How many creative ways are there to add more coconut oil in your diet, or sneak it in someone who would otherwise resist? Let’s face it, I have a hard time eating straight coconut oil, blech.

So why would anyone want to? It is unique among oils, and takes a bit of unlearning if you are sold on the idea that saturated fats make you fat and will clog your arteries, giving you a heart attack or stroke (where by you must take a statin to lower your cholesterol.) No, no, no, that is not what reason, tradition and a lot of sound research prove: saturated fat is good for you, and coconut oil is the queen.

A great book on the topic is The Coconut Ketogenic Diet by Dr. Bruce Fife, and his book Coconut Cures.

He says that 95% of the fats in our diet are triglycerides, which are made up of molecules called fatty acids. There are three categories of fatty acids: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. The health and weight loss benefits are associated with medium chain triglycerides.

Coconut oil is 92% saturated fat and the majority of this saturated fat is medium chain triglycerides.

Approximately 95% of all dietary fats are long chain triglycerides.

Olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, lard and many others are 100% long chain triglycerides, where butter and cream have a small percentage of medium chain triglycerides. Coconut oil and palm kernel oil are the only significant dietary source of MCTs. (information taken from chapter two of Dr. Fife’s book The Coconut Ketogenic Diet, “Are You in Need of an Oil Change?”)

The ketosis part is whereby a low carbohydrate high fat diet, and moderate protein, causes your body to burn stored fat. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, have all responded well with ketogenic diets.

Anyway, if you are interested, get the book, as there is so much more information. Many of the testimonies I read were from people getting very good results by just adding coconut oil in their diet, or better replacing all transfat oils (any processed oil, like what is in salad dressings…) with coconut oil, and continuing to eat other animal fats like butter, cream, eggs, tallow, and lard (but NOT hydrogenated lard by all means!)

But how in the world can someone eat three tablespoons of coconut oil per day, three times a day? This is in addition to the other good animal fats, and keep net carbohydrates to 30, to make your body go into a state of ketosis (which will diminish hunger, raise metabolism and thyroid function, help balance hormones and provide much more energy.)

It’s worth another try for me. I have been struggling with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s for probably 30 years, and really think this can be the key to reversing that.

Of course it is nearly impossible to be around carb eaters (and have to make them bread all the time) and carb drinkers (as beer is really liquid bread) without going cold turkey myself. The other trick is to get those carb lovers to eat extra coconut oil as well, albeit in a sneaky way or they would not dare.

Here are some ways I have been coming up with getting the extra coconut oil in.

1. Morning smoothie. The man will be thankful for anything put in front of him, but this will definitely not work for picky little girl.

But the smoothie is this, and it is super filling, even for the Dutch bottomless pit, and holds us over till lunch. This goes in a smoothie for one person. 1 cup kefir (you could use plain yogurt), 3 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 raw egg, 1 tablespoon raw hemp seeds, one tablespoon chia seeds, one tablespoon diatomaceous earth, one teaspoon Azomite, 1 oz raw apple cider vinegar, 12 drops Lugol’s iodine (this is 25mg of iodine, as we use the 2.5 mg per drop Lugol’s) one big spoonful of rose hips (they are soft as I infuse them in ACV) and two very big handfuls of organic baby greens. I make a double batch with everything in a 1/2 gallon mason jar and use my stick blender to blend it all in a smoothie. It really is good! (If you are not trying to watch the carbs, add in blackberries or raspberries.)

2. Add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to a big mug of hot bone broth, or soup. (I know a lot of people love bullet proof coffee, but I can’t stand coconut oil in my coffee.)

3. and my new favorite dressing/aoli spread recipe, using purely coconut oil instead of olive oil.

This is how I make it.

Take one cup of coconut oil and melt it on the stove.

Peel one head (yes that is one head, not clove) of garlic and process in a food processor. (Ok, I know that is excessive garlic, but I really require a punch in the mouth to satisfy.

You could use less, but then dear reader, how are you going to handle all those pesky vampires?

Three large sprigs of fresh rosemary, and process the leaves with the garlic, the more the better, or use any fresh herbs you like.

Process one egg with the garlic and rosemary, and keeping the machine running, slowly pour in your melted coconut oil (make sure the melted oil is not too hot or the egg will curdle.) It will be very thick like mayonnaise at this point.

Add 1/4 cup of herbal apple cider vinegar and 2/3 cup of kefir, and as much salt as you like. I added 1 tablespoon of my herbal salt, which is mostly herbs (and garlic! haha) so it is not too salty, but I crave salt.

It is very pourable, like ranch dressing, and makes a wonderful salad dressing or dip for raw asparagus or broccoli… Since it has kefir in it, it will continue to ferment and the good probiotic bacteria will multiply if you leave it in room temperature for a few days. I think it is best to just leave out a small amount that you want pourable and use it within one day. If you heated it, it would break.

When you refrigerate it, it hardens, but not like pure coconut oil which is rock hard.

It is very spreadable and smooth, and I have been using it for their sandwiches instead of butter. They are none the wiser by eating more coconut oil! ha! (full disclosure: neither of them like vampires either, so I can always get away with lots of garlic.)

It would make a great spread for filling celery… or on crackers.

I think it would be perfect to add 1/2 and 1/2 to the egg yolks for deviled eggs.

Do you have any other ideas on adding more coconut oil to a low carb, high fat diet?