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nutrition

Beauty, Health

Crazy for Coconut Oil

February 11, 2014

Wow, so the most hits I have had on a blog post so far has been on the one about facial oils. Since a friend of mine pointed out that I had not included coconut oil, I decided it was time to explain why. Coconut oil is great as a facial oil, but I chose not to write about it then because coconut oil can also be used for a variety of things, completely unrelated to skin!

crazy for coconut oil edit

Coconut oil first starting blowing up because it has a ton of health benefits, as well as being gluten-free (celiacs rejoice!) and sugar-free (people trying to lose weight rejoice!). It was shunned for a long time by the health community due to its high content of saurated fats which was said to be linked to heart disease. A lot of new research has emerged that has refuted this by saying that it does NOT lead to heart disease or high serum cholesterol. Another study was conducted which found that adding coconut oil into an individuals diet seems to promote a reduction in abdominal fat. With all research though everyone, be sure to place it in context. These studies are not saying that MASS QUANTITIES of coconut oil will benefit you, they are simply implying that there are health benefits to using coconut oil. So be sensible, and use coconut oil sparingly as it is high in calories which means that if you eat 6 tablespoons a day, you are eating an extra 700+ calories. Make it fit within what your body needs (most people are recommended to keep the percentage of fat they eat to 20-35% of total calories).

Anyway, here is a list of some ways you can use coconut oil 🙂 You should be buying organic (if you can) virgin cold pressed coconut oil because it contains no hydrogenation.

1. Coconut oil can be used in cooking. Use a teaspoon, or table spoon of cold pressed coconut oil in place of your normal cooking oil. It can also be used in fun ways such as in smoothies, in your morning coffee, or as a butter replacement in baking. I LOVE baking with coconut oil and love the taste, but it is not for everyone. It is also amazing spread on toast with some mashed up berries.

2. Coconut oil can be used for your hair. This is not one I have tried personally just yet (quite happy with my serum), but I have heard from various online and in person sources that it has done wonders for their hair. Michelle Phan recommends using some as a hair moisturizer by leaving it in your hair for 30 minutes (or overnight!) and then rinding it out and shampooing and conditioning your hair as normal.

3. Coconut oil can be used as a make up remover. Yep, I use either coconut oil or one of my facial oils as a natural make up remover and it is fabulous. And what a good way to moisturize the area surrounding your eyes!

4. Coconut oil can be used as a moisturizer. It is great for particularly dry and cracked areas, such as the elbows. I also use it on my hands during the winter to protect the skin of my hands from getting gross and crackly. And this is a weird tip .. but if you moisturize some coconut oil into your feet, put some socks on and go to sleep, I swear you will ahve the softest feet in the world!!

5. Coconut oil can be used to make body scrubs. I have used it to make a brown sugar body scrub by using a ratio of 1parts coconut oil to 2 parts brown sugar (so for example mix 1 cup of coconut oil with 2 cups of brown sugar). You can also find other body scrub ideas here and here 🙂

6. Coconut oil can be used to make deodorant. Isn’t that wild?! Learn how to make a natural coconout oil deodorant here.

7. Coconut oil can be used as a massage oil. Kind of speaks for itself. If you want to give your significant other (or friend who you lost a bet with) a massage, simply warm up some coconut oil and use it in place of a normal massage oil.

8. Coconut oil can be used for oil pulling. I know right, what the heck is oil pulling? Well, oil pulling is seen as a natural way to whiten your teeth, and to boost oral health by cleaning gums and removing bacteria .. pretty cool huh? What you need to do is put 1-2 teaspoons in your mouth (let it melt first, in or out of your mouth) and then literally just swish it around for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, spit it out into your trash can. Let me know how this goes for you!

9. And last but not least, coconut oil can be used as a natural lubricant 🙂 I got told this by a friend who had it tried and tested, much to her satisfaction lol.

we love coconut oil

I hope this was helpful and enlightens you as to why there is so much buzz over coconut oil. Let me know if you try out any of the suggestions above! Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a comment or subscribe if you enjoy the posts.

Honestly yours,
Alice

Academic Sources
Coconut Oil Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease – Kaunitz, H. and Dayritz, C.S. Columbia University, New York
Effects of Dietary Coconut Oil on the Biochemical and Anthropometric Profiles of Women Presenting Abdominal Obesity – Assuncao et al, 2009.

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Sunday Summary

February 9, 2014

Well, this weekend was incredibly slooooow which was in direct contrast to my very busy and hectic week. I really should’ve expected this (I am a grad student after all) but after having that month long holiday it was just a big reality check for me.

To deal with the weekday hectic-ness that is now my life, I have had to start making meal preps at the very start of the week. During the holidays I was kinda lazy and was like, eh I don’t need to meal prep because I have all the time in the world. Hah, that was nice while it lasted … last Monday morning I made a huge pot of beef chili with chickpeas and plenty of fresh veggie which was basically lunch for the entire week which was awesome. This week I am planning on making a huge pot of Thai chicken curry 🙂

My yoga program has been going well and I am so happy to say that I am getting much more flexible. And my arm strength has improved too!!!! I two sets of 6 negative chin ups now, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I incorporated a variety of resistance band and cable machine moves this week to challenge my upper body from the usual weights and machines. I haven’t been able to go to the gym at the same time as any of my friends, so sorry I cannot show you photos of any of the moves I did.

Untitled

Okay onto a more serious topic now .. have any of you heard of the 80:10:10 diet? I heard about it a while ago, but I recently came across an article on www.fiterazzi.com that talked about the dangers of it. Fiterazzi is fast becoming a favorite new health and fitness website of mine because unlike other websites that just talk about ‘losing 10 pounds fast’, they talk about issues tend not to get talked about, or which are hard to talk about. I recommend you check them out and the specific article I am talking about. I would love to know your thoughts about the diet, and whether you know anyone who is attempting it.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Valentine’s Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

February 7, 2014

Ahhh, Valentine’s Day; you either love it orrrr you hate it. I happen to quite like it, but the fact that I have a boyfriend and have had the same (awesome) one for the past 5 years may have helped with that 🙂

Unlike other special days though, when one thinks of Valentine’s Day, you tend to think of two things: the color red and chocolate. These two factors directly influenced what I made for you all today. Which is …… Valentine’s Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate!!

Valentine’s Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Okay okay, I know they are not completely guilt free, but hey. Gotta live a little once in a while. Plus, raspberries are high in fiber and low in calories, whilst dark chocolate (when eaten sparingly, not every day people!) allows our bodies a greater capacity to absorb antioxidants found in chocolate, whereas the milk in normal milk chocolate actually interferes with our bodies absorption of antioxidants from chocolate. I added in cacao as well because that has also been shown to have a high amount of antioxidants. Reality check though people, eating mass amounts of dark chocolates will not necessarily ward off disease .. it will more likely make you gain lots of weight, so be sensible and eat it in moderation pleeeease 🙂

Alright, so let’s get down to making this stuff! You will need the following:

Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Alice Williams
A perfect Valentine's Day Treat!
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 bar of unsweetened dark chocolate
  • 1 bar of dark chocolate or cacao
  • 1 6 ox box of raspberries

Instructions
 

  • Step 1: Start boiling a pan of water (fill your pot about 1/4 to half way full) with boiling water. Get two bowls out. Fill one bowl with your raspberries and then put them aside as you will come back to the bowls once you have melted your chocolate.
  • Step 2. Once you have your water boiling, quickly turn down the temperature of the flame to low. Too high of a heat will cause your chocolate to melt. Get a big metal bowl, or a bowl that fits easily on top of your pot and is heat resistant. Break up the bar into small pieces and slowly add them into the big metal bowl (it will not melt well if you just chuck the bar in).
  • Step 3: Merrily stir the chocolate slowly until it melts. it really does not take long, it took me a grand total of 3 or 4 minutes.
  • Step 4: Mmmm, the best part. Get a towel or something to grab a hold of the bowl with and then scrape out the chocolate into your bowl (that I told you to get in step 1, remember). Then, get your skewer (thank you Alyssa!) or fork, whatever, and pierce one of the raspberries and simply … dip into the bowl of hot chocolate!
Valentine's Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Valentine's Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Ahh, it melted so fast!!!

Valentine's Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Valentine's Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Valentine's Day Raspberries Dipped in Dark Chocolate

And there you have it, the finished product!! If you find that you would like it sweeter than this, feel free to add some honey, stevia or brown sugar and let me know how that makes it taste. If you have celiac’s disease use pure unsweetened chocolate and pure cacao (mine is 75% so not pure). If you want it completely sugar-free  .. I am afraid that will not happen, because fruits have naturally occurring sugars in them.

Nutritional Details (for whole bowl of chocolate and raspberries)
Calories: 1222 (as you can see it is NOT low calorie, so eat sparingly)
Carbohydrates: 122g
Sugar: 81g
Fat: 79g
Protein: 9g
Fiber: 22g

I know these numbers seem daunting, and I could’ve chosen not to include them. But you know what? I do not want you to be ignorant. I hate how people have gotten the notion in their head that healthy automatically means that you can eat as much as you want … NO. No foods should ever be abused in this way (except perhaps celery). Eat too much of anything and you will gain weight, although the quality of the foods you eat will certainly make a difference. I have said this a lot: eating 500 calories of grilled chicken and quinoa is so much better for you than eating 500 calories of ice-cream and pizza. Okay, rant over guys, sorry!!! Love you really, I just want you to be aware 🙂

I hope you have all enjoyed this weeks Friday Fare!! If any of you make this, please let me know how it goes. And feel free to make any suggestions as to things you would like to see in the future. Hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day next week.

Honestly yours,
Alice