Last night Denise and I held a free seminar at Amoskeag Chiropractic in Manchester, NH, completely dedicated to the coconut, or specifically, the young Thai coconut. Coconuts are the seed of the coconut palm tree, and provide meat, water and oil.
As promised, step-by-step instructions on how to easily open young Thai coconuts:
1. On a solid, steady surface, place the coconut firmly with the point straight up. Get a firm grip, with fingers out of the way. Using a hefty meat cleaver, take several strikes on four sides in such a way that you form approximately a 2 X 2 square around the pointed tip.
2. Once you’ve cleaved through the husk, use the pointed corner of the cleaver to crack through one of the corners of your square. Notice the cut square around the top point of the coconut in the second photo below.
3. Then use the cleaver to pry up the “lid” until you can get your fingers in there to pry it the rest of the way, careful not to spill any of the coconut water inside.
4. Check the color of the meat to make sure you have a “good”, fresh coconut, and not one that has turned. A good coconut will have VERY white meat. A turned coconut will have meat that is discolored, sort of a light lavender or mauve. See the comparison in the first photo below. If you have a good one, pour the water out through a strainer and then scrape the meat out with a spoon.
That’s it! This is a tried and true method. I’ve tried others, and this is by far the easiest one I’ve come across. Even Denise, who was TERRIFIED to open a coconut, found this method to be very easy. She was opening coconuts like a pro last Monday night in preparation for the seminar. A whole case of them!
Coconut Oil
- Pressed from the meat, removing the fiber.
- Over 90% saturated fat. There are two kinds of saturated fats – long chain triglycerides (associated with “bad” cholesterol) and medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s), which is the one found in coconut oil. Within moments of being consumed, MCTs are converted by the liver to energy, and are not stored in fat cells. Protects against heart disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries.
- Easily assimilated, provides energy, does not clog arteries, can be used for cooking at high temperatures without becoming toxic like other healthy oils (i.e. olive).
- Excellent as an anti-bacterial skin moisturizer, lubricant and hair conditioner (helps in the re-growth of damaged hair). And highly effective at preventing tooth and gum decay with daily oil pulling (will write about oil pulling in a future post!).
- Very effective in reducing excess weight through healthy function of the thyroid and enzyme systems, and increasing metabolism by removing stress on the pancreas, thereby burning out more energy (stored fat). People living in tropical coastal areas, who consume coconut oil daily, are normally not fat, overweight or obese.
Coconut Water
- Packed with the same electrolytic balance as our blood, it is the original sports drink. The fluid of life. During the Pacific War it was used on both sides in the conflict to administer emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers.
- Best consumed fresh – once exposed to air, rapidly loses organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment. Most bottled varieties are pasteurized.
- More nutritious than whole milk (less fat and NO cholesterol!), more healthy than orange juice (fewer calories from sugar, and effectively stabilizes blood sugar), better than processed baby milk (contains lauric acid, which is present in mother’s milk and strengthens the immune system and protect against viral, bacterial and fungal infections) and naturally sterile (water permeates through the filtering husk).
- Contains more potassium at about 294mg than most sports and energy drinks at about 117mg. Contains less sodium at about 25mg, where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks 200mg! Contains only 5mg of natural sugars where sports and energy drinks range from10-25mg of altered sugars. And it’s very high in chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.
Coconut Meat and Butter
- Meat is pulled directly from the inside, and is unprocessed. Butter is coconut oil and solids processed together.
- Young Thai coconut meat has less sugar and more protein than bananas, apples and oranges. High in minerals such as iron, zinc and phosphorus.
- All components of the coconut are excellent replacements for dairy products, oils, household items, and more.
Too good to be true? Coconuts may be the ONE exception. Although, beware, most young Thai coconuts that come into the United States are dipped in formaldehyde. KNOW THE SUPPLIER, and only purchase from those you trust do not sell these toxic coconuts.
Also as promised, the recipe for dehydrated onion bread from Matt Amsden’s RAWvolution book, shared at a previous seminar…
Onion Bread
3 large yellow onions
3/4 c flax seed, ground in a high speed blender
3/4 c raw sunflower seeds, ground in a food processor
1/2 c Nama Shoyu or Braggs liquid aminos (I use less than 1/2 a cup)
1/2 c olive oil
In a food processor, but the onions with the slicing disc. Transfer the cut onions to a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread half the mixture evenly on a dehydrator tray pined with a Teflex sheet, and the remainder on a second tray. Dehydrate at 105F for 24 hours. Flip onion bread onto another tray pined with a screen (not a Teflex sheet), and gently peel the Teflex sheet off the bread. Return to the dehydrator for another 12 hours. Once dehydrated, cut into pieces using scissors or a large knife.
Enjoy!
Augusta
PS. Happy Birthday Lori!!!
