The Maligned Coconut

In past years the coconut has been shunned for contributing to high cholesterol and to be avoided. This is due possibly to the notion that coconut oil was once hydrogenized and therefore categorized as an unhealthy, dreaded transfat. Nothing could be further from the truth. The coconut in it's basic form, unprocessed, is antiviral, high fiber, low carbohydrate and low glycemic. Possibly the perfect food.

The fiber content of coconut ranks at 61% as compared to 27% for wheat bran, 16% for oat bran, 13% for wheat flour and 3% for unbleached white flour (another reason to avoid that nasty flour). One cup of shredded fresh coconut has 3 grams of carbohydrate 9 grams of fiber...yes, 9 grams! The remaining 68 grams is primarily water.

Coconut fiber has been shown to control blood sugar and insulin levels. It's high fiber content helps moderate the swings in blood sugar slowing down the absorption of sugar in the blood. In addition, coconut flour has been shown to increase your good cholesterol or HDL. Coconut meat has been shown to protect the heart by modifying blood lipid levels.

So now to the good stuff, when baking with coconut flour note that the liquid to dry ratio may at first seem high until you add the flour. It has an amazing ability to absorb a lot of the liquid very quickly. The batter may seem elastic and thick but it bakes up very nicely. Also, a little goes a long way with the flour. Try substituting a portion of your GF flour with coconut flour and replacing your non dairy milk with coconut milk. Both are easily obtainable online. Bob's Red Mill or Aloha Nu have organic coconut flour. Canned Coconut milk and fresh in the shell coconuts are readily available at any Asian market.

For a quick dessert, buy one of the fresh coconuts and chop of the top portion, save the liquid for a refreshing drink and place 2 scoops of non dairy ice cream inside. As you dig into the ice cream, scoop out the delicious coconut meat - YUMMY!

The only downside is that the flour tends to be a bit pricey. If more of us clamour for it, we could possibly start a movement to get the price down.