Let me explain a little bit behind this somewhat cheesy blog name! The simple answer is that these two things have been absolutely essential in our journey to becoming healthier. But this is a blog, so I want to also give a little bit longer of an answer than that 🙂
When I started the daunting task of searching for ingredients and chemicals that could be affecting my health, I quickly became overwhelmed. I discovered the myriad of things in so many of the foods and products that we use that are simply not good for us. This was really frustrating to me and I immediately wanted to change every part of my life to make it healthier and more natural. But obviously changing nearly every aspect of your life from your toothpaste to your cookware was not going to happen overnight unless I wanted to spend thousands of dollars at once. So instead of getting angry (ok maybe there was a little bit of that, and maybe there still is every once in a while!) I tried to realize that I needed to make manageable changes, and make them one at a time. So, that is where the coconut part comes in! Coconut products were some of the first things that we began using that totally changed our mindset on healthy foods.
So I want to tackle the difficult task of trying to describe how important coconut products are to us now that we’ve made so many changes in our diet and lifestyle. If you can manage to incorporate these 4 coconut products, you’re going to be well on your way 🙂
- Coconut Oil – I’m sure you’ve heard tons of people sing the praises of coconut oil, but it’s because it’s well deserved! We have replaced unlimited items in our life with coconut oil; oil in any recipe, oil for frying or sautĂ©ing foods, moisturizer for dry skin, a base for using essential oils, and so much more. We also applied it (along with some essential oils) to our son Ezra’s skin to help heal his relatively serious infant eczema and it worked so well! It’s practically gone now. These are only a few of the ways we use coconut oil! I also use it in a homemade chocolate recipe that we all love 🙂 The possibilities are practically endless.
- Coconut Sugar – This is a fabulous sugar alternative that gives everything a rich, almost maple-y flavor! It’s much lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar, so it doesn’t raise your blood sugar near as much or quickly. It is also a 1 to 1 ratio to regular sugar, so it’s easy to substitute! You definitely don’t want to use it like crazy 24/7 since it is still a form of sugar, but for people like me who still occasionally need some kind of dessert or they’ll lose their mind, this is great! I love using it in our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! It is a little more expensive than regular sugar, but so worth it. It will definitely pay off in the long run when your health and weight are vastly improved by using it!
- Coconut Flour – This is a great flour substitute! It can be a little finicky, which is why googling/pinteresting coconut flour recipes is my go-to instead of trying to substitute it in my own recipes. It’s more affordable than other flour alternatives, and it really absorbs liquids, so you don’t have to use very much at a time. Regular flour tends to be processed as sugar, so many wheat or gluten free flours are much easier on your body They’re also more easily digestible, and we’ve noticed it’s much easier to keep off weight now that we’ve switched to these other kinds of flour. Our stomachs feel so much better afterwards than when we eat wheat, or especially white flour!
- Coconut Milk – This is one of my personal favorites! Mainly because I’m a coffee addict… I know, it’s my weakness, but with a 14 month old, it’s hard to go a day without it! But instead of the traditional coffee creamers that typically have artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners, I love using a few spoonfuls of coconut milk! It is so creamy and delicious. I add a tiny bit of cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla and stevia or coconut sugar, and I’ve basically created my own healthy Starbucks drink. Obsessed!!! Coconut milk is also a fabulous substitute for many dairy products like heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and even buttermilk.
So maybe now you can see where the coconut part of the name comes from! As for the peace part, I think this verse puts it succinctly:
“A peaceful mind gives health to the body, but envy rots the bones.” -Proverbs 14:30
Remember the anger and stress I talked about earlier? Yeah, that’s never a good way to move towards a healthier lifestyle, and I have definitely been learning that in my own life. Not only is it just going to get you nowhere and make you miserable, but it’s literally going to make you unhealthy. And ultimately, you can eat all of the coconut products you want, but if the peace part doesn’t come first, it won’t do a bit of good. And how in the world do we figure out the whole peace aspect? Well, let me just summarize this with one of my favorites:
“You will put his mind in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” -Isaiah 26:3