Coconut oil has become widely popular and for good reason! There has been proven research showing the many benefits of incorporating coconut oil into your daily lifestyle. Coconut oil is a healthy fat. Yes, certain fats are healthy and our bodies need these fats to perform and live optimally. And not to mention, healthy fat helps burn fat! We have two types of cholesterols in our body, which we need both of but in different amounts, and coconut oil helps increase our healthy cholesterol. It not only helps increase the healthy cholesterol, it also helps change our bad cholesterol into the healthy cholesterols which will help improve heart health and lower the risk of heart disease.
Other health benefits of consuming coconut oil on a daily basis include:
- Assist in building muscle and decreasing belly fat
- Aids in healthy weight and fat loss
- Helps fight off infections
- Speeds up metabolism
- Reduces inflammation
- Improve digestion
- Helps balance hormones
- Curbs cravings
But, coconut oil is not just good for our insides, it is great for our skin and hair as well!
- Protects against hair damage
- Dandruff remedy
- Skin moisturizing
- Sun screen/protection
This is all great stuff, but how should I be adding this to my daily life? I’m glad you asked. I cook with it almost everyday! My favorite way to use while cooking is when making roasted vegetables. I toss it with some raw vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots or sweet potatoes and throw them in the oven to roast. Coconut oil can be cooked at a much higher heat than other oils before losing it’s healthy profile. Some mornings I will blend it in my coffee or morning smoothie. Mojo gets a tablespoon (sometimes more) every single day. It helps dog’s skin and paws not dry out. I used to use it as lotion everyday but I don’t do that as often anymore because Mojo follows me around and doesn’t stop licking my legs, but it is a really great way to moisturize! I have only scratched the surface of what coconut oil can do for our health and I encourage you to do your own research to find out how it can best benefit you!
A new recent finding of mine to get more coconut oil into my day is fat bombs. This is my first crack at fat bombs and I am excited to make more! These would be great to keep in the freezer for quick grab and go snacks.
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup coconut butter, melted
- ½ cup fresh strawberries
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- juice of ½ lemon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend 20-30 seconds. Place a tablespoon of the fat bomb mixture into each cup of a mini muffin tin. Place in freezer for 1+ hours.
- Enjoy as a healthy snack!
- Store in freezer.