Smells like… Coconuts!

OK so we've all been through the January 'must get fitter' phase, which includes the 'I will eat so much more fruit and veg' and 'definitely no chocolates'. Well, this week I have been reading up about, of all things, coconut oil.

 

Strange but true – this seems to be one of the latest super foods that does wonders for the body. Apparently, the structure of coconut oil is very different to the other oils we cook with, making it much easier to digest. This means that as your body is working less to digest it, you digest food quicker, which helps metabolise faster thus losing weight for some people. I won't go into the technicalities, but the suggestion seems to be to consume between 1-3 tablespoons a day in varying ways – cooking with it being the easiest, followed by shakes and spreads on toast (ok but my main preference).

 

The other great thing is that it is meant to do wonders for anyone with a sluggish thyroid, as anything that speeds up metabolism helps. So cutting out the other types of fats (vegetable oil, soya oil, corn oil etc) and replacing them with coconut oil overall is a great change apparently. Supposedly soya oil has now been found to be one of the least beneficial, and indeed suppresses some of the body functions, sometimes on ingredient lists it is merely shown as 'vegetable oil'.

 

You can still enjoy extra virgin olive oil and organic butter in moderation, but all other fats seem to have had 'human involvement' and extremely high temperatures rather than someone pressing the oil out of them. Supposedly once the fats get into the body, the oxidise (rust) in your cells, wheareas a more natural fat like coconut doesn't and in fact helps the body along with lots of processes (the liver benefits a lot).

It is a natural antibacterial product and can also help with digestive products.

 

Beauty Regimes

It goes without saying that you can then use the coconut oil in beauty regimes – it works really well as a make-up remover (rub some between hands and once melted delicately apply to eye area, then remove with a damp warm cloth). Also for full beauty treatments, melt some in hands, massage on face and leave for 2-30 minutes depending on skin condition, then remove with a damp warm cloth. In the shower you might also use it as a body treat for soft skin,

A small amount can also be applied to lips as a lip balm.

 

Hair Treatment

Apply to hands and once melted apply to ends of hair and work up to around half the length of the hair. Wrap hair up in a towel and leave for an hour or overnight, then rinse out with some shampoo.

 

Soap Making

I imagine it could also be used to make soap, perhaps combining it with dessicated coconut or ground almonds for an exfoliating treat. It is so natural and so good for skin, plus would add a scent of the tropics to your shower. A few drops of lime might add a nice zing…

 

Buying coconut oil

 

If you buy some, a large jar will cost around £7 but can of course serve more than 1 purpose. I would also recommend you buy it in a glass jar rather than plastic. It should keep well for 2-3 years if kept cool and in the dark.

Make sure you buy Extra Virgin/Raw or cold pressed – this means that no bleaching / high temperatures were applied to extract the good stuff.

 

Whilst some may be skeptic, I am going to give it a go – have had some for a few days now and my energy is up but this may just be because the sun is out and Valentines is coming!

 

Lots of people on Youtube swear by it so see these links for more information to make up your own mind or type 'coconut oil benefits' for example into Youtube:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMJUdAyaVBY

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wpsik0W4NU

 

http://www.sharonmaas.co.uk/html/coconut_oil__why_it_is_good_fo.html

 

A study on coconut vs Soya oil:

http://cogprints.org/6565/

Spring, Shares and Tasty Savings

Hello all!

Well Spring is finally appearing behind the clouds and we can see a shimmer of sun – makes a big difference to how we feel and… how we spend!

I was able to somehow achieve my 20 x NSD’s, although it was very hard! I can see that Spring will mean this target will be harder to achieve – I know that the warmth and the lull of meeting friends and family will generally cost more but I do love this season and am prepared to sacrifice more in Winter months.

My plan for this month is to carefully save any money from cashback sites and either put it away, or buy some shares. Scary but hopefully worth it, as the financial market in some way at the moment is on‘sale’ with great companies quite devalued. In time hopefully they’d come back up to their normal levels because they are household names. The ones that are at least well run are my aim, rather than any possible Woolworths out there… However, I know very little about it so will carefully look at some big chip names if I do go ahead with it. The way I see it is that if it is cash from cashback site earnings, at least it’s not *my* hard earned money I’d lose… seems to make it easier somehow!

Other things we have been up to – we took part in Earth Hour 2009 which was great fun and saved us an hours worth of consuming electricity or gas. It also allowed us just to enjoy silence and it’s surprising how much else you hear – all the neighbourhood sounds, birds and more.

In April we aim to:
- Stick to £120 for food shopping for both of us (March didn’t work that way!)
- I will try for 15 No Spend Days each month until October as it’s getting warmer…
- Enjoy more fresh fruit and veg – as local as possible so it travels less
- I plan to click even more on free Cashback clicking sites to ensure Xmas 2009 is still free in terms of all food & drink (see the Cashback section on the right menu for more info)
- Clean up the patio garden and start to enjoy it!

In terms of eating better, here's a new code for you, or to forward to your friends that gives a Free Graze box PLUS another box half price… this is worth £4.48. These guys ensure you get delicious snacks, at least 3 of your 5 a day, delivered via Royal Mail...

free box code: 7VBCHQFD
Enter the code at: www.graze.com

For April I would also like to eat healthily and really, really relax and enjoy the Easter Break…

Here's a nice Easter idea I came across:
Easter Eggs

Have a great weekend and drop in a message sharing your ideas for Spring and what you plan to get up to!

Healthy body, healthy mind - simplify and breathe!

Sorry it’s been a while, wow there’s been so much on and I have lots to tell you about.

The main focuses for me lately have been family, with a family member that has needed lots of support, health as you will see below and also in my aims of having a simpler life, some learning.

The main areas are:

Health
Well,one of the things I have done is cut my gym membership 4 months ago. This used to cost £30 a month, so I have saved £120 there. I did however buy a cross trainer which I am getting better at using and that cost £30, so technically I have now saved £90.

Could you cut back on the gym and exercise more cheaply? Or find a new gym that costs less? Get an exercise buddy that would run with you? If you are an early riser – can you jog before work? Or maybe it suits you better after work. Spring is coming now so the days are starting to get lighter, my mind is already so much happer.

Ok so that is that for what I have been doing for my ‘outside’ health mainly.

Then for my ‘inside’ health, I signed up to Graze that I kept hearing about and have already been waxing lyrical about this to anyone who will listen... With just a few clicks online, Graze have been posting ultra-healthy fresh snacks to my desk (You could also get it at home so you avoid temptation there too).
My snack boxes arrive twice a week and it means no more chocolate, crisps etc, instead they send me ready to eat fresh seasonal cut fruit, nuts, seeds, japanese crackers and loads more. It is a pretty big (each box will actually last me 2 days) and gives me 3 of my 5 a day (I did 'Design your own' but you can let them choose for you). So for £2.99 x 2 per week I know it will actually last me 4 days or so and I am less tempted by unhealthy food. I now get several of my 5 a day automatically... costing just over £1 a day, which I was already spending on bad stuff anyway!

If you need a helping hand getting healthier just go to www.graze.com enter the code JK4M7TC to get your first box for just £1.

I know not everyone will want to do this, but for me I know it will work far better than my so-called attempts at cutting back on bad snacks and buying fruit etc. Invariably I was eating a banana twice a week and that just wasn’t cutting it!

Learning
So this bit may not make sense, but, in my aim of simplifying my diet / health routine, I was also aware that my mind is also cluttered, I admit to being a bit of a worrier, plus I almost absorb other people’s moods whether positive or negative. So for a long time I have been trying to work out a way to also simplify my mind if that makes sense.

So I then learnt of a book called A New Earth: Create a Better Life which is massively recommended by Oprah and has sold 6 million copies. I was wary at first but figured I’d see some reviews – well, I went on Amazon and sure enough lots of high praise. I then bought in town for £5 as I couldn’t wait for Amazon to post it out….
It ranks 107 on the entire Amazon seller list, which is pretty impressive on it’s own. Anyway I am reading through that now, with the free podcasts on www.oprah.com which accompany each chapter, and wow is all I can say. It starts out quite philosophical but after chapter 1 definitely resonates with me. I feel calmer and definitely that no book I have read explained things in this way. At times like now such as the credit crunch, we are all feeling more negative and looking for a calmer life, it may be that you’d enjoy the book too. In fact. I’d love some comments from anyone who has read it as maybe we could have a discussion group on here?

He also has a book called The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment which ranks #91 on their listings and will definately be my next read.

Plus in addition to this I have now had 3 NSD days for the month, so only 17 days to go to reach my goal of 20 No Spend Days which is great.

I hope you have all had a good week and it’d be great to hear any comments you have – a special welcome to anyone new who has joined the blog, I hope you find articles of interest in the archives and would love to hear from you on any of the threads!