Welcome to the You Are What you Eat Giveaway Hop hosted by Happy Mothering, Marlie and Me and the Green Mom’s Network! This giveaway hop was organized to promote eating healthy, organic food free from genetically engineered ingredients. There are quite a few green mama bloggers giving away healthy food related prizes so make sure to hop around and enter them all!
Over the summer I read a lot of blog posts raving about coconut oil. Everywhere I looked there were coconut oil recipes, reviews, and encouragement to make the switch to coconut oil. We had been using olive oil for years but I was curious about coconut oil. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to review some of Tropical Traditions Gold Label 100% organic Virgin Coconut Oil.
I have been testing this coconut oil for the last month and I am hooked! What is so great about Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil?
- It is 100% organic
- It is packaged in a glass jar. This is a safer, more sustainable package than plastic that some other brands of coconut oil are packaged in. When I’m done with this jar of coconut oil, I will be able to reuse this jar for storage over and over.
- It is the best oil I have ever used for greasing a pan before baking. I have used butter and other types of oil in the past to grease our glass baking dishes but there always was some sticking. I have been amazed that every time I grease my bread loaf pans with Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil, the loaf comes out completely intact with no parts that stick to the side!
- It works wonders to season our cast iron pans. We use primarily cast iron pans when cooking and always used vegetable oil to season our pans in the past. I started using coconut oil last month and I am amazed at how well it coats the cast iron and doesn’t cook off like the vegetable oil does.
- Excellent to use in a frying pan! Have you ever tried to cook a pancake on cast iron? If you don’t have enough oil/butter in your pan, it will stick and turn into a disaster ending with a hard to clean pan and mangled pancakes. I experimented with cooking pancakes in butter and then compared it to using coconut oil. With the coconut oil I had no sticking at all and I didn’t have to use very much coconut oil! With the butter I had to constantly add more to keep the pan greased but not with the coconut oil.
- A great substitute in a baking recipe that calls for vegetable oil. I’ve been trying to use homemade yogurt or applesauce instead of vegetable oil in recipes the last few years but don’t always have enough readily available. Now that I am hooked on coconut oil and always have it around, it is an easy substitute!
- Wonderful natural body care product. We have very dry weather here in Montana so my skin dries out easily. I tried rubbing a small amount of coconut oil into the skin of my arms. It made my skin soft and nourished and lasted all day. The best part? It didn’t have a strong coconut smell like a lot of store bought coconut lotions and wasn’t greasy. It had only a light coconut smell that could only be detected by putting my nose close to my arm. Now I can have nourished skin without the strong scent of coconut following me throughout the day!
- Makes excellent homemade chapstick. Over the summer I made chapstick with just beeswax and olive oil. It was greasy and I found myself having to reapply often. Last week I made chapstick with beeswax, Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil and a small amount of homemade infused lavender oil and I love it! It is less greasy and nourishes my lips for a longer period of time!
Now that you know what I love about Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil, I will tell you what I didn’t like:
- It solidifies under 76 degrees F (which is normal for most coconut oils). This was only an issue for me when I needed to add liquid oil to a baking recipe and had to add in an extra step to warm up the coconut oil before mixing it in.
- The coconut flavor in some of the food we cooked and fried in coconut oil. Eating pancakes and stir fry with a light coconut flavor was fine but coconut flavored venison steaks or grilled cheese were not as appealing to us.
From what I’ve read and heard from some other coconut oil advocates, the issue of the coconut flavor is easily solved by using Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil. I couldn’t find anything else I didn’t like about the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil, I’m hooked! Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online.
Tropical Traditions is the best source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
Since the FDA requires us to not discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is a great website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.
Now for your chance to win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil retail value $40!
This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada.
This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada.
In addition to our giveaway, the hosts are featuring 3 fabulous grand prize packages from Kombucha Kamp, Cultures for Health, Green Pasture, Real Salt, Sante Bakery, Newman’s Own Organics, Lucy’s, Learning Resources, Green Kid Crafts and Mary’s Gone Crackers! You’ll get bonus entries into the Grand Prize Giveaway for each giveaway you enter in the You Are What You Eat Hop! Click here to enter the grand prize.
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review. I was under no obligation to review it. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. All of the opinions in this review are my own based on my own experience in reviewing this product.
If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.
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Love everything about coconut oil. The taste, the health benefits, I use it on my sons skin
I love making soap with coconut oil. Makes it so moisturizing!
I love that I don’t have to worry about keeping my kids from eating it when I’m using it on them as a lotion!
The only capacity in which I’ve used it was skincare- and it is incredibly moisturizing. Hadn’t even thought of using it as a substitute for vegetable oil, etc…but that’s a great idea. I need to explore the coconut oil use in more ways.
I’ve never used coconut oil before but I hear it’s a good healthy oil to add to one’s diet!
It’s sweet and cooks well at high temperatures
I love that coconut oil can be used both for cooking and topically, as a moisturizer, soap, etc.
I love that coconut oil is so versatile and it’s healthy.
II haven’t tried it yet, but I think I’d love the flavor in many baked goods!
Coconut oil is even great for our dogs. When they have massive farty bums or the scoots, a tablespoon or two of coconut oil is perfect fix. IT also makes their hair super soft and shiny. Bonus!
I use it to bake with…brownies, quick breads…pie crusts are so much nicer with coconut oil… Not to mention using it as a lip balm, or in my home made lotion bars… heavenly!
I love coconut oil! It is great for eggs, and so many other things.
I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award (I apologize if you’ve already been nominated before) over at my blog! http://thenotsosimplelifeinnova.blogspot.com/2012/11/liebster-blog.html
the smell - so fresh
i like the smell - so fresh
I put it in my coffee every morning. Addicting
I love to use TT coconut oil in my morning smoothie. I also use it to condition my hair. I fry with it.
Coconut oil is surprisingly healthy
surprisingly heatlhy!
We eat it and use it in our homemade deo!
I love coconut oil! Delicious to cook with, eat from the jar, and great for your skin. Anti-Microbial and full of antioxidents!
I’m reading their book right now, its very interesting!
I like the taste and the health benefits.
I love the flavor.
I love the taste, how good it is for me, that it doesn’t go rancid easily, and how it moisturizers my skin.
Love the flavor, and that it doesn’t go rancid easily.
I love it because it’s such a good alternative to the unhealthy fats!
I love that coconut oil is anti-viral!
I recently learned that it is a fat zapper, love that!
I’ve been using it on my skin for a year or so and it’s awesome! I loved the ‘testimonial’! It gave me lots of new ideas.
Love coconut oil, I am slowly switching to using almost nothing else.
I love that you can use it on and in your body.
I love that you can use it on your skin and in your food.
I like that’s it is better for you than other oils, and I love the flavor it gives when you cook and bake
I love that it is a healthy way to cook.
Coconut is also my favorite food and hair tonic.