Amazing Young Coconut Water

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For the past year and a half or so, I have been trying to drink young coconut water as often as I can get it. I have noticed amazing benefits from this refreshing drink. The first time I had it, I wasn't too sure about it's taste, but now I crave it whenever I get away from it for awhile.

Young coconut water is teeming with enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and good fats. It's very hydrating. It also is a good weight loss food, because though it is high in fat, as long as it's raw, it also has proportionately high amounts of the enzymes needed to break down fats.

To open a young coconut, start by shaving the husk off the top (the pointed area) with a sharp knife. Then take a butcher knife and use the corner near the handle to make a crack in the shell. This will take a litte force, so be careful (adults only, please!)

Then use the corner of the butcher knife to pry open the shell, and pour that lovely water into a bowl first, so as to catch all of it, and then into a glass. Enjoy!

I break open a young coconut every morning that I possibly can, and I save the soft meat in a large ziploc bag in the freezer. When I get a bagful, I thaw them out, blend them up, and mix them with raw nut meals and a raw sweetener to make cakes, bars, and cookies. More on those later.

Delightful Dried Pineapple

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I've always loved dried pineapple, but never as much as the stuff I make in my own kitchen.

Many people may not know that much of the dried pineapple they find in the stores may not be raw at all. You know those amazing-looking big round pineapple rings in the bulk section of many grocery stores? Nothing but sugar-coated cooked pineapple rings of the canned food variety.

But you can make your own dried pineapple that is truly raw!

I recently got a good buy on pineapples, so I dehydrated a bunch. I like to do them like this: Thin-slice the pineapple all the way through without removing the center core and then cut away the outer skin with a kitchen scissors. After slicing, you may, if you like, sprinkle lightly with organic, unbleached sugar, but there is no need because these pineapple rings are delightful just as nature intended.

Arrange on the dehydrator trays and dehydrate for anywhere between 12 and 36 hours, depending on how dry you want them, checking often to remove the ones that are dry first.

I love the way it shrinks up in the dehydrator and comes out looking like a nice, yellow flower. You can eat the center, if you like. It's just a little more chewy. I like them best right out of the dehydrator, nice and warm, but for those you want to keep longer, just lay them out on a flat surface until cooled down and then put in plastic bags. If you are drying them for long-term storage, make sure that you have all the moisture out, or you may find a breeding ground for mold and such.

Enjoy!!!
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