There are over 250 recipes in the new cookbook "COCONUT OIL    FOR   LIFE" by D.J. Ley

HEALTHY TIDBITS

These are so versatile and yummy. My oldest son loves them and he even knows that they are good for him.

Cashew Tidbits:

cashew pieces for rolling

1 cup of dates

1 tbsp cashew butter

4 tbsp coconut oil

place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. It should be quite a gooey mass. Take a heaping tablespoon in your hand and roll into a ball, the roll in some cashew pieces. You should get about eight golf ball size tidbits. Place in an airtight container and put in the fridge. Leave them for about an hour before eating. Each tidbit will have approximately ½ tbsp of coconut oil.

Another way I start my day with an abundant amount of coconut oil is with a smoothie.

Strawberry smoothie:

½ cup young coconut juice

½ cup of canned coconut milk

3 or 4 large frozen strawberries

1 scoop of protein powder

1 tbsp of coconut oil -liquid

1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Add the oil last. Drink immediately.

If you do not have young coconut juice on hand, just use some milk, rice milk or almond milk.

When I don’t have time to make a real smoothie, I will just grab a glass of chocolate almond milk, put a scoop of protein powder and a couple of tablespoons of liquid coconut oil. Blend it with a hand mixer and drink it down. Just before drinking it, I take my omega 3 supplement. I get all kinds of nutrition in one smooth, chocolate drink. Yum!

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups white rice flour

1 cup potato starch

½ cup tapioca flour

3 tsp xanthum gum

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup young coconut meat

1 can of coconut milk (14 oz)

½ cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs beaten

1/4 cup coconut oil, (liquid)

Grease a 12 muffin tin pan with coconut oil or use muffin paper cups.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the flours, starch, xanthum gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

In another bowl, blend together the young coconut meat, coconut milk, honey, eggs and coconut oil.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. DO NOT OVER MIX.

Pour into the muffin tins and place into the oven for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a minute and then turn them out onto a rack to cool slightly.

Serve warm or cold. I like them warm with a bit of honey on them.

Note: These are not normal muffins. First, they are gluten free so they have a different texture then regular wheat muffins. My feeling is wheat is hard to digest and we are trying to give your digestion a break with these taste treats. Secondly, they are loaded with coconut which will also give your digestive system a break. They are not sweet muffins. They are creamy and good muffins. Give them a try. Your colon is going to love you.

1 can of chickpeas - drained (keep the juice on the side) and rinsed

1/4 cup tahini

2 cloves of garlic minced

juice of one lemon

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/3 cup coconut oil -liquid

sea salt to taste

Place the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and cayenne pepper in a food processor. Start to blend. It should resemble a very thick smooth paste. With the machine running, pour the coconut oil in a slow and steady stream. If the humus is too thick at this time, add 1/4 cup of the juice from the chickpeas to loosen it up. Give it a taste test and add salt as needed. The humus should be thick and smooth. Serve it with raw vegetables or pita bread wedges.

Note: I love this stuff. I use it as a spread for wraps and sandwiches. Just spread some humus on the inside of a pita bread, then stuff the bread with lettuce, tomato, cucumber slices, shredded carrots and alfalfa sprouts. Enjoy it for lunch.

For an easy supper, I just place a bowl of humus, olives, tomato slices, lettuce pieces, falafel, tabouli and some baba ganoush on the table with some warm pita bread and let the kids put together their meal. It is fun, easy and nutritious.

Sweet Glazed Grilled Salmon

4 - 6oz salmon fillet (wild alaskan salmon is your best source for omega 3)

4 cloves of garlic - minced

2 tbsp coconut oil - liquid

½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Glaze:

1 4oz jar of apricot marmalade

1 tbsp of dijon mustard

1 tsp of white wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp of coconut oil - liquid

Mix all of the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl and put aside until later. Warm up the grill - to grill salmon, the grill should be hot and ready. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, salt and pepper. Take a pastry brush and liberally coat the salmon on all sides with the oil mixture. Place the top side of the salmon on the hot grill (skin side up). Let grill for approximately two minutes. Look for the sides to start changing color and test a piece - the salmon should easily move, if it doesn’t, just leave it alone for a bit longer. When they do move easily, turn them over to grill on the other side for approximately 4 minutes or until done. While the salmon is grilling on the skin side, brush the glaze on the top side of each salmon. Make sure to use a clean brush for this and not the one previously used for the oil. Be generous with the glaze - it is so yummy. Serve the salmon along with a salad or some grilled vegetables for a fabulously healthy and easy supper.

3 tbsp cornstarch

2 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 can coconut milk (not lite)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

shredded coconut to sprinkle on top

Combine cornstarch, egg yolks, salt, sugar and a 1/4 cup of coconut milk in a small mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon - not with a whisk. This will make a thick paste. You must make sure you have no lumps - the paste must be smooth. In a large sauce pan, over medium heat put in the rest of the coconut milk. Slowly add the cornstarch paste. Continuously stirring with the wooden spoon. Slow and steady is the key to the success of this dish. Once all of the cornstarch mixture is in, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the extracts and continue to stir slow and steady. Once the mixture starts to thicken but before it gets too stiff, remove from the heat and pour into prepared margarita glasses.

To prepare your margarita glasses - put simple sugar water (hot water and sugar, dissolve the sugar then allow to cool) in a bowl with a bit of a flat bottom. You should have about ½ inch of simple sugar in the bottom. Turn the margarita glass upside down and wet the rim in the simple sugar. Then have a bowl of shredded coconut ready. Dip the wet rim in the shredded coconut. The simple sugar acts like glue. So instead of a salted rim that you would have in a regular margarita, you now have a shredded coconut rim. Now, carefully pour the pudding in the glass. Place an almond cookie on the side of the glass. Elegant yet simple. Makes you look like a master chef.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup white rice flour

3/4 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp xanthum gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut oil (solid)

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Sift together the flours, xanthum gum, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In another large mixing bowl, beat together the coconut oil and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, add the eggs one and beat them in on slow speed until completely mixed . Add the dry ingredients - one third at a time until all dry ingredients and wet are mixed thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips. Drop by the teaspoon on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in center rack of oven for 10 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom. Allow to cool on wire racks.

Makes approximatly six dozen cookies.

NOTE: the coconut oil in these cookies does not impart a coconut flavor but makes the cookies particularly light and rich.