Coconut oil mayonaise

Store bought mayo has never held much appeal to me. I would purchase a jar, and found it expiring before we used it more than once or twice. That is not the case with this homemade version, as I make a batch almost every week.

The taste is so much better than the mass produced, chemically laden stuff, and you can control exactly what goes into it. I find the biggest offender in terms of ingredients in most mayo is soybean oil. Even brands that offer ‘olive oil’ mayo still list soybean oil as the second ingredient after water.

Soybean oil contains extremely high levels omega 6′s, leading to a dangerous ratio of omega 6′s to omega 3′s. Americans consume huge amounts of the former, contributing to chronic inflammation, causing diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and CVD.

By contrast, coconut oil contains almost no omega 6 fats. Consumption of this type of oil is extremely beneficial. Coconut oil improves cholesterol levels, restores normal thyroid function, and actually helps your body burn energy more efficiently, contributing to weight loss.

Since increasing our use of coconut oil, I have seen firsthand the dramatic results. My husband and I have both lost weight effortlessly, and even my cat slimmed down to a healthy weight after supplementing her food with coconut oil. My HDL (good cholesterol) levels are up, and while not measurable, it feels as though my metabolism rate is higher with increased consumption of coconut oil.

This mayonnaise is a tasty way to consume coconut oil, and is super easy to throw together once you have the method down.

First gather your ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut oil, heated til liquid (if solid, heat 30 seconds in microwave)
• 2 organic eggs (room temperature, or place in bowl of warm water to quickly bring to room temp)
• 2 tbs lemon juice (fresh or jarred)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard, or mustard powder
• 2-3 tbs light olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

Place the eggs, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and 1/4 cup of the coconut oil in your blender.

Blend on medium until completely combined.

While blender is running on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the rest of the coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is emulsified in, slowly add in the olive oil until the mixture is thick, and stops running through the blades easily.

Transfer to a glass jar, and refrigerate. It should last about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Unlike other coconut oil mayonnaise recipes I have tried, this does not harden in the fridge. It is great in egg or chicken salads, coleslaw, and dressings.

Cinnamon Toasted Coconut Flakes

In an apparent attempt to keep this coconut theme going, here is a recipe for my favorite crunchy addition to salads and deserts. The salad thing might seem weird, but think candied pecans in salads. Same idea. My favorite go to salad is mixed greens, cinnamon coconut flakes, and roasted beets with a creamy balsamic dressing.

First grab your ingredients.

• 1 heaping cup unsulphered coconut flakes (not shredded coconut)
• 2 tsp organic pastured butter (or sub coconut oil)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• stevia or honey to taste

Place them all into a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Stir everything together, and place back into microwave for 30 seconds.

Continue stirring and microwaving at 15-30 second intervals until the flakes are evenly toasted.

Be sure to watch closely and decrease the microwave time as it gets closer to desired doneness, as it can burn quickly.

Store in an airtight glass container, refrigerated.

Coconut Milk Concentrate

Technically coconut almond cashew milk, but lets keep things simple. That’s actually how this concentrate was created, in an attempt save me the trouble of collecting, measuring, and blending the ingredients for coconut milk every couple days or so to keep our stock replenished. By creating a concentrated mixture, you just need mix a cup of it with 3 cups water and you have a perfectly balanced and easy coconut milk in seconds.

First collect your ingredients. You will need:

• 1 cup coconut almond cashew butter
  
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• stevia, to taste

The last 2 are optional, and you may exclude them if you plan on using this for savory applications. In my household, we mostly use this for coffee, so its a time saver to include it from the beginning.

Place all the ingredients in a blender.

Blend on high until mixture is warm.

    

Done. Pour into mason jar for storage.

Now to make coconut milk from the concentrate:

Fill a jar with 3 cups water, and add 1 cup coconut milk concentrate.

This mixture will separate as it sits, but a quick shake before using will get things emulsified again. You can use this in place of milk in any recipe or application. Increase the amount of concentrate to water for a richer coconut milk. 

Coconut Almond Cashew Butter – Step by Step.

Thinking back to all the recipes I have actually made from food blogs, one thing that they had in common was that they were either super simple, or described in a step by step format. Something about seeing it done visually makes it much less intimidating to actually tackle in real life. Because coconut butter is such a staple in my household, I thought it would be useful to do a more in depth tutorial.

In a subsequent post I will include instructions on how to easily turn this into thick, creamy coconut milk for use in curries, soups, coffee, and more.

My first foray into nut butters was with almond butter, and while delicious, I try to limit my consumption of tree nuts as much as possible now. Nuts and seeds are high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids and contain lectins. Lectins are toxins present in many foods, but high amounts in grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. They are a self-defense mechanism for seeds, attempting to prevent being digested, and thus not reseeding the plant. In our digestive tracks, however, these compounds bind to other nutrients, and may damage the intestine.

So while nuts may have beneficial aspects, I find that keeping my intake moderate is best. That’s where coconut comes in. Coconut is not actually a nut, but a drupe. Other drupes include coffee, mangos, olives, apricot, and cherries. Coconuts contain very minuscule amounts of omega 6 fats, and are rich in medium chain fatty acids. These fats are great fuel for your body, and have been shown recently to rev up metabolism, assisting in fat loss.

Ok so that ended up being longer than expected, props if you actually read it. Here is the recipe in detail.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 6 cups unsweetened unsulphered shredded coconut
• 1/2 tbs salt
• stevia to taste (optional)

Directions

First, gather all your ingredients. You will need a blender, 1 cup raw almonds, 1 cup raw cashews, and 6 cups unsweetened unsulphered shredded coconut. I like the taste and texture of this particular blend, but feel free to sub other nuts in place of the almonds or cashews. You can make a coconut only butter, but it may get very solid exposed to temps below 70 degrees or so. Mixing with other nuts gives it a richer texture and taste.

Add the 6 cups of coconut to your blender.

Now you need to lightly toast your cashews and almonds. You can leave them raw, but toasting them brings out their oils, and lends to a creamier nut butter. Your call.

Continually stir them over medium high heat until lightly toasted. Once fragrant, transfer to bowl and let cool completely.

Once fully cooled, place on top of the coconut in the blender.

Start blending on low, and slowly increase speed to high. I sometimes have to use the tamper to get things moving. As it is running, you can add your salt (1/2 tbs) and stevia, if using.

Keep blending on high until the mixture gets fairly warm. It may look done when it first starts flowing freely through the blades, but taking the time to let it get really emulsified will pay off. Just keep feeling the sides to make sure it doesn’t overheat.

After 3-5 minutes of blending, it will be smooth and pour-able  Transfer to mason jar and store at room temperature.

Baba ghanoush

This eggplant dip is a great make ahead addition to salads, snacks, and even eating on its own. I first fell in love with baba ghanoush in Kuwait, where it is widely consumed. Unfortunately it is harder to find fresh simple dips like this in the states, but luckily it is simple to make a large batch and keep on hand.

After a few trials, this is now my go to method for making a smoky, rich, and slightly tangy dish.

Ingredients

• 2 roasted eggplants (directions below)
• 2 roasted garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• parsley for garnish

Directions

Roast eggplants by placing them on a foil lined sheet in the lower 2/3 of your oven, broiling on high for approximately 5 minutes each side. Be sure to pierce the flesh of the eggplants before roasting, as they will explode and coat your oven with eggplant innards. Trust.

Let them rest until cool enough to handle then peel off the skin. It should come off fairly easily.

Take the innards from one of the eggplants and place in the blender with sesame seeds and roasted garlic cloves. Blend on high until smooth.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the other peeled eggplant into small pieces. Combine the blended mixture and chopped eggplant in a large bowl with the lemon juice and salt to taste. I like to mix in finely chopped red pepper at this point, but that is optional.

To serve, top liberally with olive oil and a sprinkle of parsley  This tastes best when it has time to sit for 1-2 hours.

Coconut cashew almond butter

If you have never made your own nut butter, this is a great mixture that can be used for both sweet and savory dishes. Keep a stash of this on hand, and it is incredibly easy to whip up a batch of light coconut milk for coffee, or thicker milk for curries and soups.

Add a tablespoon of this nut butter to a cup of warm water, and blend on high until completely creamy and fully dissolved. You can scale the recipe as needed. Increase the amount of nut butter per cup for a richer coconut milk. 

I also enjoy this coconut cashew almond butter over fresh or defrosted frozen fruit for a rich but nutritious desert.

Not only is this spread versatile and delicious, but by using mostly coconut it also packs many health benefits. Most nut butters are high in inflammatory omega 6 fats. Coconut, however, is rich in medium chain fatty acids. MCFA’s are a incredibly healthy fat source for your body, with recent studies showing they actually increase excess calorie burn, assisting in weight loss, and metabolic function.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 6 cups unsweetened unsulphered shredded coconut
• 1/2 tbs salt
• stevia to taste (optional)

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add almonds and cashews and continually stir until they are lightly toasted (as pictured below). Remove from heat and let cool.

Add coconut to blender, and top with cooled almonds and cashews. Add salt and stevia, if using. Blend on low and slowly increase speed to high, using tamper if necessary  Blend on high for at least 2 minutes, until completely smooth.

Adjust seasonings and store in lidded jar. Do not store in the refrigerator  as coconut gets hard at cold temperatures.

Paleo Salmon Fish Tacos

Don’t watch Diner’s Drive in’s and Dives at night. Even after dinner + dessert, everything looks amazing, and I’m fighting the urge to make a pulled pork sandwich at 9:30 pm. This recipe is the result of a triple D night time marathon, and my subsequent promise to my husband that I would recreate this dish the next day.

Paleo Fish Tacos:

Serves 3

For the Fish Tacos, I based my version on this recipe from Triple D, subbing these tortillas for the corn. Here are the modified version of the recipe I used. It’s a pretty simple ingredient list, but packs a huge amount of flavor.

Cilantro Lime Sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 clove minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp onion power
1/2 tsp salt
few drops of honey (optional)
Fish:

2 medium salmon fillets
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Grain Free Tortilla Recipe

Pico de Gallo Recipe

Directions:

For the sauce, combine all ingredients and let set for 30 minutes while you cook the fish.

Cut fish into 1/2 inch dice. Season with old bay and salt. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat, and add fish. Cook for 1-2 minutes, and add garlic to pan. Cook for another minute or so, until cooked through. Take off heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

To assemble:

Fill tortillas with fish, lettuce, cilantro lime sauce, and pico de gallo.