We ❤️coconuts🌴

Although we’ve featured coconut oil in a past post, we’re showcasing coconut – the fruit/nut – in today’s post.

©Teddyp

The more we research the history and health benefits of coconut, the more we fall in love with it. Coconut has been a staple food in the Pacific Islands and Asia for many years not only because it grows well in these regions, but also because the whole fruit is versatile and yields nutritious benefits. For example, young coconuts contain water that is sweet, delicious and full of electrolytes; the pulp of the nut is edible raw or cooked; the pulp can be dehydrated (desiccated), preserved, made into powder and reconstituted, made into milk, oil, and so on.

The possibilities for using coconut to nourish ourselves AND positively affect our health are endless. Coconut is considered a natural ‘functional’ food because it not only contains fiber, minerals and some vitamins for nutritional benefits, but also boasts bio-active compounds (phytosterols) that may improve health.

Nutritional Profile and Health Benefits

©Jeff Kinsey

Coconut is high in calories so use wisely if you’re watching your waistline. Remember that adding just a touch of coconut to your dishes will do wonders to enhance the flavor reminiscent of the tropics. Although high in saturated fatty acids, coconut contains lauric acid which has been known to increase good-HDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Read more about this in our past post about coconut oil. With zero grams of cholesterol and high fiber, coconut is considered heart-healthy.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, 100 g of fresh, raw coconut meat has 354 calories, and contains the following essential macronutrients:

33 g fat
15 g carbohydrates
3 g protein
9 g fiber

© Anjelagr | Dreamstime.com - Coconuts Photo

Coconut is also high in potassium, folates, pantothenic acid, thiamin, vitamin C, copper, iron, manganese, selenium, and phosphorous.

Ongoing research suggest that the health benefits of consuming coconuts include:

boosting immune system,
promoting bone and teeth health,
improving digestion and bowel function, and relieving symptoms related to Crohn’s disease and stomach ulcers,
enhancing absorption of calcium.

Easy Recipes

When cooking with coconut, people often use it for sweet dishes but, as we mentioned earlier, there are endless ways to eat coconut. Here are a couple of coconut dishes that may become favorites in your home:

From Whole Foods Market:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Seared Tuna Steaks with Coconut, Corn, and Cilantro

Healthy comfort food, tropical style! The coconut-lime broth in this recipe sounds amazingly light and flavorful.

From Delicious Living:

Jules Shepard at Delicious Living

No-Bake Chocolate-Coconut Protein Bars

We have been looking forward to making this recipe. Now, is the time for the test! It sounds like a great school snack…if they last long enough through the week.

Be sure to try many of the coconut recipes we’ve featured in the past by typing “coconut” in the search button on our site.

Please let us know what you think of the recipes. You can also tag us with a photo of your prepared dishes at @aspireperspirenourish on Instagram. Hope to see you there!

References:

Recipe of the Week: Chilled Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

©Jgar

Food has always been a central theme in my life. Growing up, our family life revolved around family dinners, parties where the highlight was food, weddings with multi-course dinners, summer picnics with plenty of junk food and gourmet meals.

As I reflect on the meaning of food, I realize that it more than sustains me; it makes me happy…most of the time. When I overindulge or eat foods to which I have sensitivities, that’s another story! I get miserable and uncomfortable and worst of all I feel guilty about any overindulgence.

Calling My Bluff

©Roman Milert

I thought I had worked out my tipping point relationship with food, where I could control my eating habits to maintain good health.

My commitment to healthy, clean eating has been pretty good until a recent hectic period in my life. In the last 10 months, I have slacked off my nutrition because life has been moving way too fast for me to keep up. I moved to a new country, started a new business (www.apnlodging.com), sold the house I was living in for the past 20 years and am generally trying to figure out life! Have I made enough excuses?

So, when I recently read about The Ultimate Oxygen 90 Day Challenge in Oxygen Magazine, I was draw in by the opportunity. This fitness and nutrition challenge is tagged as a chance to get “your best body ever in 90 days”. When I first read about the challenge, I thought to myself, “This is a great way for me to clean up my act.”

Well, I started the program about a week ago and let me tell you that the meal planning has been more challenging than I thought. The fitness routine – no problem. I can fit in those workouts and do more than prescribed. The nutrition side – totally flying by the seat of my pants! I looked at the sample meal plan and tried to follow it but quickly dismissed it after 2 days. I must admit that there was a lot happening the last week so it was the worst possible time for me to try to follow a strict meal plan: wedding anniversary, two dinner parties that I hosted, a dinner business meeting, and date night with my hubby. All kinds of reasons to cheat.

Realistically, the meal plan outlined in the program is not sustainable for very active people who want to eat clean 365 days per year. It’s designed to prepare bodies for figure competitions as a short term program. Although it’s doable with discipline, I just can’t commit to it. During this last week, all I can think about is FOOD! The meal plan from the Oxygen Challenge makes me think of what I can’t eat rather than what I can.

Flipping the Switch

©Benjaminec

This past week, I’ve been miserable about my inability to stick to the meal plan. In my brain, I know it’s not the right thing for me but I hate being a quitter. Am I rationalizing things? Why is my gut telling me to STOP and re-think this?

A phone call to Mary reinforced my gut feel. She reminded me of the importance of long-term clean eating. Her straight up talk about our bodies needing good fats, staying away from fat-free foods that are loaded with sugars for taste, eating a variety of whole foods, and so on made me feel like a nutrition newbie again! A swift kick in the rear made me realize that I need to do my own thing.

Now What?

Am I a quitter? No. I’m going to finish the Challenge but on my own terms. Since I’ll be starting my marathon training in September, I’ll need to modify the Oxygen training program so why not modify the meals?

Here’s my plan for the nutrition side:

1. I have calculated my calorie and macro nutrient needs based on my specific circumstances, i.e. body fat percentage, current weight, fitness activity level and goals. Although I don’t plan to count calories and specific macro nutrients every day, I will keep a food diary to make sure I stay within reasonable ranges. Once I have a couple of days figured out, I can estimate on the go. Portion control will be the focus!

2. With a breakdown of the fats, carbs and protein needed each day, I will follow the Zig-Zag method of meal planning by Dr. Fred Hatfield to reasonably and safely lose body fat and weight, and build muscle. This means that on my less active days I’ll eat less, and on my more active days I’ll eat more. This keeps the body’s metabolism revved up for fat loss.

3. I will plan meals and snacks for each week in advance. The key is to have it figured out before the week begins. We have a wide variety of recipes on our site that are healthy and clean so putting meals together should be easy.

4. My family will be eating my way. I don’t want to make separate meals for them, and I want them to benefit from good, clean eating.

5. I will be kind and understanding towards myself through this process.