Monday, March 11, 2013

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review and Giveaway


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.



 I was recently introduced to coconut oil through the cloth diapering world. When using cloth diapers you cannot use chemical creams such as Desitin as they will leave a residue on your cloth diaper that will repel water, resulting in leaky cloth diapers. Coconut oil works wonderfully to replace those chemical creams and is completely natural.  It is also a great moisturizer for a newborn baby. Unlike lotions which have a cooling affect, coconut oil, like other oils, actually have a warming affect! Which makes it easier for a newborn to regulate their temperature and avoid cold spells. It is natural, but doesn't leave the 'oily' residue that other oils leave behind. Coconut oil can also be used for cooking and baking in place of vegetable oil, for this review I just had to make some brownies!  Check out this video for more ideas on how to use your coconut oil.  

I am all about a product that has multiple uses around the house!  Tropical Traditions sent me a quart size sample of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil



Tropical Traditions was started by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy when they moved their family back to Marianita's childhood home in the Philippines.

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Brownie Time!

Squirrel is my little kitchen helper and was really excited to make some brownies!

In this recipe I substituted the 2/3 cup of vegetable oil for 2/3 cup of coconut oil. If you have never used coconut oil before you'll probably be surprised to see that it is a solid at room temperature. It must be warmed above 77 degrees to become a liquid.

His favorite part... mixing!

The smell of the coconut oil in the badder was so yummy. After it was all mixed we each took a lick of the badder. Jackson said he didn't like it, I did though, it reminded me of a Mounds candy bar!


He may not have liked the badder, but he sure did like the cooked brownies! My husband even liked them and he isn't much for sweets!

These are good, definitely a different flavor, gives a different twist to an old brownie recipe! Virgin coconut oil does have a coconut flavor. If you are looking for the benefits of coconut oil without the flavor, expeller pressed coconut oil may suit you better as it is odor/flavor-less.




52 comments:

  1. Hi there! thanks for the giveaway. My darling daughter, Brittany told me about it. I LOVE coconut oil, but don't have this brand. I've used Nutiva in the past.
    Enjoy your journey to learning about healthy eating. It is wonderful that you are learning this now while the boys are still young.

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  2. I want to try this as a diaper cream, have you tried that yet? Also, I love baking and can't wait to try baking with it.

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    1. I haven't used the virgin coconut oil for diaper cream,I prefer to use expeller pressed on baby because it has the scent removed and I don't like smelling it all day. But it is fun to bake with and is good for you too!

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    2. My favorite recipe to use coconut oil in is german chocolate cake!!!
      I recently visited family in Florida and she suggested this brand. I am looking forward to trying it.

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  3. i use it in cooking, ie indian food!

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  4. I'd use it for cooking/baking and oil pulling.

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  5. I use coconut oil everyday: as a skin moisturizer, for frying, in place of vegetable oil in recipes, to make chocolate coconut "bark" (just mix cocoa or baking chocolate into coconut oil, add whatever other ingredients you like such as grated coconut, almonds, etc)

    Thank you for hosting the giveaway!

    Deborah

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  6. We use it for EVERYTHING in our cooking, beauty products, diaper cream...

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  7. I like to use coconut oil in all my baking.

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  8. I use coconut oil for my baking. I can't wait until summer when it will be a liquid in my hot kitchen. It is a pain to measure solids fats which is why I still have canola oil around.

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  9. I use coconut oil for just about anything including my essential oils for diaper rash and other treatments not just for cooking such a universal oil. :)

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  10. I love using coconut oil for cooking, in smoothies, in making raw chocolate (yum!), making deodorant, and other topical uses!

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  11. I use coconut oil for absolutely everything! I don't know how I ever lived without it! Everything from cooking to making my own deodorant and toothpaste!

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  12. I learned coconut oil is good for cloth diaper users as diaper creme. Also good to keep baby moisturized. Good to know. I am due 2/3 and will be cloth diapering.

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  13. I had no idea you could use this as a moisturizer. We would definitely try it on the baby.

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  14. I use coconut oil as diaper cream and I use it in place of butter when cooking -- I didn't realize the quality of the oil could vary so much!

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  15. I've been using coconut oil for about a year now! I use it for almost everything, cooking, baking, tooth paste, moisturizer, hair conditioner, diaper cream, deodorant. I love that this brand makes it hand made instead of machine pressed!

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  16. I've fried with it, but nothing else. I learned that Virgin coconut oil does have a coconut flavor. I think I have the expeller pressed...hmmm. Also, I've heard of it being used as diaper cream, but wasn't sure of it's efficacy.

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  17. I didn't know that you could easily substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil. I wonder how that would taste in my cookie recipes.

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  18. I learned that coconut oil is good to cook cakes, brownies with and that if you want a coconut oil that does not smell like coconut oil get the expeller expressed coconut oil for less coconut scent.

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  19. I had no idea that coconut oil can be used as a diaper cream! I've heard so much about it as an ingredient for baking, and making toothpaste. I'll definitely be giving this a try!

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  20. I learned that coconut oil has a warming effect.

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  21. I love coconut oil and use it for all my cooking needs. I love that it has so many different uses.

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  22. I have never used it before but I heard it is great for cooking with.

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  23. I love coconut oil and am glad to see people (like you) promoting it for it's great uses. I personally love it for my hair and sometimes for my legs. We also use it for diaper rashes since it is cloth diaper safe.

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  24. I learned that the gold label is hand made by native families and processed within 24 hours.

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  25. I learned that coconut oil has a warming effect so it's good for use as a lotion on a newborn.

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  26. I learned coconut oil is a great moisturizer!

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  27. I use coconut oil to moisturize my body, but now I am excited to read that I can use it for my son's diaper rash!

    eg kaufman

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  28. I've been using coconut oil for my son's diaper rash but I HAVE to try baking with them! :) sounds sooo yummy! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  29. I love that I can use it for baking

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  30. I've never heard of using it for diaper rashes but I will be using that from now on! I cd as well!

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  31. I've been using the gold label coconut oil for a few months and I have learned how good it is to your skin. LOVE IT!

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  32. I learned it has more uses than just cooking.

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  33. Thanks for explaining how expeller-pressed doesn't have the coconut flavor.

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  34. Learned that the coconut oil doesn't just have to be used in cooking - learned about cloth diapers and the oil

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  35. Cindy B (on rc/gt/fb) ~ love coconut oil... learned that it will change the flavor of brownies ever so slightly. Sounds good

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  36. I used cloth diapers years ago, and I didn't realize that you cannot use commercial diaper creams because they leave a residue on your diapers that will repel water, so coconut oil is a better choice with cloth. If only I had know 34 years ago!

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  37. I learned that you can use it in place of vegetable oil in recipes.

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  38. I love coconut oil and use it for almost everything. I just discovered two new uses yesterday. I made deodorant and it's one of the best deodorants I've ever used.

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  39. I didn't know it had a warming effect unlike lotion. Interesting. I am a huge TT fan!!

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  40. I am happy to find the uses for new moms,,I will be giving some away this month!!

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  41. I did not know that it doesn't leave an oily residue when used as a moisturizer.

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  42. I learned that expeller-pressed coconut oil doesn't have the coconut smell.

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  43. in addition to all the cooking/baking uses, I like that it is safe for use with cloth diapers!
    Thanks for the chance to win some!

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  44. I love the idea to try it as a diaper cream!

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  45. I learned that Coconut oil works wonderfully to replace those chemical creams and is completely natural

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  46. I heard that coconut oil was a good replacement for Desitin because it clears up rashes so well. I did not know that Desitin could not be used with cloth diapers.
    I love the virgin oil but I want to try the expeller pressed coconut for savory cooking. :)

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  47. I learned that you can substitute it for any oil in cooking.

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  48. I don't do a lot of cooking, but I have used coconut oil in my morning coffee, while making spaghetti (to keep it from sticking), in my smoothies and for oil pulling.

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