Coconut is king!

 
This awkward and ugly looking fruit is the secret ruler of the fruit kingdom (or ‘drupe’ kingdom if you want to get technical). I started including more in my diet a few months back when it was suggested it would help with my fatigue and immune system. 

I have been a convert ever since. While it was once derided by respected healthies as ‘bad fat’ it is now being lauded for its abundant health properties. The fat from the coconut is lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid that is easily absorbed by the body and used instantly as energy. It’s the same stuff that is found in breast milk, so you can be as healthy as a new born bubba. In addition to boosting the metabolism and serving as a great post-workout recovery drink (Nina, the hockey-dynamo-fitness-freak can attest to this!), it also has potent anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties to help you fight off infection. And - as Jenny’s ever-wise Mother has confirmed - coconut oil is actually a great skin care product!

                                       Nina's coconut love

There are lots of ways to incorporate this superfood into your diet.

• Coconut on its own - cut off the top (perhaps with a hammer, or maybe chuck an anvil on it. They are impossible to open) and sip on its sweet nutritious innards. Or alternatively buy it from a shop where it already has a hole drilled into it. Drinking with a straw is very hip.
• Coconut oil - great for almost any cooking which involves frying (dw it's healthy! and when its heating it has the alluring smell of a sweet and buttery lipsmacker). You can buy it at most health food/organic store. I usually fry it with chopped carrots, spinach and nuts, with a little sea salt and tumeric to have it with pasta or rice. Also try deep-frying with cut-up potatoes for amazing coconut potato chips! 
• Coconut milk - not just for curries! Put it in smoothies, porridge, in baking, anything! 
• Coconut ice-cream - this stuff is AMAZING. It has become a favourite of our household. You can make it yourself, or you can buy it from most organic stores - we normally get it from Dr Earth in Newtown. We found CoYo is the best brand. Though it's a tad pricey so you may want to try make it last longer than a day (or ignore the poor frugal student in you and eat it in a couple of hours as Sarah and I do)

Ooooo Mummaa!!!