The Almighty Coconut

My husband and I ventured into the kitchen today with the very versatile Thai Coconut. If you have never used it before you should try. It can be used in everything from desserts, to smoothies, to savory dishes, soups or on it's own. Actually that was part of the problem today. What to do with it...there were just to many choices.

Did you know that coconut water is a perfect match for human blood plasma. It is full of great nutrients such a potassium, trace minerals and can be used in place of a sports electrolyte drink. It can even be used as intravenous for a transfusions. Low and behold I just happened to see this exact thing on an episode on the tv show :"Off the Map". Sports companies are looking to use the coconut water in their formulations. So very interesting don't you think? Raw foodies have been using coconut water and milk for a long time for many different uses. Not only is it nutritious, but it also has a nice mild, sweet flavour that can work well in a zillion dishes.

If you are looking for it in the store...this is what you will see. If will be wrapped in plastic. You can also order them online. Try to get an organic one preferably and see if you can find out how long it takes to get it shipped to the store. There is talk a lot of these young Thai coconuts are being dipped in formaldehyde to help preserve it. The above link talks about how to find out how fresh they are and signs to tell tale signs of when they are bad. I always take a little sip before to see if it is okay before I start using it for a recipe.



Today I used the coconut a couple of ways. Really it would be ideal to have maybe at least 2 on hand at one time. We first cut a square opening in the top and poured out the water. It is slightly clouded,liquid. It is best to strain the liquid if you did not get a clean cut to open the coconut.

The liquid is in the glass pictured below. The meat of the coconut is the nice white silky substance in the coconut. We scraped most of it out. But just wanted to show you in case you haven't seen it.



I then blended the coconut water and coconut meat in the Vitamix to create a nice smooth white milk.



Then I made a smoothie.

Ingredients
coconut milk
1 scoop amazing grass (chocolate)
1 banana
1 cap of blue green algae ( my favorite)
cacao nibs

Blend in the Vitamix and enjoy.




Then I moved onto dinner. I made a Pad Thai "ish" meal. It is a take off of the Pad Thai recipe in I am Grateful book listed in my recommended books. If you have not heard of this book and are into raw foods it is a really great addition to your collection. right now I have my sister's copy. Shhhhhh.

Below is a non raw version made with Soba noodles for my husband. I cut up some veggies and then mixed it with the noodles and sauce. The Pad Thai sauce that I made contained organic nut butter, lime, coconut juice, and some spices and herbs. I blended it in the Vitamix and poured over his dish.



For the raw version which was mine. I cut up some vegetables and then added some raw cashews and poured the sauce over top.



Don't be afraid to experiment with raw food. Start small, start big...whatever feels right for you. Once you get a taste of it you will be hooked.

ps. You don't need to cut your coconut like the first photo. We were just having fun with the camera and the coconut. Maybe soon we will start posting video's.