingredient.

How to make coconut flour?

You can buy or make your own home version of coconut flour and pancakes! Put the white coconut meat on a piece of baking paper and toss it in the oven turned on to 100 °C. Leave it to dry for 15 minutes. Grind down the dry pieces of coconut and you will get your flour. It doesn’t contain gluten and has a lot of fibers. It can be used by diabetics. It’s commonly used for cookies and cakes.

How to make coconut milk?

Coconut milk can be bought or made at home. Chop up small pieces of coconut and rinse them off in water. Put them in a blender. Add heated water. The right ratio is half a liter of water on each whole coconut. It doesn’t have to be that precise. You can make it thicker or thinner, depending on your own taste and needs. Blend them thoroughly and then filter the content into a proper container. Put your coconut milk into a fridge. You can drink it or use it as a cooking ingredient.

Is coconut oil healthy?

Coconut oil is made by mechanically squeezing dried coconuts in large mills. Temperatures don’t go above 70 °C in this process. In traditional rural production temperatures may climb up to 120 °C. Coconut oil has high caloric value and contains plenty of saturated fatty acids, but many people still use it to lose excess weight. According to some sources, coconut oil is easily and quickly converted into energy and does not linger inside the body in any potentially harmful manner. It’s even used to reduce bad cholesterol level. Still, this should be taken with some reserve, as research on coconut oil’s effect on cholesterol level and weight loss is still ongoing. Surely a lot of things rest on the process of coconut oil production itself.

Coconut oil is good for athletes, diabetics, people with heart conditions, people with irritable bowels, people suffering from chronic fatigue… Coconut oil has antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial properties. It also shows good antioxidant qualities. It is often used in cosmetic products industry because it’s great for skin and hair care. If used in moderate amounts in nutrition, it’s absolutely not harmful. This oil has been looked down upon for a long time because people thought it was unhealthy, but that’s not true.

Read More

Coconut Milk

The first glance at coconut milk’s nutrition label may make you want to avoid it altogether, but look again. Coconut milk is high in calories, as well as saturated fat, but the health benefits of using it in moderation may offset the associated risks.

What is Coconut Milk?

As the name suggests, coconut milk comes from the seeds of the coconut tree, also known as coconuts. Three types of liquid are extracted from coconuts: coconut water, coconut cream and coconut milk. Coconut water is the liquid found in the center of a ripe coconut. Coconut cream is made by squeezing the liquid from grated coconut meat. Coconut milk is made from soaking the squeezed coconut meat in water and then squeezing it again. Each has its own fat content and calorie count, with coconut cream having the highest, coconut water the lowest, and coconut milk somewhere in between.

How is Coconut Milk Used?

Coconut milk is often used in making desserts and in many styles of Indian, Asian and Pacific Island cooking. Curry dishes often contain coconut milk. Either replacing the liquid in a cake mix or soaking a dry cake in coconut milk adds both moisture and rich flavor to the dessert.
Coconut milk is also used in for skin and hair care, such as conditioner, soap and bubble bath.

Is Coconut Milk Healthy?

With calories in coconut milk being over 500 per cup, you might wonder how it could be healthy. The truth is that in addition to high amounts of saturated fat, coconut milk contains protein and carbohydrates, as well as significant amounts of calcium and magnesium. Other nutrients found in coconut milk include vitamins C, E, and B1, niacin, folate, potassium, phosphorus, pantothenic acid, sodium, selenium and iron.
See full coconut milk nutrition facts
In spite of its sweet taste, which comes from its sugar content, coconut milk is relatively low in carbohydrates. In addition, the carbohydrate count includes the added bonus of fiber.
Calcium is necessary for healthy bones and teeth, and magnesium can lower blood pressure and reduce the possibility of a heart attack. Coconut milk also contains lauric acid, not to be confused with lactic acid found in cow’s milk, which aids in brain and bone growth, as well as artery blockage prevention.
Coconut milk has a positive effect on digestion and has been used to treat ulcers and acid reflux. The high iron content has made it useful in the treatment of anemia. Coconut milk contains several antioxidants as well, so yes, in small amounts, maybe as little as a teaspoon, coconut milk is healthy.

Coconut Milk and Fat

However, coconut milk has a high fat content, and most of that fat is saturated. Saturated fat has been linked to heart disease and other health issues.
Most saturated fat comes from animal sources and that may be the difference. Unlike animal fat, the human body metabolizes coconut milk quickly, so that the saturated fat it contains usually isn’t in the body long enough to be stored. In addition, coconut milk also contains heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids.
For someone consuming coconut milk in moderation, and otherwise maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the fat in coconut milk should not be a major concern.

Coconut Milk and Cholesterol

Coconut milk has no cholesterol of its own, but some doctors do express concern that the high amounts of saturated fat in coconut milk could lead to an increase the body’s cholesterol production. However, as previously mentioned, the magnesium and lauric acid in coconut milk may work to prevent the type of arterial blockage associated with high cholesterol.

What about Organic Coconut Milk?

Organic coconuts are those grown with out the aid of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Normally, the process of creating coconut milk is organic in itself, because it requires only coconut and water. Organic production has no influence on the calories in coconut milk

Final Thoughts

Because of the high number of calories in coconut milk, drinking it as you would cow or soy milk on a regular basis would probably not be wise. However, similar to dark chocolate and red wine, drinking coconut milk or using it for cooking in moderation might provide some added health benefit, and most of us can use all we can get.

Fast fact: There are 197 calories in 100 ml coconut milk.

Read More