HERE'S INSTANT CHRISTMAS SPIRIT FOR YOU

Merry Christmas to you and yours.  Enjoy the music!!!

PROBLEM SOLVED!? STAY SOFT COCONUT OIL

It’s winter, it’s a trifle chilly in the bathroom and you want nothing more than to slather on a little coconut oil first thing after your shower.  But the coconut oil is rock hard, like a brick. So you get out your ice pick and hammer… Nooo… stop that ritual. Here’s a softer, simple solution from “the little red house” Blog with their HOMEMADE COCONUT BUTTER via Shutterbean’s “I Love Lists, Friday".

COCONUT CAKE, THE PERFUME



MIX AND MATCH COCONUT FLAVOR



Coconut perfumes are the perfect choice, if you’re like me and not into floral, green, spicy or musky scents at the moment.  Sometimes coconut oil seem a little plain though, so I often mix and match other fragrance notes with the coconut for a change of pace.

Here are

TOP 5 SCENTS TO LAYER WITH COCONUT PERFUMES

1. Gardenia
2. Sandalwood
3. Chocolate
4. Vanilla
5. Orange

Sometimes I layer all of the last three scents together to mix-up a "coconut cake" flavored fragrance that’s so yummy that it’s almost eatable.

HARVESTING SUNLIGHT IN CHICAGO



Always thinking about coconut



Sunshine, not corn, is the most valuable commodity in Illinois. From September through May, or 9 months of the year, Chicago is usually shrouded in a thick layer of clouds blocking the sun. This is why I always have semi-tropical latitudes,  palm trees and coconuts on my brain.

WHY I (AND YOU) NEED FULL SUNSHINE

Of course, we get light through the cloud layer but for weeks on end, we never get full sunshine.  Sometimes, when the sun occasionally breaks through the clouds, the sunshine momentarily hurts my eyes.

It’s becoming torturous to live in Chicago in more than a few ways. If I don’t take Vitamin D capsules or cod liver oil, my vitamin D level laboratory test results are low.

Full sunshine for several hours a day is the best way to acquire adequate levels of Vitamin D for optimal health.

FIND-OUT ULTRAVIOLET LEVELS

I actually bought an app from itunes that measures the amount of ultraviolet light that is available on a daily basis.  When the morning level is high, I know to get outside right away before the cloud cover comes over the city.

 I had to buy the app because weather reports and weather maps inaccurately portray the actual annual amount of sunshine.  An hour or so of sunny weather at noon does not constitute a sunny day in my opinion.

What's really scary is that I don't remember Chicago always being like this, it seems that the lack of winter sunshine is a recent problem.

SUNSHINE ON WEATHER MAPS

Luckily there is an aeronautical expert in our family, whose degree courses included meteorology classes. So, I asked the expert “how come the Weather Channel’s maps never show all the clouds over the city”.  His answer was that Weather Channel’s maps measure precipitation, from either rain or snow producing clouds.  If the clouds aren’t producing precipitation, the area over the city will look clear of clouds on the maps.

Of course the entire state has been in varying degrees of drought conditions for a few years now. There’s no full sunshine and no snow.

Cloudy winter days with no snow on the ground are particularly dreary.

And, because it’s icy cold outside from September to May, I spend a lot of time inside (more than I’d like to admit).  The concepts “icy” cold vs. “regular” cold will be discussed in a separate blog post.

ONE WAY TO HARVEST SUNLIGHT

Until I move, I have now decided to tackle this problem frontally. I’m going to get started on using a Scandinavian décor tactic of adding some bright white surfaces to reflect more light throughout the house.  I won’t add too much white though, because I love color.

Otherwise I will have to move to a tropical latitude soon and hang-out under a palm tree.

5 STOCKING STUFFERS FOR COCONUT LOVERS



SIMPLE GIFTS TO HANG NEAR THE TREE (PALM)



These simple gifts plus PEACE are all  this Coconut Lover wants for Christmas:

1. Fannie Mae, TRINIDADS…it’s  great-tasting coconut candy.
2. Pacifica, SOLID PERFUMES… these are light, true scents.  All flavors are formulated with coconut oil, they are almost eatable. Strike that--read “almost”, they’re not actually eatable, meaning uneatable.
3. Tropical Traditions, LIP MOISTURIZER... it's unscented, the best for overnight treatment and includes palm oil in the formulation.
4. Walgreens Details Bath & Body, COCONUT COAST MOISTURIZING BODY MIST… this is an amazingly simple and cheap spritz with the pure smell of  coconut aroma (contains benzophenone-4).
5. Adrienne Arpel, COCONUT MELTDOWN…it’s been around for decades and this make-up remover works without drying.

Pat Thomas for THE COCONUT LOVERS MOJO

EMERGENCY CARE OF WINTER SCALP ITCH



QUICKLY TREAT WINTER SCALP ITCH AT HOME



Uh-oh, pain and irritation from winter scalp itch has reached critical levels causing  you to scratch like a mad dog. That opens the door to potential hair loss from scalp trauma.  Coconut oil can really help, but there's an even quicker solution.

Either you got caught outside hatless during icy weather, sat beneath a heating vent in a van or wore a colorful but scratchy 100% virgin wool hat.  Whatever the cause, you have been scratching hard.

Emergency Scalp Treatment:  Extra Virgin Organic (EVO) Olive Oil

• Massage your scalp with a teeny amount about 1/2 teaspoon and let it sit for at least 1/2 a day.
• Turns-out, that oil contains ingredients that provides almost immediate scalp relief from inflammation because it contains anti-inflammatory substances.
• Here’s a link to the research study results that confirm that EVO Olive Oil contains 2 anti-inflammatory ingredients that act like ibuprofen:  Monell Center Olive Oil Study Results. 
• The olive oil you use has to be top quality.

 Monthly Ritual to Avoid Winter Scalp Itch

• Massage 2 dabs of EVO Coconut Oil into your scalp before shampooing with a sulfate-free cleanser. 
• Afterwards massage in another tiny dab before drying your hair.
• Finally, avoid petroleum jelly which keeps your hair and scalp on the dry side in winter, just the opposite of coconut oil’s true moisturizing benefits. Lastly, wear a winter hat that friendly to your scalp and hair.

I've used this coconut oil ritual for my scalp for several years now after I moved to a new office which was heated from a ceiling vent.  My scalp itched like mad and then my hair started shedding severely. The coconut oil ritual was  the only real solution for an annual winter problem.

TOP 10 HASSLE-FREE WAYS TO USE COCONUT QUICK, EVERYDAY



Grate Your Own  Coconut or Buy Bagged Coconut

Here's how to get all the benefits of coconut, fast, in 10 different ways:

1. Dip coconut flakes from a bag and sprinkle over your hot or cold cereal as sweetener.
2. Use a coconut oil cooking spray instead of soy based cooking sprays for your dishes.
3. Quickly stir fry or sauté shrimp or vegetables in coconut oil with a dash of lime juice.
4. Cut calories by using coconut whipped cream from canned coconut milk .  Whip with a small hand blender and serve over yogurt, ice cream or desserts.
5. Gulp a shot glass or two of coconut water from a re-closable container.  Refrigerate the leftover to use later.
6. Do a warm coconut oil scalp massage before shampooing to eliminate winter itch and flaking scalp skin
7. Use coconut oil as a soap-less cleanser in the morning. Wipe the excess off with a warm, wet facial tissue.
8. Massage your body with coconut oil before bathing to prevent soap from over-drying  your skin. Save time and only massage areas prone to drying like arms and legs.
9. Use coconut oil as an overnight hand and lip moisturizer for round-the-clock smoothness throughout the next day.
10. Use a caprylic acid, coconut oil derivative, spray product to quickly eliminate dry skin on your  feet, elbows or knees year-round.

Pat Thomas for THE COCONUT LOVERS MOJO until next time…