My New Secret for Everything
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Let’s just talk hair for a second.
Sometimes you have to cancel a hair appointment because you realize it was made for the first day of school. The same first day of school on which you like to drop your kids off outside their classrooms and hold back tears. Or honk goodbye to your teenagers to the tune of “We Fell In Love in a Hopeless Place.” This is no time to get your hair did, yo.
But then there are times when you call and cancel and said hairdresser doesn’t have an opening for four weeks. FOUR WEEKS.
So you go visit the worlds leading expert on coconut oil, who happens to live just down the street from your house, snap a pic, and your hair looks like…well. The above photo says it all.
So then you get desperate, grab scissors, and start snippy snapping away at the split ends and crackly hairs until you have inadvertenly chopped off two full inches, and looking vaguely similar to zombie Meg Ryan.
I’m glad we got that cleared up. I need to not be alone in my hair misery. Which will heretofore be referred to in it’s conjuctive form…hmisery.
Okay, on to coconut oil.
(above: Homemade Vegan Tamales)
My new nutritional guru, Thor and I sat down last Wednesday with Dr. Bruce Fife, leading expert on all things coconut oil and author of The Coconut Oil Miracle. I was there to research an up and coming cookbook idea, Thor was there to get his geek on with Dr. Fife. He’s kind of a big deal in the world of nutrition.
It wasn’t ten minutes into the meeting before I could see why.
Dr. Fife is passionate about coconut oil, having delved into the deep science of it all with wreckless abandon. But, he has the remarkable ability to translate all of the p’s and q’s of molecules and medium-chain fatty acids into human speak. He talked at length about the benefits of taking up to three spoonfuls a day of coconut oil, but you don’t have to get all cray up in the hizzy to enjoy some of the remarkable antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant effects of coconut oil.
You can slather it on your skin to clear up acne (I’ve been doing it since last week and hello clear face, I knew you were under there somewheres!). You can spread it on your bod instead of lotion (smells deeelicious!). And you can even use it as an afternoon energy booster (waaay betta than Red Bull, darlings).
There are so many things coconut oil can be used for, according to Dr. Fife, that I gathered some of the nitty gritty details for Babble and put it in an easy-to-read slideshow. Check out Clear Up Acne, Remove Warts, and 13 Other Surprising Uses for Coconut Oil.
And let’s not forget the beautiful coco-buttery flavor that coconut oil lends to food. Because coconut oil is a largely shelf-stable, heat tolerating oil, you can get the same benefits from it when baked into foods as you can spooning the stuff straight onto your tongue. Of course, if you spoon it straight, you don’t have to gnaw through pounds of chocolate chips as you would these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, but who’s to complain about pounds of chocolate chips?
I mean. Really?
Also featuring coconut oil is these purty lil’ batch of Vegan Brown Sugar Blondies
And the crust in this Vanilla Bean Vegan Cheesecake will make you go gaga, since it’s ever so slightly kissed with the goodness of coconut oil.
Did someone say kiss? You know how we liiiiiike our lipsssss? Coconut oil keeps ‘em smooch worth in my recipe for Homemade Kiss Gloss.
Folks. The weekend is long. My hair is short. Coconut oil is da bomb fabu. There are pounds of clothes needing folding at the foot of my bed. I watched Mean Girls in entirety tonight while writing articles about grilled chocolate. And that is a whole lotta stuff you should feel slightly violated to have been told.
Sorry. Hmisery makes me overshare.
Three weeks until the hairdressing appointment. Hang in there wit me.
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addie @ culicurious on September 7, 2012 at 1:52 pm
I just noticed coconut oil in my local grocery store yesterday. Now I’m going to pick some up and do something with it! thanks for the insights :)
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:37 am
Yes! Addie! YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!!
Arminda on September 7, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Love me some coconut oil. I spoon it into my daily smoothie. Need I say more? Thanks for the pretty pictures and additional tempting recipes with which to sample it. And the whole hmisery? It’ll grow back. I promise.
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:36 am
GREAT idea! Smoothies!
Jaimee on September 7, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I will take your hmisery. You can try to be funny and pretend you don’t look amazing, but you just always do with that radiant smile of your’s. Your hair is much better than my “pull-my-hair-back-in-a-ponytail-and-pretend-its-not-there” look. Love your hair, love your recipes, love your sharing of your knowledge and just plain love you.
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:36 am
Oh, you just stop. It’s big, bad hmisery. But I love you more. Amen.
Michele on September 7, 2012 at 5:22 pm
I have personally seen the healing effects of coconut oil on my skin. I’ve had some sun spots on my arms and hands and let me just say that some strange skin stuff starts to happen as you age when you’ve had sun damage. Thanks to this naturual gift of coconut oil my skin looks years younger and ALL of those wierd skin growths that were forming are gone now! I no longer use the expensive facial creams I used to buy at the department store either – coconut oil is the answer!
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:36 am
It’s amazing how something so simple really does make such a difference, isn’t it?! WOWZA!
Christy Sadira on September 7, 2012 at 10:56 pm
I have been a huge coconut oil fan for a couple of years now but it can be soooo expensive. But… I just discovered they now carry large tubs of it at COSTCO!!! Woot Woot!
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:36 am
I know, RIIIIIGHT?!!!
Foodforthoughtlinds on September 8, 2012 at 4:24 am
Mmmm…. a friend of mine recommended to me awhile back that I start using coconut oil, but due to its price, I didn’t bother. Until I came across a delicious-sounding recipe for super healthy granola bars that called for coconut oil (http://foodforthoughtlinds.blogspot.ca/2012/08/super-powered-granola-bars.html). And since I didn’t know what to use instead, I just bit the bullet and bought some. And they were the most delicious thing I had tasted in my life. But this is still really the only way I know how to use it.
I can’t wait to try those chocolate chip cookies with it!! And LOVE the idea of using it in crust. And smoothies! We’ve recently gone dairy-free, due to some issues with my kids, so this is a great way to still enjoy delicious treats :) Thanks for the post and for motivating me to use this more.
I’m also soooo happy to hear that they have it at Costco. I recently bought agave syrup there too! I love that they follow newer nutritional trends.
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:35 am
Pretty recipe for granola bars! Lurve it!
anna on September 8, 2012 at 11:22 pm
healthy nutritious yadda yadda, that ish is TAY SUH TEE. that was all it took for me to get into it. everything else is just a perk :)
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:35 am
TAY SUH TEE is RIGHT! Yummo!
Lisa Frank on September 9, 2012 at 11:38 am
Trader Joe’s has great prices on coconut oil…usually around $5-6 per jar!
Brooke replied: — September 10th, 2012 @ 11:35 am
Ohhhh! Wonderful! THANK YOU for letting us know!
Amy P. on September 10, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I have been wanting to try coconut oil for a while but not sure how to use it, UNTIL NOW!! Thank you!! I will cook with it, those chocolate chip cookies look amazing and I am going to try it on my face, 5 zits in the last week, you would think that I was 16 again!
Lauren on September 11, 2012 at 1:34 pm
I’m having trouble finding the slideshow you mention. Help?! :)
Kate on September 18, 2012 at 3:01 am
Can’t find the slideshow either…. link brings me to Dr.’s book site. Any help?
Joniboni on September 29, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Love coconut oil and coconut flakes and lately coconut sugar! Have you tried it?
It has a lower glycemic index than sugar or honey and it is vegan and it tastes a lot like caramel.
I just used it earlier tonight in your oatmeal choc chip cookie recipe along with coconut oil!
If you haven’t tried it, pick it up at Whole Foods. I recently found your page and am totally psyched! I have two kids and parents and brother that i am trying to ease into a vegan/vegetarian diet. I love showing them pictures of what the recipe I am following.
You are so talented and such an inspiration to me as a single mom!
So yeah coconut sugar! Try it if you haven’t! As my four year old daughter said “it’s so yumly!”