One of the healthiest fats that you should be eating on a regular basis is coconut. Whether you choose to use coconut oil, coconut milk or dried unsweetened coconut, coconut period is a very healthy food.
It’ll help boost your energy, it’ll help prevent heart disease, it’ll help promote healthier skin and nails, and it’ll help strengthen your immune system.
With all of these benefits, you’d really be missing out if you overlooked it.
Some people, however, are not adding coconut to their diet as often as they should simply because they don’t know how.
Here are some quick tips for adding coconut to your diet plan.
Toss dried coconut into yogurt
Dried, unsweetened coconut is a great replacement for nuts as it’ll still give off a slightly crunchy texture. It’ll bring a unique taste to any bowl of Greek yogurt and help make the snack complete.
Top some low fat Greek yogurt with pineapple chunks, half a sliced banana, and a tablespoon or two of dried coconut for a delicious tropical treat.
Prepare oatmeal with coconut milk
Another way to use coconut is by adding coconut milk into your morning bowl of oatmeal. Just note that because coconut is so high in fat and calorie-dense, you likely don’t want to be replacing all the normal water or milk you would typically use in preparation of the oatmeal.
Instead, simply add a tablespoon or two and keep the rest to water or milk.
This will give your oatmeal a much creamier taste as well.
Use coconut oil in baked goods
When on a fat loss diet, many people often say goodbye to their favourite baked goods. This doesn’t have to be the case.
Instead, simply find smart swaps to use. Coconut oil can easily be used to replace conventional butter in almost all baking recipes.
It has a much thicker consistency, so will help keep those baked good nice and moist, while retaining their nutritious content.
Add coconut to smoothies
Finally, also consider adding coconut milk or dried coconut to your protein smoothies.
Just like with the oatmeal example, though, don’t go adding a cup of coconut milk to the smoothie or you’ll be taking in a very calorie-dense beverage.
A tablespoon or two is all you need to get the healthy fats into your day and to make the shake more well-rounded in nutrients.
So don’t neglect coconut any longer. Use these tips to help get your intake up and you can reap all the many benefits coconut has to offer.
Cabel McElderry is a local personal trainer and nutrition coach. For more information on fitness and nutrition, visit the Fitness F/X website at www.fitnessfx.com.