I started using coconut oil not too long ago on my hair, and putting it into my coffee in the morning. yes, it floats on the top of the coffee, but surprisingly, it doesn't leave a greasy taste in your mouth when you drink it. My hair has never been so soft! I don't even use conditioner anymore. I just put a dab on my hands (not much, you may have to experiment) and rub it on and let it sit for a few minutes to soak in, then comb it through really well. Even blow drying my hair doesn't make it frizzy with the coconut oil on. Once a week, I put it on and let my hair dry naturally, so it can soak it all up. It makes your skin so smooth! I tried using it on my face, but I have adult acne, and it broke it out. But I did add a couple of drops to my moisturizer at night, and it didn't break me out that way. Anyway, my skin is much smoother, on my face and everywhere else I use it.

You'll find conflicting data on coconut oil in the diet. Lots of claims for it and against it. It's pretty well established that heavily hydrogenated tropical oils, including coconut (such as what you'd find in commercial baked snacks--they hydrogenate the fat to increase shelf life) are bad actors, but that's likely due to the hydrogenation process and not the oil itself. Coconut oil is a mid-chain mostly saturated fat. It may well be metabolized differently than other saturated fats. There was a study some years ago about a bunch of Sri Lankans who were convinced by Western doctors to switch from their traditional coconut oil in the diet to vegetable oil. The rate of heart disease went UP, ha ha. Now I don't know if they did other Western habits like smoking Marlboros while sitting on their hineys watching 'Baywatch', but I thought that was interesting. I have used coconut oil for 'buttering' potatoes. I've also used coconut oil as the poaching fat in making duck confit (wowza, was that good!). There is a difference in the quality of coconut oil. I can get some fragrant organic coconut oil from the Dekalb Farmers Market in the Atlanta area--it's wonderful. The local supermarket has Lou-Ana coconut oil--okay, but not spectacular. You'll also find that there are some claims made by people trying to sell you the stuff--"if you don't buy this particular brand of coconut oil harvested by sincere vegetarians who are kind to kittens, you're gonna miss out on all the benefits"--you just need to try to separate the hype from the fact. Hard to do sometimes.

We sold coconut oil from NOW foods while I was still married to the ex. He still carries it, it's $5.99 for a 12 oz. bottle. It's more expensive than butter, and certainly more expensive than shortening, but not more expensive than walnut oil or hazelnut oil or even good olive oil and it's much healthier for your heart, IMO, than butter. They all have about the same amount of fat and calories, but all fats are not created equally in a nutritional sense. Ashley likes apples sauteed in a bit of coconut oil in lieu of butter, and says they don't need as much sugar either, because the coconut oil adds some flavor of its own. I use it in some baked goods, but find that things like shortbread are somewhat the worse in taste and texture for the substitution. Of course, I make shortbread about twice a year, so it's an occasional splurge anyway. It's all a matter of what you like, and I find that I have to experiment and try things to determine whether its a good sub for certain other fats. I can also say that I'm in my 50s and have extremely low blood pressure, my glucose levels are excellent and the only reason I have high cholesterol is my genetics, it's an inherited trait from my mother's side and has nothing to do with my diet. I eat sugar when I like (Michigan beet sugar, grown and made locally), butter in moderation, use regular old flour off the shelf. However, I grow my own organic garden, my own grass fed beef, my own free range chickens and eggs and then I can and preserve those things myself. I try to avoid the hydrogenated fats and remember what my old doc told me: "If it wasn't a food 50 years ago, it's not a food today". Of course, he also told me that if you're over 40 and you get up in the morning and nothing hurts, you've died in your sleep. In spite of that, I have no discernable aches and pains and can still do a cartwheel on Makayla's lawn, spend 10 hours digging post holes without giving out and outrun the grandkids, so I must be doing SOMETHING right. Annie

Thanks for all the ideas! I would love a T&T recipe for ice cream using coconut oil. I've made coconut ice cream, but never with oil, and I've eaten olive oil ice cream but didn't make it myself. Terri - you are absolutely right. I used it yesterday and while it smelled like a tropical drink in my shower, it was much milder after a few minutes dry. It did smell really good in the shower! I may use the scented stuff in the shower from now on mixed with raw sugar for a scrub. Arley, while we are not shrimp eaters, I can think of some other stir frys that would work, and maybe I'll try it in some rice too. And thanks GL, I never would have thought of mixing it with peanut butter. That's a great idea for my kids; I'm always trying to pack healthy fats into their diet since they are so slim. My middle kid in particular has a hard time maintaining a healthy weight, so this will be great on his cinnamon bread in the mornings for a quick breakfast. The kids and DH aren't big coconut fans, so I'll use it sparingly in baking. I'm going to try the vegan cookie recipes since I'm always looking for non-dairy desserts. Thanks! AM