How to Take Your Daily Coconut Oil in Tea, Coffee or Cooking

In recent years, coconut oil has enjoyed growing popularity in the alternative health and bodybuilding communities. Coconut oil promoters recommend that you consume the minimally processed "virgin" variety, which both smells and tastes of fresh coconuts (but not like suntan lotion!).

Virgin coconut oil advocates (such as Mary Enig, Bruce Fife, Sally Fallon, etc) recommend the consumption of 2-4 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil per day. While it is possible to take coconut oil "straight", many people, including myself, find this to be unpalatable (it can also cause stomach upset). While there are coconut oil capsules available, one would need to be swallowing 50+ .5 gram capsules per day to get just two tablespoons of oil. This is impractical and costly.

The best way to to get your coconut oil is in measured amounts, added to the food you eat during the day. You can always use it in regular cooking and baking of course, but below are some suggestions for more intensive supplementation.

Coconut oil is great on bread, rolls, bagels, crackers, etc alone or blended with nut butters, cream cheese, or fruit spreads. Try adding some cinnamon and honey to make a quick, tasty spread.

Virgin coconut oil has a pleasant, slightly sweet taste that mixes well with many foodstuffs. For breakfast, top your oatmeal or other hot cereal with a tablespoon of coconut oil.

Virgin coconut oil marries extremely well with white or brown rice: Add a spoonful and you will likely be surprised at how tasty it is.

Do you eat yogurt? Add a spoonful of coconut oil to your yogurt cup and stir.

How about smoothies and/or milkshakes? Again, add a tablespoon of coconut oil before blending. I have heard from some bodybuilders that coconut oil mixes to a nice pudding-like consistency with protein powder.

Coconut oil goes particularly well with curries, soups, and stews, and can be great mixed with potatoes.

Coconut oil is wonderful in fried or scrambled eggs. Add a tablespoon to your frying pan and cook your eggs. Just be sure to keep the heat reasonably low so as to prevent scorching the oil.

Probably the most convenient way to take coconut oil is in a hot beverage. The trick, however, is to not add the oil to a beverage that is very hot: This causes the oil to also become very hot, resulting in burns to the lips and mouth. Instead, let your coffee, tea, or hot cocoa cool down to a safe drinking temperature and then add the oil. It will pool at the top of your drink, so be sure to stir your beverage between sips.

If you don't like the taste of liquid oil, try freezing it. Solidly frozen virgin coconut oil is a lot more palatable than drinking liquid oil straight, particularly if you add additional ingredients. This recipe, for example, incorporates cocoa almonds into frozen coconut oil "bites". Experiment with other herbs, nuts and supplements: I add both cocoa almonds and maca powder to my coconut oil bites.

One of the best things about virgin coconut oil is that it is very shelf-stable. It does not need to be kept refrigerated unless you prefer to use it in its solid state. Thus, you can keep a jar in your desk to add to your tea/food throughout the day.

Because of its long shelf-life, I strongly encourage purchasing coconut oil in bulk, as this will save you a lot of money. Check out online and brick & mortar retailers for sales and specials and stock up when prices are low.

To get additional coconut oil in your diet, try incorporating other coconut products into your daily menu. Cookbooks that contain coconut-based recipes are available and a Google search will lead you to thousands of quality recipes online. Another option is to substitute coconut milk or coconut milk blends for other dairy or non-dairy milks.