Young Thai Coconuts

During my pregnancy I have been LOVING coconut water! I usually purchase it at the co-op in 34 ounce containers, but was looking for a change so I decided to pick up TWO young thai coconuts and enjoyed every last sip.

Coconuts have been generating a TON of buzz lately for their multitude of health benefits, some of which include:

• Helps with heart disease prevention
• Contains anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties
• Promotes weight maintenance (some people boast that daily consumption of 2-3 TB of coconut oil generates noticeable fat % loss)
• Coconut water is a natural isotonic beverage filled with electrolytes (think nature's Gatorade!)
• Coconut meat is an excellent source of medium chain fatty acids, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals

At first, opening a young thai coconut might seem a little intimidating, but they are much easier to open than a regular, brown-husked, coconut. Below you will find the steps to getting at the delicious raw coconut water and meat. Also, check out on this a great video by Kristen at Kristen's Raw.

It is important to note that it can be very difficult to find organic young thai coconuts at a local grocer and the best way to obtain them is to purchase them in bulk online. Most of the conventional young thai coconuts that you will find at your local grocer have traveled a long distance to get there and have most likely been dipped in a preservative to keep them fresh during their long voyage. The verdict is still out on whether or not the preservatives can actually penetrate the hard husk of the coconut making its way into the flesh and water. Needless to say, it is a good idea to enjoy young thai coconuts in moderation.

Step 1: Selecting you delicacy

Which one should I choose? For me, this is the most intimidating step of the process. In general, all young thai coconuts look very similar and only vary slightly in shape and size. The exterior size of a young thai coconut does not directly relate to the interior size nor water content of the coconut. So, my advice is not to fret and simply pick one that is free of cracks, mold, and soft spots, as these are indications of spoilage. 

Step 2: Prep the coconut for opening

Using a sharp chef's knife, remove the white outer flesh from the top "cone" of the coconut. The idea is to remove as much of the soft, white flesh as possible without cutting into the hard brown husk. I do this by running my knife from the tip of the coconut out towards the edge of the cone shape.

Step 3:  Open the coconut!

Do not use your chef's knife for this step - you could ruin it! Using the but end of a cleaver assertively pound the cleaver straight down into the husk of the coconut that you exposed in Step 2. Do this working in a circle formation around the tip of the coconut's cone, about an inch or two from the outer edge of the coconut's cone. Ensure that you keep your other hand clear of the cleaver, as you probably want to keep all of our fingers! Also, be forewarned that if your coconut contains a lot of water, it may spit at you as you complete this step. 

Step 4: Enjoy!

Gently peel open the top of the coconut and dump the yummy water into a glass measuring cup. As you can see in the photo from Step 3, my young thai coconut yielded 2 cups of delicious coconut water. Use a large spoon or fruit scooper to remove the young thai coconut meat.

Please note that young thai coconuts are highly perishable and it is possible that even though your coconut did not show any external signs of spoilage, it could be bad. The best way to check for spoilage is to look at the coconut water and see if it has a purplish tint. Coconut water should be clear or slightly cloudy. If in doubt, try a sip! Your mouth will let you know.

I quickly drank my coconut water and used the meat to make a wonderful tropical smoothie and some hazelnut ice cream.

Food Journal...

It's been a long time since I have posted my food intake for the day and figured that today would be a fun day to give you an update on what I have been consuming as a pregnant clean eater!

Today was an interesting food day because I am working from home and have choir practice tonight...

Pre-breakfast: 1 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate SuperFood + 1/2 c homemade unsweetened vanilla cashew milk + 1/2 c water

Iced Vanilla Americano: 1 shot espresso (made with my new Nespresso Citiz) + cold water + splash vanilla cashew milk

Breakfast: 3 egg whites + chicken sausage + 1/3 c oats cooked with 1 1/4 c water + 1 T chia seeds + 2 T ground flaxseed + 2 T wheat germ + 1 tsp cocoa powder topped with 1/2 T homemade coconut butter

MidMorning Snack: 1 slice Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast + homemade raw almond butter + 1/2 c chocolate pudding

Lunch: Fridge clean out smoothie - I rummaged through the fridge and grabbed everything that looked like it needed to be eaten soon and threw it into the VitaMix: 1 small orange + 1 small mushy apple + brownish banana + leftover young thai coconut meat + leftover young thai coconut water + spinach + vanilla protein powder + ice

This made a HUGE smoothie... I drank 3 cups of it and put 2 cups in the fridge to have with my MidAfternoon snack. Look at how BRIGHT green it turned out!

MidAfternoon Snack: No Bake Nut Butter Energy Bar (from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook) + the rest of my fridge clean-out smoothie from lunch

Supper: I will be eating around 7 PM when I get home from choir practice and will most likely have 3 scrambled egg whites + chicken sausage + 1 slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast - this tends to be our go-to meal when I have choir and we don't have leftovers in the fridge

Evening Snack: I usually get hungry around 8:30 PM and have a small snack. I made raw Hazelnut Gelato from the Ani's Raw Food Kitchen cookbook and will most likely have 1/2 c of it before HypnoBirthing practice, which we do nightly

Raw Oatmeal!!!

Looks like warm, cooked oatmeal, doesn't it?

This has been one of my favorite meals lately...

Raw oatmeal!

What is Raw Oatmeal?

Raw oat groats soaked in water overnight in the fridge then placed in the food processor with dates/agave and cinnamon, or applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon and raisins then topped with raw almonds and served cold.

Seriously, this stuff is filling and keeps me full for HOURS!!! The other day I had it as my second meal (around 10:30 AM) and was not hungry until about 4:00 PM.

Seriously GOOD food. Allan even likes it. :)

I am working on a Cacao Bliss inspired raw oatmeal, recipe, too.

I <3 Quinoa

Today has been yet another SUPER crazy day! Work has been insane lately and keeping me more than busy.

I have been refueling on this devine Quinoa Mango Salad that I made on Monday. This salad was inspired by the Quinoa Mango Vinaigrette salad that I had at the Birchwood Cafe last Saturday.

Look at all of that wonderful good-for-you stuff that I crammed in this salad. It is definitely a meal in a bowl!

Also, has anyone else seen this? It's the first ever Raw Mom Summit featuring interviews with several knowledgeable speakers spanning topics from conception to parenting. I thought that some of you might be interested in signing up. The summit start on Monday and best of all it's FREE!

Chia/Salba vs. Ground Flax

I know that there are a lot of people that are confused about the nutritional difference between Chia/Salba seeds and ground flaxseed. I have been doing a bit of research and here is what I have come up with.

This is the nutritional profile comparison:

*Please note that the caloric difference between Flaxseed and Chia/Salba is due to the fact that Flaxseed has 1g of monounsaturated fat and .5g more protein than Chia/Salba. Please remember that monounsaturated fat is an EFA and is GOOD for you. In addition, it has been proven that a diet high in protein will keep you fuller longer.

As you look at this chart you should notice that Chia/Salba and Flaxseed have a very similar nutritional profile. They both contain similar amounts of Omega 3, 6, and 9 EFAs as well as fiber - the two main reasons most of us consume either product.

The main difference between the two is the price per serving. Here is a comparison of the price per serving of a couple different brands of Chia/Salba and ground flaxseed:

*It is best to purchase whole flaxseeds and grind them at home using a blender, magic bullet, coffee grinder (devoted to seed grinding), or food processor. Oftentimes, pre-ground flaxseed can become rancid in the store.

As you can see, the difference in price per serving between Salba and Bob's Red Mill Ground Flaxseed is $0.44 per serving, which adds up quickly. If you consume 1 serving per day, the difference is $13.20/month.

Also, remember that whole and ground flaxseed is available in the Bulk bins of most grocery retailers. There you can purchase Flaxseed for deep discounts. Chia/Salba is starting to pop up in the bulk bins of some retailers, but is still difficult to locate and more expensive than flaxseed.

Overall, if you are a budget-conscious shopper, Chia/Salba is not nutritionally worth the extra money. However, if budget is not a concern, I would recommend trying Chia/Salba seeds because they have a really cool texture when soaked in liquid.

Kicked My Butt

Allan and I went on a nice long bike ride along the Mississippi River. We started our adventure at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul and biked through downtown St. Paul, stopped at Golden's Deli for lunch, up Summit Hill, down Crocus Hill, to Shepherd Road and back to Hidden Falls Park. Being that the bike path runs along the river bluffs, there were lots of hills mostly uphill on our way to downtown and then a few downhills on the way back. However, on the way back we biked into the wind the entire time, and let me tell you, that was not as easy task! By the end of the ride my quads were burning!!!

Today I plan on making Cooler 1 Protein Muffins for my Cooler 1 challenge next week and 2 pans of Chocolate Protein Bars for Allan. Because the Chocolate Protein Bars are difficult to mix, I am going to try using the food processor's dough blade to blend the dough together.

Allan and I have been really loving these Raw Organic Food Bars lately and I would love to find a good recipe that is similar, because they are expensive.

We have tried a few different varieties and have decided that the Chocolate Coconut flavor is definitely the best flavor. We love to throw them into Allan's Twin Six crumpler bag and enjoy them on a beach along the river (which we have done twice in the last week). 

Speaking of Raw Food, pop on over to Gina's blog, where she is giving away a spiralizer.

Yummy Donuts

Here is a picture of the cute donut holes that I made from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen cookbook:




They are so tasty!!! But very dangerous to have around the house. I am sending the last few with Allan to work tomorrow. I can't control myself around them. :)