I'm Crazy for Coconuts!

I'm a sucker for a good soup recipe.  When it comes to the combination of coconut milk, chicken, and curry, I am ready to scarf!  I stumbled upon this recipe for Thai Coconut Curry Soup, thanks to Pinterest.  I made it last week, and it was soooooooo tasty!

photo courtesy of Chef Michael Smith

The lemongrass and lime added so much goodness to the broth.  And my kids especially loved the addition of the bean sprouts because it added a little bit of crunchiness to it.  If curry coconut flavors float your boat, definitely give this recipe a try!

Lately, I've been really sensitive to cow's milk.  I was beginning to notice that any time I drank some of it, I would feel gross and lethargic.  I started researching how to make my own coconut milk.  Usually when I start watching health and wellness videos on youtube, I get sucked in.  I'll click on another video, then another, and then the next thing I know, I'm an expert on 5 different ways to make coconut milk...and it's 1 a.m.  

One video that I found to be very helpful was this one…

The next day after watching this video, I went to Safeway and bought 2 coconuts. I drained the water, cracked them open, removed the meat, and followed her tutorial.  My homemade coconut milk was delicious! Danny and I used it in our smoothies and the kids ate it with their cereal for breakfast.  Even Asher liked to eat the plain coconut meat before I made milk out of it.  Coconuts are so amazing, and have so many nutritional benefits!  They are a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, electrolytes (ditch the Gatorade!), and they support healthy bones and teeth, amongst many other amazing benefits. I've also used this method to make almond milk, which is also very good. Sometime this week, I plan to make more coconut milk using a different method that involves (organic!) unsweetened shredded coconut flakes. It's definitely going to be a time-saving method, however, I think the method in the video above is my preferred method because of the freshness of it.  

Ever since I was a teenager, I have always loved the smell of coconut lotion.  It's one of my favorite scents!  I slather this product on my skin every day, and I also use it as a moisturizer on my face under my makeup every morning….

I buy a few jars whenever I'm at Trader Joe's, and I love that they are only $5.99 per jar.  They last awhile too!  I'd much rather be using this product over the lotions that are filled with chemicals I don't want on my skin.  Our skin is our largest organ, so we need to be taking good care of it!

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of coconuts.  The smell, the flavor, and all the amazing benefits that they offer!