Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

I recently had an opportunity to try Tropical Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I am not the best cook in the world, just ask my husband. I know that I need to start cooking and eating healthier and that I need to remove chemicals and animal fats from my dinners at home.Trying coconut oil is a good way for me to start improving the diet of my family.
I am not a health food guru in any way. I am new to the idea of needing to eat healthier. With a family of recent medical illnesses ranging from cancer to diabetes, it was time for me to start researching a better way to eat. As I looked up the benefits of coconut oil, I found that it is a much healthier option that traditional oils and that coconut oil is nature’s richest source of lauric acid. Lauric acid raises the "good" cholesterol in your body. I know my household can use more good cholesterol than bad at this point.
I was really nervous to test this product since it is an oil, but when you look at the product in the jar it is solidified. How do I cook with that? Remember, I am not a genius in the kitchen, so I needed all of the help I could get. Thank goodness for the recipes on the Tropical Traditions website. I picked two simple recipes that I knew that I could succeed at.

Now to test the product. My first test was a breakfast smoothie recipe that I found on the Tropical Traditions website

Banana Orange Smoothie

• 1 banana
• ½ cup orange juice more or less, depending on how thick or thin you want it
• 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil - liquefied
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Cream Concentrate
• 3 tablespoons organic whole milk vanilla yogurt
• 3 ice cubes

Blend everything together in blender!

When I made this, I modified it slightly. I did not have the coconut cream concentrate, but I had a fresh coconut sitting on my counter. So I used about 1/2 cup of fresh coconut in place of the coconut cream concentrate. My husband loved this smoothie, but not as much as my 21 year old daughter. It was a nice refreshing way to start the day.

The second recipe I tried was

Coconut Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes

Servings: 2 - 4
Preparation Time: 11 minutes

• 2 1/2 - 3 cups fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half if very long
• virgin coconut oil
• 2/3 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and lemon pepper (or black pepper) to taste
• Grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Sauté the green beans in a few tablespoons of oil.

A few minutes or so before the desired degree of tenderness , add more oil, if necessary, and the garlic and tomatoes. Sauté a few more minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Add salt and pepper and a good sprinkling of cheese, if desired. Serve warm or hot.

This recipe turned out amazing! This is a must try! The flavor was great and even the 4 year old in my house ate green beans! Woo Hoo!

You can learn more about  Tropical Traditions and the other products that they offer by going to their website at http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/

You can also watch their YouTube video to learn more about the company and how it produces their products.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.