Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review & Giveaway- Plus a Recipe!

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~

About Tropical Traditions Products! 

Information from website. 

We have a strong commitment to family farming and organic standards. We stand firmly against genetically modified foods (No GMOs). But the organic label is not enough for us. We research and find out where the products are produced, and how they are produced. We find that some organic standards too loose for our trust, so we look beyond what is claimed on a label. We find out as much as possible about those who provide the products. And if a certain quality of product does not exist, we will work with others to produce that product and offer it to our consumers. We did that with Virgin Coconut Oil in the Philippines, and we have done the same thing since coming back to live here in the US.

One of those is our Pastured Poultry chickens raised on Cocofeed. When we began looking for a good source of chicken raised on pasture, we found that all the organic chickens available to us were fed a high concentration of soybeans, and this concerned us. So after two years of research, we finally came up with an organic feed that was soy-free and utilized the coconut pulp that was left over after the coconut oil was extracted from it. In May 2006 we introduced these chickens to our customers, and the following year we also raised turkeys on this feed which are now also available.

Then in 2008 we were asked to provide some of our Cocofeed to a study being done at Ohio State University as it was the only soy-free chicken feed available to be used in a study that showed soy protein was passed into the yolks of eggs from chickens fed high concentrations of soy. We found out that egg-laying chickens fed our Cocofeed had the soy protein in their egg yolks disappear within 10 days of being on our feed. So we worked with farmers in Wisconsin to raise egg-laying chickens on our Cocofeed, and in 2010 we began offering soy-free organic eggs to our consumers as well.

We want you to feel safe when shopping in our online store, so we have a commitment to you to not sell anything that is harmful to the best of our knowledge. All of our foods are either certified organic or meet quality standards that are equal to or higher than organic certification. This includes no GMOs. This is quite different from most health food stores, where you have to be "on your guard" as most of them offer conventional products right alongside organic products, because they want to offer a full selection of products to compete with regular grocery stores. We would rather offer fewer products, and stick to our high standards, so that you can feel safe when shopping here.

Take a moment to watch this informative video from Tropical Traditions.

Our Tropical Traditions Experience!

I started hearing about coconut oil several months before I started a healthier diet. I was intrigued by coconut oil and the possible health benefits. However, I did not seriously consider using it until I started changing my diet. I have always been a butter user, never margarine. Just common sense tells me something's not right if it doesn't melt. Plus anything that is cheaper than the real deal you've got to question it. In Jillian Michael's book, "How to Master Your Metabolism" she discusses getting the good fats from oils. Coconut and Extra Virgin Olive Oil are the two top oils you should be using. Coconut oil is better for high heat and baking. If you would like to do some more research about coconut oil, visit Coconutoil.com for an extensive list of articles and research. 

I started using coconut oil for a few weeks before I even tried Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I was hooked on coconut oil and substituted it for oil and butter replacements in recipes such as pancakes, chewy granola bars, and any baking recipe. After hearing so much about the great quality of Tropical Traditions coconut oils I was ready to put it to the test. Tropical Traditions was so kind to send me the huge 32 oz Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Tropical Traditions makes several different varieties of the coconut oil. See this comparison chart to figure out which coconut oil is best for your uses.

Before adding coconut oil to any recipe I wanted to see if there was any difference in how the oil tasted by itself compared to what I was using. This may sound gross to some of you, but I did not eat a large spoonfull, just a tiny taste. I first tasted the coconut oil I had been using. I will not list the brand name. However, this is a really good brand of organic extra virgin coconut oil that I had been purchasing at my health food store. It was not a cheap brand either. The coconut oil tasted a little grainy and I definitely tasted a coconut flavor. Next, I tried the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. The Tropical Traditions coconut oil was super creamy with not graininess. I tasted less of a coconut flavor. Some people are bothered by the coconut flavor, but I am not. Tropical Traditions does make varieties that have no smell or taste if you do not care for coconut flavor in your oil. Also the oil did not leave any filmy feeling inside my mouth. I was really impressed with the quality of this product especially compared to the brand I was currently using. 

Then it was time to put it to the test with my recipes! The  Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil did excellent in all of my recipes. I have definitely found the new brand of coconut oil I will be using from now on!

I want to share a super healthy recipe with you that I have been enjoying over the last few weeks, Whole Wheat Banana Bread! We buy organic bananas and eat quite a few of them. However, organic bananas ripen much faster than conventional so there are times we don't get them eaten before they get too ripe. This is the perfect recipe for those really ripe bananas. By the way, you must check out the huge list of recipes on Tropical Traditions. It is an amazing list that incorporates recipes with just about all their products. 

Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup mashed bananas

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Measure out coconut oil and heat it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt. Add oil and honey together in a large bowl and beat. Take a paper towel and wipe the inside of your measuring cup the coconut oil was in. Wipe the remaining oil in the bottom and sides of your loaf pan. Take some whole wheat flour and sprinkle in loaf pan to cover well and shake out excess flour into trash can. Now your loaf pan is prepped. 

Next, add eggs and mix well. Stir in bananas, vanilla, flour and salt and mix well. Add baking soda to hot water (I take cold filtered water and warm it in the microwave). Stir to mix then add to batter. Spread the batter into your prepared 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. 

 This is wonderful banana bread! It is sweet enough from the honey and very moist. Once wrapped up it stays moist for at least a couple days (that's as long as it makes it in this house with me and Ethan!). Later this week I'll be sharing another recipe with the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. There may even be extra entries if you comment on that post ;-) Keep an eye out!

 

BUY IT! You can buy directly from Tropical Traditions. Until Thursday June 17th you can purchase 1 Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and get one FREE! This is an awesome deal!

WIN IT! Tropical Traditions is giving away one 32 oz. Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to Take Time to Smell the Rose reader! 

Tropical Traditions also has a Referral Program, so if you place an order with them as a first-time customer, please select “Referred by a friend” and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my sponsor ID number 6059810. By telling Tropical Traditions that I referred you, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy with your first order! This book is filled with testimonies and research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also includes over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet.


You have the chance to enter several entries by the doing the following. Each one counts as 1 entry unless otherwise specified. I am now making it a requirement to follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect to enter my giveaways.

• MANDATORY ENTRY(You also must be following my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect)-counts as 1: AND Look around at Tropical Traditions to see what they offer. Tell me what product(s) AND recipe(s) you would like to try. 

• Subscribe to my blog via email with Feedburner (on right side bar).
  

• Blog about my giveaway before June 17th, linking back to this giveaway. Leave the URL where you blogged.

• Did you earn the extra 10 entries for blogging & adding my button? Read here for details. Leave a comment for each entry below as "Qualified for 10 extra entries #1", "Qualified for 10 extra entries #2", etc. 

• Grab my  Take Time to Smell the Rose button. Leave URL where it is posted.

• Grab my Take Time to Share Your Giveaway Sunday button. Leave URL where it is posted.

• Grab my Healthy Living Event button. Leave URL where it is posted. 

• Follow Smell_the_Rose AND Tropical Traditions  on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway. After initial "tweet" you may gain an extra entry each day. Limit 1 tweet a day.  Leave URL where you tweeted in your comment. 

• Sign up for Tropical Traditions Newsletter.  3 entries!

• Make a comment on any non-giveaway Healthy Living Event post. (one comment per post- but unlimited posts). Click here to see the list of posts. There will be lots of non-giveaway posts throughout the month! One comment on a post can qualify for all giveaways.

Please copy and paste this for your tweets: 


Win a 32 oz jar of #Organic Coconut Oil from @TropTraditions & @Smell_the_Rose. #HealthyLivingEvent http://tiny.cc/TropicalTraditions

**Leave your email on each comment. You must do this in order to win!**

Giveaway ends Friday, June 25, 2010 at 9:00 p.m.(CST) Winner will be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner will also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

This giveaway is open to USA & Canadian residents ONLY . Must be 18 years old or older to win.

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. The thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own and are not swayed by any monetary or product compensation. My personal health experiences may not be a typical result for others. The information I share on my blog may not be the views of the sponsors participating in my Healthy Living Event. 
 

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~