Coconut mon amour: Two sweets, one tangy, all yummy coconut recipes

This post has a few keywords: Simple, easy, and healthy. You will only need a few ingredients. You won’t have to have tons of experience in the kitchen. More importantly, you won’t have to sacrifice your holiday resolution (I don’t know, is this even a thing?), because they are all healthy. They share one other quality: Coconut.

Coconut is one of the most versatile plants. From coconut oil to coconut butter, from shredded coconut to coconut four, it has become a staple in our kitchen. It has antibacterial and immune-strengthening properties. It helps fight yeast, parasites, or bacterial overgrowth. Not only does it provide healthy fats (which I love for hormone health), especially the fresh coconut meat is also rich in fiber and vitamins, amino acids, and anti-oxidants. Another bonus of cracking into a fresh young coconut is the coconut water. I use coconut water in my favourite beet-berry smoothie. It is packed with electrolytes, which are important for the optimal health of our cardio-vascular, nervous, and immune systems. Plus, it tastes delicious!

Chocolate-coconut “Truffles”

We don’t have truffles in my culture. But my grandma once took me to a pastry shop (sorry, it was a French “patisserie”) for my 9th birthday, where I had my first éclair AND chocolate truffles. I love the truffles so much that she asked for the recipe and made them for me on special occasions. Of course, those truffles were made with butter, heavy cream, and dark chocolate. These ones are my grandma’s truffles’ healthier second cousin that is also slightly on the lazy side. Remember: Simple, easy, healthy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shredded coconut, (and a little more to cover the truffles later).
• 2 tbsp Yoursuper Chocolate Lover Mix (you can use raw cacao but I highly recommend checking this mix out).
• 6-7 pitted dates (6, if you are using Medjool, as they tend to be larger).
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

1. Put all your ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until you have one sticky, messy mass of sweetness.
2.  Sprinkle a baking plate/pyrex with more shredded coconut.
3. Form little truffle-like balls, and cover them completely with the extra shredded coconut. Place each truffle on the plate/pyrex.
4. Leave the plate in the fridge for around half an hour, so that the truffles can solidify.
5. Enjoy!

You can keep the truffles on the countertop for around 3 days. If you keep them in the fridge, they will last longer, I’d say around 5-6 days.

***Coconut might make the truffles solid because the coconut oil will harden in the cold. So if you are keeping them in the fridge, you might want to leave them outside at room temperature before enjoying them.

Berry-coconut popsicles

Full disclosure: I don’t like this one that much. I’m not a popsicle person (unless, maaaaybe it’s a chocolate popsicle). But my husband and our toddler both love popsicles. If you are a parent with a “picky” (I prefer to say “particular” 😀 ) baby/toddler, you might like to have a look at this post. My kid has been consuming a variety of vegetables, thanks to these popsicles- beets (see the pink popsicles he has in his hands?); spinach (green); even cauliflower and potatoes!

If you’re not that parent, you might still want to have a look at that post, because of cute baby pictures:)

For adults, I can recommend these popsicle molds, and for the little one, we have been happy with these.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of frozen berries (I use blueberries, only because they both love those the most)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• 3 tbsp maple syrup.
• 1 can coconut milk.

1. Blend fruits and 1,5 tbsp maple syrup and pour into popsicle molds, filling half- way.
2. Clean the blender and this time mix the coconut milk with vanilla the rest of the maple syrup.
3. Fill up popsicle molds and put them in the freezer.
4. Wait at least two hours before serving them.

Coconut yogurt

Most coconut yogurt recipes I see online use canned coconut milk. For this one, we will use young Thai coconut meat.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh young Thai coconut meat (or frozen young Thai Coconut Meat)
• ½ cup (120 ml) coconut water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (or less, if you don’t like tart flavour)
• ½ teaspoon probiotic powder

1. In a blender, combine the coconut meat, coconut water, lime juice, and blend on low, gradually increasing the speed to high, until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a glass jar or bowl.
3. Pour the probiotic powder into the yogurt and use a wooden spoon to stir until the powder is blended equally.
4. Cover the mixture with a clean kitchen towel and leave the yogurt at room temperature for up to 2 days. The longer it rests, the thicker and tangier your yogurt will get.
5. Sample the yogurt occasionally to see if it’s to your liking. Once it’s satisfactory, feel free to flavor it, serve with granola, with fruits, or enjoy it alone.
6. Cover and store the yogurt in the fridge where it can stay up to 1 week.

 

 

 

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Editor’s note: The information in this article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and before undertaking any diet, supplement, fitness, or other health programme.