Enjoying Coconut Milk

Coconut, coconut milk, and coconut oil are all healthy.  Go do some research, and you'll find that the fears of the saturated fat in it are just irrational fears.  Yes, like any nut, it can be high in calories and fat.  Healthy fat, of course, but calories count if you're watching your girlish figures.

Here are two little write ups. I'm sure you can find more through them or google.

Smart Fuel: Coconut

Coconut Oil: The Magic Potion

So, obviously I believe coconut is healthy.  I buy unsweatened, dried, shredded coconut at Whole Foods.  It's a good add to many dishes.  My kids and I love to crack open a whole nut and eat the pieces.  I cook with coconut oil.  Stir fry is especially good and the oil lets you cook at VERY high temperatures without smoking.  The milk is tasty, and that's where we're focusing, today.  Ready?

 

 It looks pretty, but it's actually made from dried coconut and water,

not poured from a coconut. Still, it looks pretty and tastes delicious!

The other day I made this.  I bought a can of coconut milk, but my desserts only scratched the surface of that can.  Since a can of coconut milk is a lot for just me, I freeze it into cubes in an ice cube tray and store them in a zipper bag.  Premeasure into the ice cube tray and you can pick your number of cubes and know the calories.  That's a tip.  No charge.

Here's another tip on the coconut milk.  Buy the strongest can you can find, even coconut cream if you can find it.  It's usually the same price as the coconut milk, just thicker.  Most of the time, the milk and the cream are just coconut and water, nothing else.  Coconut cream is just made with less water than coconut milk; you can always dilute it later.

Price of the cans being equal, you get more flavor for your dollar the more concentrated it is.  Try to avoid light coconut milk, as it's just got more water AND often has a thickener like guar gum.  Less flavor per can, remember?

Shakes and smoothies -- Take as many cubes as you like and blend them with the rest of your shake or smoothie.  Banana, mango, strawberry?  All good.

Salad dressing -- It's actually a trick, I don't do anything to make it into dressing.  It's just coconut milk drizzled on your salad.  Two tablespoons of the milk made a great dressing.  Seemed Thai-like to me.  Maybe tropical or something.  Choose your salad fixings accordingly.  For a Thai inspired salad, try lettuce, chicken or shrimp, broccoli, pea pods, peppers, water chestnuts, sprouts, etc.  For tropical, I'm going to say lettuce, fish, shrimp, or pork, plus some tropical fruits like mango, papaya, and the like.

Coconut rice -- Stir some into your white rice instead of butter or soy sauce.

Stir fry -- Stir fry your meat of choice, plus shredded cabbage, green onions, peppers, broccoli, and pea pods.  Stir in some coconut milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Eat.

Fruit topping -- A topping for fruit, not as a topping.  Just drizzle some over your bowl of tropical fruit.

That's it.  You have any ideas?