10 of the best ways to use coconut oil

It's a fact - coconut oil has been having its 'moment' for, well, a lot longer than a moment now. From beauty to cooking to keeping your pets healthy, there's a genius use for it in pretty much any situation. So, with the help of Lucy Bee coconut oil, we bring you some of the best ways to make use of this wonder product...

1. Green tea

Stir a teaspoon into a cup of green tea; it tastes perfect, and if you're not ordinarily a fan of green tea, adding coconut oil makes it taste so much better. Plus, it leaves your lips feeling super soft.  

2. Roasting vegetables

Keep an atomiser spray full of coconut oil in a warm place in the kitchen, so that the oil is always in liquid form, and use it to spritz over vegetables before roasting.

3. Baking

Use it as a replacement for butter in baking. Because it seems to go further, using 25% less than the recommended amount of butter works just fine. It also has a sweetness that means you will be able to cut down on the sugar in the recipe by a third, making your cakes instantly healthier!

4. Bulletproof coffee

Whizz a shot of espresso with 15g coconut oil and 15g butter. It tastes every bit as creamy as your favourite latte.  

5. Make up remover

Warm a small amount of oil between your fingertips before massaging over skin and wiping away with a cotton pad or face cloth. It even removes waterproof mascara and can help to strengthen eyelashes at the same time.

6. Moisturiser

Rich in vitamin E, coconut oil can nourish and moisturise even the driest of skins. In fact, you only need to use a small amount, and then simply massage into your skin.

7. Hair conditioner

Massage into hair and scalp, then tie hair up and leave the oil in overnight. You'll need to give it a couple of shampoos to wash it out, but you'll find your hair is softer and shiner than ever before.

8. Body scrub

If you mix coconut oil with detoxifying Himalayan salt or Epsom salts, it make the best body scrub ever - the perfect body preparation before your summer holidays or big events.

9. Oil pulling

This is an ancient Ayurvedic treatment for ridding the body of toxins and for whitening teeth. Place between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and wait for it to melt, then swish it about, just like you would mouthwash, for anywhere between five and 20 minutes.

10. Pets

Put a teaspoon in with your dog's food for a shiny coat. Animals of all shapes and sizes can benefit from it, from horses and dogs to cats, geckos, and even tortoises.

Extracts taken from Coconut Oil by Lucy Bee, published by Quadrille.  

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