Giveaway Alert! Win your very own Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Read the following review and follow the directions at the bottom of the post.
Tropical Traditions is the first company to export virgin coconut oil from the Philippines to the United States. Virgin coconut oil is certified USDA Organic and is still manufactured by hand (and not using an industrial refining plant).
Tropical Traditions sent me a 32 oz. bottle of Virgin Coconut Oil along with the book by the same name. I had no idea what I was suppose to do with a jar of coconut oil and had never heard of it before now. My only confession to you is that this summer I have done very little cooking and have only used the coconut oil one time. I’ve read the book cover to cover because I wanted to learn all about coconut oil and how it’s changed the lives of so many people.
If you are like me, you’ve never heard of Virgin Coconut Oil. Making coconut oil is a very common practice in the Philippines where they express the milk from the freshly harvested coconuts and fermented. After about 1-2 days water and oil separate from one another and the result is a clear coconut oil. There are other manufacturers of coconut oil, however, most of them are mass-produced and are produce a lesser quality coconut oil. Here is a video interview with CEO Brian Shilhavy that goes into more detail about how Tropical Traditions refines their Virgin Coconut Oil.
About two weeks ago I finally pulled the jar of Virgin Coconut Oil out of the pantry to find that the jar of clear coconut oil had solidified. This is normal and was easily reliquefied by placing in a pan of warm water. I actually placed a small scoop in the microwave for 30 seconds and it melted back to a liquid right away. I decided (with the help of my wonderful babysitter) to make a chocolate cake for my friends birthday and use the coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. I’ve never cooked with any oils other than vegetable oils and olive oils so I had no idea what to expect. The scent of the oil was fantastic! I love the smell of coconuts! The end product was a wonderful, fluffy, moist, chocolate cake. I’m so impatient that I actually broke the cake when I transferred it to the drying rack…so I got a nice warm taste right away! My sitter and I sat there and ate our ‘mistakes’ and her comments were, “This is the best chocolate cake I have EVER had!” Honest, those are the words that came from her mouth! I can’t remember the last time I had a cake that was this moist.
What else can you do with Virgin Coconut Oil? There are so many different uses. You can use Virgin Coconut Oil in either it’s solid or liquid form but it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. You can use Virgin Coconut Oil in any recipe that calls for butter, margarine, or any other oil. Some people actually eat it by the spoonfull. It’s a great addition to smoothies and can even be used as a lotion for your skin. I actually tried it as a lotion, it felt and smelled SO soft and sweet. As the school year starts back (next week) and our lives return to normal (is that even possible?) I look forward to trying out some of the recipes that are in the book.
Buy It! Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil retails for $37.50 and is currently on Sale for $27.50 online. In addition to the Virgin Coconut Oil they also sell many other organic food and health care products.
Win It! Tropical Traditions is giving away one quart (32oz) jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to one lucky reader! To enter you MUST visit Tropical Traditions, subscribe to their email sales newsletter, and tell me what recipe you would try if you won. This is mandatory for you to win.
Extra Entries! You can earn 2 extra entries daily on Twitter. Follow @troptraditions and tweet about this giveaway (include @troptraditions, @theecochic, and a link to this contest in your tweet).
Leave an individual comment HERE for each entry.
Contest ends on Wed., August 26th at midnight (EST). Good luck and coco-sweet dreams!
I follow TT on Twitter and tweeted http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3448791804
tweet 2 http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3448791804
I subscribe to TT newsletter and the recipe that sounds good to me is the Amazing Coconut Carrot Cake http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/recipe_Amazing_Coconut_Carrot_Cake.htm
I just subscribed to the tt newsletter. And I would love to use the oil in my chicken curry recipe, I think it would be so yummy!
tweet http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3471085852
tweet 2 http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3471085852
8/23 tweet http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3490064703
8/23 tweet 2 http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3490064703
The coconut shrimp and rice recipe sounds like something I would like to try and I have subscribed to the newsletter.
I WANT TO TRY THE COCONUT SHRIMP AND RICE RECIPE AND USE SOME SHREDDED COCONUT IN IT AS WELL AS THE COCONUT OIL I SUBSCRIBE TO THE THE NEWS LETTER.
tweet http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3511360241
tweet 2 http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3511360241
I’m subscribed. I’d like to try the Fruity Tropical Smoothie recipe.
i’m a Tropical Traditions newsletter subscriber, and would like to try the Coconut Cream Mushroom Soup Coconut Oil Recipe — thank you!
I’m eager to win the virgin coconut oil. It’s great in a recipe called Dream Bars. Use equal parts of almond butter (or raw almonds ground fine until creamy) and coconut oil. Add cacao powder and a sweetener. That’s it! I like to make my dream bars chewy so I also added hemp seeds (raw), and gogi berries. You could also embellish this recipe with coconut shreds and nuts of your choice, anything that you like in a energy bar. For quick results, put it in a pan and freeze, Then cut into pieces. I also store mine in the freezer. Otherwise, I’d be tempted to eat them every time I opened the refrig!
I subscribe to Tropical Traditions
I want to try the Hot Cocoa Coconut Oil Recipe.
I would try the yogurt energy drink.
tweet http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3536434721
I’m already subscribed to the TT newsletter. I would like to try the coconut flour brownies.
I am a subscriber to their newsletter.
I would like to try the carrot cake recipe
jennifer@makemoneyworkonline.com
I love to Barbeque,so the coconut barbeque recipe would be nice to try.
Ohh this stuff looks amazing. I have heard there are so many uses for coconut oil, but haven’t tried it yet. There were tons of yummy looking recipes on their site too, but I guess I would try the mock chocolate cheesecake first. I did subscribe to their newsletter as well.
I’m from Southeast Asia, where coconut oil is used predominantly for head & body massage. I have many memories of my mom giving us weekly head massages with coconut oil. I truly miss those times. Although we never used it for cooking I would love to try. Most of the recipes sound yum, but I think I’d try the Fragrant Lamb and curry chicken first.
I’ve subscribed, and I’d love to try the Hot cocoa coconut recipe. I’ve been researching natural foods for my son that was recently diagnosed with multiple allergies, but this one, I’m thinking that the cocoa would be for me. I’d use it in many recipes for him, just couldn’t pick only one.
I’ve subscribed and I had a hard time deciding which recipe I would use it for as my list was growing as I looked them over.
Alas, I would use it first in a cookie recipe– the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie! I love to bake and I thought I might have to give up baking (cookies being my special passion). Now that I’ve found out about coconut oil and coconut sugar I know I have many years of baking ahead of me! I am very excited!
tweet http://twitter.com/vlbsweeps/status/3552383712
Was already signed up for the newsletter.
I would like to try: http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/recipe_Coconut_Ice_Cream.htm
I follow tropical traditions on twitter
tweet: http://twitter.com/abbyalex/status/3558972701
I would love to try the Dark Chocolate Chunk Cashew Waffles…..however, being a Raw Food Chef, it will be fun and interesting to see if I can simulate this yummy recipe without cooking =)) Peace & Blessings~
I subscribed to their newsletter. I use my coconut oil for lots of things. It’s yummy in brownies!
Tweeted!