Congratulations to everyone who successfully completed the 5 Days Vegan challenge. If you have a moment, would love to hear your feedback on the experience!
I promise that this will be my last tropical post for a wee little while. I am all over making my own hemp milk, almond milk, even sesame and flax milk. I have ventured into the land of oat milk and rice milk. All great. I haven’t the foggiest of foggies why it took me this long to realize how easy it was to get my coconut milk from a coconut, rather than a can.
Yes, I can hear you! I live in Toronto, not the tropics, but still… there are coconuts available all over the place here and let’s be honest if we want to talk eco-footprint here. What takes more energy- the mass production of coconut milk, followed by the canning, shipping etc. etc. or sending the whole coconut to town? See, so let’s move past the “coconuts don’t grow on trees’ thing and get cracking, de-shelling, blending, straining and drinking. Wait. Now I have nothing left to write about ’cause it is that simple!
Now, please check your “but isn’t coconut milk fattening?” thoughts at the door. Coconut milk is incredibly nutrient dense and yes this does mean it is caloric, but why not just water yours down a little and you will still get the richness from it. Coconut milk contains many vitamins, minerals and electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and chloride. I would also like to remind you that the short and medium-chain saturated fats in coconut is a form that the body quickly turns into energy instead of storing as fat. Therefore, although high in saturated fat, coconut can help you drop the jiggle wiggles if they are really bothering you.
Here is something else to consider, how often do you or someone you know indulge in ice cream or give kids milk and other dairy products when sick. Most dairy products are vile processed foods, incredibly mucous forming and acidifying to the body which can actually work to reduce immune function and prolong illness. Then we have coconut milk where about half of the medium-chain fatty acids are composed of lauric acid, which is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Coconut milk, therefore, can help boost the immune system and fight off illness and disease.
Lastly, coconut milk has been known to help soothe sore throats and ulcers, moisturize the skin and to relieve dry skin and rashes. It can also be used on the hair and in baths.
Ready to milk some coconuts?
1 coconut, de-shelled (you don’t need to remove the brown layer right around the coconut meat, justthe hard outer shell)
enough water to cover coconut meat in the blender
additional ad-in options: sea moss, vanilla bean, honey, dates, cinnamon, raw cacao, almonds, cashews, hempseeds etc.
- Blend together and strain.
- Once strained, you may wish to run the coconut meat through the blender again for a little more milking
- Enjoy!
For your interest
- Video: Making nut milk
- Video: Cracking Open A Coconut
- Get your own nut sac
- Health Benefits of coconut
- Health benefits of coconut oil
- Dairy Article: Milking It For All It’s Worth
- Dairy Article: Straight From The Teat
- Dairy Article: Devil In The White Dress
That looks great! I haven’t yet made coconut milk, but I often use coconut water and meat in my smoothies. I just wish it were easier to open them.
I love coconut milk, use it almost everyday (of course I don’t make it very often, need to get on that!)
Get on it!
As a kid my mom was always buying coconuts and would let us kids have at it! We’d try to find different ways to open it and then enjoy the rewards. Those were great memories! Theres nothing like fresh coconut! We all need to get over this “it’s fattening” thing. If it’s good for you, eat it! Island people have such beautiful skin, they are eating all of these wonderful tropical fruits, coconuts being one of them.
Are you making your own oatmilk? I’ve tried oatmilk once and it was so sweet. I didn’t think to look at the sugar content because this couple was buying a cart full of it and said how good it was.
I have yet to perfect the ratios for my oat milk- will keep working on it. Typically I prefer to make milk from higher fat/protein sources as we all know- carbs are easy to come by in the diet.
I LOVE COCONUT MILK!! Love that you’ve encouraged to toss out the myth about how they’re fattening out the window and explained why
. Such a brilliant idea..thanks for sharing!
Wish I could take credit for it- just never realized how easy it was to make. And awesomeness on the 5 Days Vegan challenge. You rocked it!
[...] always trying to cut down on the fat content in my meals. (By the way, Meghan Telpner has a great post today about how coconut milk isn’t as bad for you as you may think!) So by blending the coconut [...]
I will so try this now that I got my very own Vita Mix!!
Yay! The vitamix might just change your life.
Love the video Meghan, you are just glowing! I always wondered how “hard” it was to make your own coconut milk… if I would have known it was that easy, I would have tried before! I’ll just need a nut milk bag and I’ll be all set. I can just imagine already how delicious this would taste with some oatmeal, or with some raw granola! Yum!
You can do it in a sieve too! Works very well.
I’m afraid I take the easy way out – water and dessicated coconut in the Vita-Mix. Some day, I’ll try your old school luau version!
[...] Making Love in the Kitchen » Blog Archive » Milk Those Coconuts [...]
My friend brought me home a coconut today so we could try making milk like in your video. Two questions: 1. the coconut she brought home was white on the outside, any idea what’s up with that? 2. We have a regular kitchen blender – do you think the blender we use has to be a certain number of vaults in order not to break it when blending the coconut meat with the husky skin?
Love your blog!
Thank you for your time
Angie