Poco Mountain Girl

I haven’t been blogging for a few days, but we’re all fine–healthy, snug, and cozy.  We’ve been having some chilly 3 degree mornings (and a -14 degree one!) but the wood stove is roaring, and life goes on.  It’s been a string of sleepy days–due to sleepless nights–just keeping up with homeschool, laundry, meals, and lots of day and night nursing for a little teething man (two bottom teeth, now!)

Although I waited exactly six months to feed Zia anything other than breast milk, I haven’t been so by-the-book with Cash.  For a month now, he’s been happily sucking on apples and carrots and slurping coconut milk off my finger (dare I say that I even let him suck on a turkey jerky stick? No, I didn’t really do that.)

This week, he’s been so ravenous that I thought he needed a little more, so I made coconut cream concentrate, and he loves it.  Coconut is a rich source of lauric acid, the same type of fat that breast milk contains–and the only other source of it.  (Read about it here.)  By the way, good fats don’t make you fat.  Whenever I up my coconut (oil, cream) consumption, I’ve noticed weight loss, if anything.  If I want to gain weight, I eat carbs.  If I want to stay even or lose weight, I eat coconut (and certain other fats).

Coconut cream is easy to make, and yummy by the spoon, in recipes, or as a topping.  It has a thick, creamy consistency that hardens when cool, and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.  The texture and taste are a bit reminiscent of peanut butter, and you can also blend a spoonful with water to make coconut milk.  I think it’s a perfect first food for babies, and a great nutrient-boosting snack for nursing mamas–and everyone else, for that matter!

Coconut Cream Concentrate

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded organic dried coconut (unsweetened)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Place dried coconut in a blender.  I use a Vitamix, but you could use a food processor or blender. Blend or pulse until the coconut begins to melt together and thicken, then slowly pour in 1/4 cup melted coconut oil.  Continue to blend until combined.  I like it plain, but you can add vanilla, cocoa, carob, or other flavorings (honey if it’s not for babies under one year old).  Store in a glass jar with a top.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2013 at 10:06 am and is filed under Cash, Happy Healthy Hippie Food, Home Sweet Home, new baby, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.