Coconut Oil: The Jack of All Trades

I’ve come to share the wealth, my friends, in case you haven’t already discovered the absolute beauty of coconut oil.  It’s hard for me to know where to begin.  I truly believe this stuff is life changing.  If you think it is only used for cooking, you are so very wrong.  But I suppose that is a good place to start.  The flavor of this stuff is just plain wonderful and adds so much uniqueness and depth to, really, any baked good on the planet.  In a baking recipe that calls for butter or vegetable/canola oil I typically substitute half of that, if not all of it, with coconut oil.  Try swapping out half of the butter for coconut oil in a chocolate chip cookie recipe…you’ll never go back.  Best tasting cookies ever.  Not only is it great for baking, it is wonderful for sautéing your fresh veggies…add a little salt and pepper and you have a seriously nummy side dish.  Utilizing coconut oil in cooking provides so many health benefits, too.  Interested in learning more about the benefits?  This is a great place to find evidence-based information.

Now, aside from cooking with it there are SO many other ways we utilize it in our house.  I swear I couldn’t live without it.

Diaper Rash Treatment  Unreal.  It’s simply unreal.  After trying multiple products (products that failed miserably) for my daughters tiny tooshie we gave coconut oil a try when she was just about 6 months old.  Holy goodness.  Its microbial and anti-inflammatory properties make it a wonderful, natural, safe way to treat the rash without being harsh on their sweet skin.  We now use it as a preventative after bath each night and those buns are as healthy as can be.  And pretty darn cute, to boot.

Nipple Cream  So sorry if this is too much info…just thought we could all get to know each other a little better.  For all of you nursing or pumping mamas…coconut oil is my savior and I highly encourage you to stop buying that ridiculously expensive nipple cream because it can’t old a flame to this oil.  Just rub it on after you nurse or pump and you’ll feel like a new woman.  It literally helps with dryness, cracking, redness and soreness and it’s safe for the baby to ingest.  Winner winner coconut oil dinner…for your wee one.

Bath Oil  My little guy, Jude, is almost two months old.  I don’t really use any lotions on my kids at this early age but this cold winter weather is so drying.  I put about a teaspoon into his bath, along with the gentle soap that we use and he has not had a single need for lotion.  He smells beyond yummy, too.  If I took baths I would totally use it in my own..but, who has time for those?!

Sex Lubricant  There.  I said it.  I’m totally blushing.  I mean, I’ve never personally used this…I just have this friend who told me that she does 😉  It’s perfectly healthy for “down there”.

Dry Skin  This time of year is so hard on our skin.  My hands literally bleed daily from the combination of being outside and having my hands in dishwater and washing them so much (if you know of a good dishwasher or someone who would change dirty diapers for free so that I don’t have to wash my hands as often feel free to send them over.  I’ll pay them in coconut oil.).  Before I go to bed I rub a generous amount of oil on them instead of lotion and they are completely refreshed and soft when I wake up.  It’s a great substitute for body lotion too…it may feel a tiny bit greasy at first but I promise you it only takes a minute or two to absorb into your skin and that greasy feeling will go away.

Eye Makeup Remover  I used to use Vaseline until I tried coconut oil.  It works better than any makeup remover I’ve ever purchased.  Just rub it onto your eyes and wipe it with a clean cloth and the makeup will come right off with it.

Lip Therapy  The best dry lip treatment there ever was in my opinion.  Just rub it on as you would lip balm and your lips will be so healthy and soft.  I use it on my kiddos, too.

Coconut Oil is in solid form at room temperature (just like the photo above) but the minute you rub that solid onto your skin it melts because of your body heat…so, we apply it as a solid.  The only time I melt it is for baking. And it takes just a quick zap in the microwave to liquify it so that it looks like this

Now, if you have never used or seen coconut oil I will tell you it comes in a couple of different forms:  refined and unrefined.  The refined oils have been processed because they are not necessarily fit for consumption.  They also do not have much of a coconut taste or smell at all because they’ve been bleached and deodorized.  They still contain the benefits, just not as much as the unrefined, or virgin, from my understanding. The unrefined, or virgin coconut oils are what I prefer.  They are expeller-pressed from fresh coconut meat and have that amazing coconut taste and smell.  Here is the one that we use

So there you have it….I’ve spilled my guts.  If you don’t already, you’re going to love this stuff.  What other ways do you use coconut oil?  Please indulge me!