Current Foodie Obsession: Coconut Oil

I tend to be a little slower when it comes to some trends, the latest of which happens to be the popularity of coconut oil. In fact, if it weren't for my Pinterest interest, I would most likely still be clueless as to its properties and usefulness! After doing extensive research about people's personal encounters with it, as well as some research articles on my favorite go-to site for anything health-related, Web MD, I decided to load up on it with a great Groupon for extra-virgin coconut oil.

The first thing I noticed when I received my oil in the mail was that it was unlike any other oil I'd used before...in that it was solid. This is probably my only complaint about it, though, so far. (Can't be put down the drain at all, needs to be melted for certain uses.) Although, the fact that it seems to want to float on mixes and smoothies instead of mixing into them can be slightly annoying. If anyone has any advice on how to get it to somehow increase its density enough to be mixed longer than a few seconds, I'm all ears...or eyes, in this case. :) I love the flavor it gives fried eggs, especially knowing it is so much better to use than butter or margarine. I am a big fan of olive oil, as well, for being a healthy cooking oil, but there are just some recipes you can't risk adding that distinct olive oil taste to, like cookies or brownies. Trust me, I've tried it a few times! I have yet to use coconut oil in these recipes, but I imagine the taste of coconut compliments them a lot more.
I have used it, too, on my hands and lips and have been very satisfied with the results. The only drawback I've encountered is that it is so light an oil that it doesn't stay on my lips very long and doesn't absorb fast enough before I inevitably wipe it off somehow. (The reason I don't often wear any colored lip products.) The first time I used it on my hands, though, my hands were still soft the next day. Granted, it was not one of those frigid, dry winter days, so it would be good to test it in that case. It smells so good, though, that if I have to re-apply a few times in the day, I don't mind!
Another use I read about and tried, after reading article after article about it, was the method of oil pulling. Basically, all you do is swish the oil in your mouth for 20 minutes, then spit it out into the trash. It is supposed to attract all the bacteria in your mouth to the oil, because of the properties of bacteria's cell walls. I was a skeptic and the name sounded painful and the method sounded torturous, but I can say after about 10 days of trying to fit it in at least every other day, I now find it relaxing (not to do anything involving opening my mouth for 20 minutes) and cleansing (my mouth actually does feel fresher afterwards!) Some articles said that only extra-virgin coconut oil should be used for oil pulling, but others suggested even using other types of oils, so I'm not sure how important that factor is.
Either way, I'm hooked for now. We'll see if I get through all 6 tubs of oil before this phase passes, haha. Tune in next time for, maybe, an actual craft-related post. ;)
- Jess
Sneak peek: