Tropical Traditions Giveaway!!!! cue the hula dancers and the smell of salt water and coconuts!! February 28, 2013

[Update 3/31/13: the giveaway is over! congratulations Beth!]

I loved it and now you get to try it too…for FREE!

If you’ve never tried coconut oil or have just never tried Tropical Traditions now here is your chance!

I did a review a few days ago…this coconut oil is a wonderful all purpose coconut oil

WordPress won’t let me put a Rafflecoptor widget onto my post so you have to go to this link 😦 sorry just scroll down to where you can sign in with facebook or your email

Click here for my Rafflecopter Tropical Traditions giveaway !!!

If you win I will need your name, telephone number, email address and shipping address to forward to Tropical Traditions they do not share your information.

This giveaway is open to US and Canada (you may be charged customs or duty in Canada) only (sorry for all you who visit me from other countries this is Tropical Tradition’s rule)

If you don’t win you can of course go to Tropical Traditions directly to try some of their coconut oil and other products if you do so through my link I get a referral gift certificate. Yay me! and if it’s your first time ordering they give you a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil. Yay you!

[Update: please don’t cheat and say that you have accomplished a requirement to get more entries into the giveaway, I will delete your entries]

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

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?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label 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.

Posted on FoodRenegade’s blogcarnival

Kumquaty Red Velvet Cupcake February 26, 2013

I have some leftover beet pulp from making my CAB juice and wanted to make a red velvet cake…and then I realized I didn’t really know what a red velvet cake was other then red. So I went to a website that I knew would be full of cake recipes to compare

Red Velvet Chocolate Cake from Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 teaspoon salt
4 tbs cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar

Martha Stewart Traditional Red Velvet Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted, plus more for pans
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 one-ounce bottles liquid red food coloring
3 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Martha Stewart Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups hot water

So the difference between a chocolate red velvet cake and a traditional red velvet cake isn’t much, only a difference of 1 tbs of cocoa powder and the traditional uses butter while the chocolate red velvet uses vegetable oil…..Now the difference between the chocolate cake and the red velvet chocolate cake is ALOT more chocolate in the regular chocolate cake 1 1/4 cups more cocoa powder. I thought there wouldn’t be any buttermilk in the regular chocolate cake but this regular chocolate cake uses buttermilk too. The other difference I see is the addition of vinegar in both of the red velvet cake recipes.

The all knowing wikipedia states

“James Beard’s 1972 reference, American Cookery,[1] describes three red velvet cakes varying in the amounts of shortening and butter, also vegetable oil. All use red food coloring, but the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa and keeps the cake moist, light and fluffy. ”

So I think I can skip the vinegar since the main point of it was to make the chocolate look redder…I think the beets will do enough. And buttermilk makes a very tender traditional cake though I don’t know if it would really make much of a difference seeing there is no flour in my recipe and coconut flour makes a pretty tender cake by itself.

Kumquaty Chocolate Red Velvet Cake

1/2 cup coconut flour
3 tbs cup cocoa powder
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tbs of flax seed (ground)

4 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup beet pulp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs of sweetener (molasses, agave, whatever sweetener you prefer. I didn’t use any sweetener in my recipe and the bitterness from the cocoa was a little too intense)

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredient until no dry streaks. Put 1/4 cup into lined muffin tin. Bake for 15-18 mins.

Whoo hoo! February 25, 2013

Whoo hoo! My husband has joined me in my path to better health (kind of) I try not to nag but as I learn things I tell him what I learn. How sugar is bad, how caffeine makes me feel, what wheat does to you, what vitamins are especially good for, you know….and he like the most of society feels yah that’s probably true but I can’t cut out x,y,z and be happy. SO sure that’s fine he’s an adult like I’m an adult and he’s entitled to eat what he wants (as long as sugar isn’t illegal like cocaine…when will that be in the works? ok never I know but one can hope) so he gave me pats on the back when I did my sugar detox and I kept him up to date on the weight I lost but what had the most effect was how I felt….I felt great! and he wanted to feel great too. So while he hasn’t made the jump he has significantly cut out his intake of caffeinated soda. WHich I am very happy about. He’s paying for it in withdrawal and isn’t replacing it with the best things… but I’m still happy as I bake him brownies to help him get through it all 🙂

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil- Review February 24, 2013

I have seen two main brands of coconut oil mentioned on blogs. Nutiva and Tropical Traditions. I never have used either and really wanted to do a review comparing the two so I wrote to both companies to have them send me a sample of each that way it could be an unbiased side by side comparison. Tropical Tradition immediately sent by a sample as well as a chance to have a giveaway (!!! coming soon) and Nutiva responded by saying my blog wasn’t good enough (popular enough) for them…..

So unfortunately this will only be a review of Tropical traditions since I am currently passively boycotting Nutiva.

Tropical traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

★★★★
4 stars out of 5

This is very good as a versatile coconut oil, for certain things I would like a stronger smell and coconut flavor but it is mild enough to cook and bake things that I would not like to be over powered with a coconut theme but it isn’t so refined and devoid of obvious coconuttyness that I’m afraid of what they did with it.

Container– not the cutest but it does look reputable
Flavor for eating straight– smells good like coconut but does not have a strong coconut flavor so it goes down easy and if you don’t like the flavor of coconut you can just hold your breath 🙂
Flavor for stirring into coffee– not a strong flavor change to the coffee but it smells more of coconut than I expected probably because the heat of the coffee brings the smell to my nose
Flavor for cooking– mild enough to be used for cooking almost anything. I haven’t tried it yet with a white fish or a really mild flavored dish yet. It might be too coconutty for that but mostly unrecognizable
Flavor for baking– great for baked goods
Flavor for popcorn– I usually like a stronger coconut flavor for my popcorn but still tastes like a nice movie theater style buttered popcorn when sea salt is added
For skin- Absorbs well and only has a faint smell (or taste if you are using it on your lips)

If you want to buy your own Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil and do so from this link I get a gift certificate. Yay me! and if its your first time ordering from them they say they give you a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil. Yay you!

It is too cool how they get the coconut oil out of the coconut too, I’m really impressed. They use the water from the coconut itself to wet mill and they don’t use any fancy high technology but just do it the way the locals in the Philippians traditionally…read more about that here

I also like the FAQ on Tropical Traditions that explains the differences between the different grade of coconut oil they sell

I received this sample to review for free from Tropical Traditions but the review is based on my person use and love of coconut oil. But I did have to add the disclaimer below which I find funny…seriously who wouldn’t want to give a free 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 give away in return for the free product

Kumquaty Deviled Eggs February 23, 2013

This is based off of my MIL’s potatoe salad which is DELICIOUS

Kumquaty Deviled Eggs

12 hard-baked eggs
2 tbs homemade baconnaise
1 tsp mustard
1 pickle diced
1/8 small onion diced
10 green olives diced

Peel the cooled hard-baked eggs and slice in half. Gently squeeze yolks into seperate bowl. Add baconaise, mustard, diced pickle, dice onion and diced green olives to egg yolks and stir til smooth. Carefull spoon or use a homemade pastry bag to pipe filling into empty egg white “cups”.

This post is on Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday

Kumquaty Mac and Cheese (gluten free) February 22, 2013

Two things that I have missed since eating gluten free is mac and cheese and pasta salad…so simple…so yummy. I finally got a chance to try Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta…my MIL warned me that she liked gluten free pasta fresh but it was sort of mushy the second day…still tolerable but not pasta like anymore. I thought mac and cheese would be a first good try for this brightly colored box of pasta since maybe the congealed cheese would help make it less noticeable if the pasta got mushy. It turned out great! and even the second day it tasted as good as the first…..yum!

This recipe is based off of my favorite tradition mac and cheese recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook

8 oz quinoa pasta
salt
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp dry mustard
pepper
4 tbs butter
12 oz cheddar cheese

Boil water in a large pot and sprinkle liberally with salt. Put pasta into boiling water and cook for the shortest amount of time on the box. While the pasta is cooking in a bowl mix the eggs, 1/2 of the can of evaporated milk, mustard, and black pepper. Drain pasta when done and put back onto stove. Add the butter and allow to melt. Pour the mixture of egg and milk. Stir constantly and slowly add the remainder milk and the cheese. And enjoy!

If you buy the products from my link I will get a small commission…which will then pay for me to buy more pasta 🙂

Using Oil to Combat Oil- My skin project February 21, 2013

Winter is harsh on my skin. As a youngling I had very oily skin, now as a middle aged wench I have combination skin, alittle bit of acne, and some wicked dry patches of gross scaly skin in the winter. Last winter was especially bad. I even went to the local pharmacy to try and figure out what could possibly help with the weird scaly patches. I reached for some Ponds. It was supposed to deep clean my skin (no acne?) but not remove the natural oils…good right? My first case of eczema. It was NOT pretty. I looked like I had grown reptile skin around my eyes and it burned real bad…..

Ugh

This year I heard about oil cleansing. I saw that typically people used olive oil mixed with castor oil. I didn’t have any castor oil…and I heard that coconut oil was probably to heavy and might make me breakout….but grapeseed oil was said to be noncomedogenic and I had some due to an earlier home made lotion experiment. I don’t completely follow the typical rules to oil cleansing. I heard that the really hot steam can be harsh on your skin. SO my daily routine consists of a bottle of grapeseed oil in my shower. I put it all over my face and neck as soon as I get in and then massage it in real good. The I continue with washing my hair etc. allowing the steam in the bathroom to do it’s thing. They I massage it one more time before taking a wash cloth warmed and wetted in the shower to wipe off all the oil and then exfoliate the dry crusty spots on my face. About once a week I follow this with some baking soda (that is also kept in a small container in my tub) and massage it onto my face for some extra exfoliation.

Verdict: It doesn’t make my face breakout….but I also doesn’t really clear out my pores or the few hormonal breakouts I still get. BUT no more crusty dry spots! and my face feels so smooth and soft! I don’t even need to put on lotion when I get out. Hurray! and of course no exzema due to chemicals in typical face cleansing products…so I would say definitely a winter win…and probably a summer one to since i don’t seem to have combination skin with this method.

Now how to combat super dry winter hands….hmmmm

I get most of my skin/ herbal products from Mountain Rose Herbs love that place.

How many of you have either successfully or unsuccessfully tried oil cleansing?

[image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by Sura Nualpradid]

Baconaise February 20, 2013

Your own highly flavorful homemade mayonnaise. Yum. This is really easy to do if you are already making bacon that day since you don’t have to melt the bacon. No rancid canola oil or estrogenic soybean oil just yummy goodness.

1 cup oil (bacon fat (liquid but not hot) + enough olive oil to make 1 cup)
2 whole eggs
pinch salt
2 tbs apple cider vinegar (like Bragg’s)
1 tsp mustard

Place eggs, mustard and vinegar in food processor. Run the food processor and place the cooled oil in the food pusher (assuming that your food processor pusher is like mine and has two tiny little holes in the bottom that perfectly drizzle liquid- if you don’t have this just drizzle oil very very slowly down the feed tube). Let run until all the oil is gone and then your done!

[Be warned this is a raw egg recipe if you are worried about that you can modify by putting the egg, vinegar and an extra tbs of water in a sauce pan and put over very low heat. Stir constantly until you see the first 2 bubbles and then STOP! Push this through a fine mesh strainer to make sure there are not scrambled eggs chunks and then place in the food processor and continue with the recipe above at that point.]

you can get Bragg’s apple cider vinegar here and I will get a small commission

How-To “Hard Bake” Eggs…no fail hard boiled eggs February 19, 2013

It’s so easy to hard boil eggs perfectly using the oven! Ugh no more accidental runny egg yolks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eggs into a muffin tin. Bake for 30 mins. Wait to cool before touching. Easy! Perfect eggs every time.

image courtesy of Carlos Porto at freedigitalphotos.net

Must get Fruits and Veggies in the Kumquaty Family Belly February 18, 2013

I really really need to eat more vegetables. Fruits are easy but forking all those salads into my mouth seems like so much effort…oh the chewing and the forking….anyways a friend of mine mentioned that pineapple makes everything taste better and that she uses it to blend with spinach to help her get her veggies down the hatch so I tried brainstorming some veggie fruit combos that sounded tasty and that gave some taste/nutrient/color variety.

I tried to keep it to 3 ingredients or less to keep the flavor pure and clean I find that juices and smoothies tend to get kind of muddy and all start tasting the same when you add too many of the same ingredients into all of them.

pineapple + spinach
peach + spinach
blueberry + beets
coconut + pumpkin
cucumber + strawberry + lime
orange + carrot
green apple + beet + carrot
coconut + spinach
cantaloupe + cucumber + mint
kiwi + spinach + chia seed
kiwi + avocado

What tasty fruit/veggie smoothie combos do you have? Have you ever come up with a good smoothie including brocoli or red bell pepper? How do you get your veggie on?