I have heard several people on news and show talk about coconut oil and perks. Has anyone used it on the trail?
I have heard several people on news and show talk about coconut oil and perks. Has anyone used it on the trail?
It tastes good and adds calories...not sure what perks you're hoping for.
I have heard it helps with muscle recovery
It's just the latest fad food, no miracles. Like Trapped said, tastes good & adds calories. Also useful as personal lubricant ! Stops squeaks in packs! Waterproofs shoes! Sooner or later, the demand will cause a worldwide coconut shortage and the price of Mounds and Almond Joys will go through the roof...
I like to cook with it. You can eat it "raw". it's supposedly a good saturated fat. I don't think it has any real benefits over butter, ghee, or good ole bacon fat.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
Imparts sweet flavor to stuff. Not especially good. I used it to make tortillas once, family didnt like it.
Oh yeah, it melts at about 78f, so sometimes its solid, sometimes it aint
Lots of different oils out there. Nothing special about it imo.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 05-02-2017 at 22:17.
If anybody here is interested. Here is a short video about coconut oil and is usage. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi-mWA6i6c0
I've used it for years to make moisturizer but I doubt that's relevant here.
Just ask the experts here. It's obvious they know all about coconut oil through their extensive research.
Yes, I use it on trail for it's readily available source of energy - MCT's - medium chain fatty acids that are metabolized differently than long chain fatty acids, sometimes referred to as healthy fats. Coconut oil is more than 60% three MCT's with noted health benefits - caprylic acid, lauric acid, and capric acid. In addition coconut oil provides anti-fungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties, high amounts of Vit E and polyphenols, multiple uses as a moisturizer, appetite suppression, when I want my energy source to be fats rather than sugars(helps in several ways with one side benefit it lowers the food wt needed to be hauled for energy needs), and several other widely held and discussed possible benefits. It still gets a bad wrap in some scientific circles because it's still believed by some saturated fats are the always the enemy.
There's no sugar calories in coconut oil despite opinions saying it imparts a sweetness.
I find these small individual packets in Earthfare and sometimes Whole Foods and elsewhere.https://taldepot.com/vita-coco-organ...FUs9gQodvdIP4A
A few months ago I posted this about finding .51 oz(wt of product) in individual packets in a 14 packet box at Trader Joes than on sale for $3.99. https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/sho...ut-Oil-Packets
Not sure why anyone would equate sweetness to having sugar. Sucrose is not very sweet. Artificial sweeteners are roughly 200x as sweet, thats why companies force them on you. Saves them $$$$. Just like with drugs, most of what you see is just filler.
I produced an intermediate for a new sweetener for nutrasweet some years back, 8000x as sweet as sugar.
Its big money but to point, trace compounds impart taste.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 05-03-2017 at 10:04.
A little coconut oil and whiskey in the hot cocoa makes for the perfect after dinner treat
Dogwood said it better than I ever could. It's an excellent source of fat energy with a good flavor. Various side benefits like the ability to use it as a natural lubricant. Multiple health benefits. Far better than the more common canola or vegetable oils. It's a bit quirky to deal with because of the melting point. Also probably hard to find along the trail in some places? Not sure, since I'm always a section hiker (so far).
A friend of mine won't eat anything with cocoanut in it as he says it tastes like suntan lotion
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I wouldn't add too many superfood tags to it (like muscle recovery) but it is certainly a useful oil and nutritious calorie to carry. We use it at home (EVOO and this stuff) these days. There is a flavor but it's a good one IMO and is great for doing stir fry's and veggies- though the egg thing is a "like it or don't" example of where that flavor might not be welcome. its not good for high temp flash cooking, but for most things it's pleasant or even better than other alternatives. Asian, indian, or even Mexican spice profiles go great... Italian dishes... not so much.
For me, it's basically an issue of functionality for lack of a better term for on trail. Once it goes back to liquid I didn't like it much and had some leaks. That said I don't often carry much oil on the trail so for me the bonus was having a food source that was functionally like peanut butter. It's really good as frosting on an otherwise dry or boring "bar". Great as a spread on toast as mentioned and it melts like butter once applied. I also very much found it good for chafing, rubbing on dry cold feet, and even as a good windburn/chapstick type function in winter.
It is by far the most palatable fat I've used... I could never get into the old shot of olive oil trick... but this stuff is tasty and doesn't hit your system the same way so again- if I can spread it... great way to use it.
Melt coconut oil. Mix with muesli, chia seeds, honey, and yogurt. Store in the fridge overnight. It makes a power packed breakfast that you can hike all day on.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet