A new purchase for me

I bought some extra virgin coconut oil yesterday when I was at the farmer's market.  I had been looking for it at both the grocery store and the farmer's market but hadn't seen it yet.  I saw it yesterday, so I grabbed some up.  I have seen a lot of information on coconut oil over the past several months as well as it coming up in a lot of recipes, so I thought I would give it a try. 

Benefits of Coconut Oil

The health benefits of coconut oil include

• Promoting heart health
• Promoting weight loss
• Supporting your immune system health
• Supporting a healthy metabolism
• Immediate energy source
• Helps with dry skin and hair

Coconut oil is about 92% saturated fat (OMG, no) and is solid at room temperature.  Research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and that most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which do not raise serum cholesterol or contribute to heart disease, but are in fact very healthy.  Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which is known for being anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal.

Most oils are light and heat sensitive, meaning that they easily turn rancid if not kept in a cool, dark place. Coconut oil is highly stable and is much more resistant to heat than other oils, even olive oil. So it's great to cook with but supposedly also great to have raw.

What to do with coconut oil?

So now I have it, I don't have any specific recipes to use coconut oil.  How do you use coconut oil?  I will be scouring blogs for recipes, so if you have any good ones, please let me know.  Also, if you use coconut oil for things other than in recipes, I am all ears.