Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review

I LOVE using coconut oil in my homemade beauty products. I have a hard time locating places to buy it in person, or even online. Then I started to hear a lot about Tropical Traditions, and their own gold label coconut oil. I was so thrilled when I got the chance to try out a jar of it, and review it on my blog.

When I got the awesome, 32 oz jar, I was anxious to find fun new ways to use it all. I was only familiar with using it for beauty products and toiletries. Then, I went to check out the Tropical Traditions food recipes, for other ways to use my jar of oil. I searched through the recipe blog to find not only the recipes that sounded yummy, but ones that were intended for use with mainly just the oil, since it was the product I had to review. I made quite a few dishes with it (and used a huge portion of the oil), most of which tasted amazing. One thing to keep in mind though, most of the recipes call for using the coconut oil as a cooking oil in place of your olive or vegetable oil. But, anything you cook in the oil is going to have that subtle yummy flavor.

I made...


Coconut Rice - (I made it without lime juice and added sweet coconut on top, made a great breakfast rice)

Coconut Mashed Potatoes - (I didn't have coconut milk so I used canned. I think it'd be better with coconut milk, but my son really loved them as they were)






**Forgot to photograph**

Three Cheese Tomato Garlic Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - (These were an amazingly delicious lunch for my son and I)




Cheesy Fried Rice - (This wasn't such a good mix to me, little too much coconut oil)

Coconut Oil Flour Tortillas - (I made these with the chicken below, for us and my sister and her two kids. Everyone gobbled them up)

Mexican Style Pepper Chicken - (I used bell peppers in three colors, and then cut up the chicken and made it a taco filler to go in the tortillas above)

Beauty Products I made

Deodorant
1 part coconut oil
1 part cornstarch
1 part baking soda

This deodorant caused my sensitive skin a little irritation at first, now I'm used to it and it smells great (Less baking soda might prevent the irritation). I have to reapply again during the day, now that's it's all hot and sweaty, but it's 100% natural and I love it.

Lip Balm
1 part coconut oil
1 part beeswax

Melt beeswax and coconut oil together. Pour into container (or old chapstick tube) and let cool.

I really love this lip balm because it never leaves a nasty thick white residue, and it stays on for a long time. The blend is simple and effective when warmer (like if you hold it on your lips a minute to melt the coconut oil) When it gets too cold (and the oil solidifies) it can be too hard to use. A really quick zap in the microwave will fix this.

Coconut Sugar Scrub
Mix sugar and coconut oil together until blended to favorable consistency. Tastes great, but try to use it in the shower for soft glowing skin.

Last but not least, using coconut oil as an all over body moisturizer feels and smells divine.

Overall, there are so many uses for coconut oil, these are just a few. (Check out these FAQ's) Tropical Traditions provides a clean, pure, virgin coconut oil for all the uses you can come up with, for a pretty reasonable price. The jar is made of glass which makes me feel better either to re-use or recycle it. And, compared to the places I have actually found coconut oil for sale, I honestly feel they offer an excellent price. Not only is it hard to find coconut oil, but most places will not offer you the large amounts that they. Say goodbye to puny 8 oz bottles, and say hello to 32 oz or even a gallon!

If you'd like to get your hands on some of this great stuff!...

Visit the Tropical Traditions website. When asked how you heard about them, check "referred by a friend" and then kindly add in ID number : 6412314 and you will receive a free copy of the virgin coconut oil book. Right now they have a promotion going that you can buy one pint and get one pint free!

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 in return 
for the free product.

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Finding a Good Breast Pump

Life with our new baby is absolutely beautiful. I have been enjoying the peaceful moments in the morning where our son says the sweetest things about the baby. All throughout the day, he consoles her when she cries, talks to her, and makes sure to introduce her first thing when anyone walks through our door. It's been so amazing to watch.

I have learned something useful about products. This time it has been breast pump products in particular. When I had my son, I was prepared with a manual breast pump by Avent. Turns out it worked great that I had one, since the hospital started me pumping due to needing to monitor exactly how much my son ate. We had to keep it up at home until we were certain he was eating enough. Yes, I wanted to do the contact breastfeeding, however, this was a health issue with my son and we were just happy he was still getting my milk and nothing else. The problem with this pump, was that it's suction mechanism kept popping mid pump session causing much stress and anxiety. Eventually, it led to the end of me pumping and therefore, breastfeeding. We also had trouble with our Avent bottles leaking, ugh. Avent is made by Philips, the people who make lighting and electronic machines.

To get prepared for our newest addition, I had acquired a new manual breast pump. I had found it at Big Lots for only $10, but seeing it was "The First Years" brand, I thought I could trust it. Now, I know the saying goes, "You get what you pay for", but still.... it was The First Years. Day one, I sit down to pump and it pops. NOOOO!!!! The design was totally different, and yet this still happened. I was devastated. I quickly realized that although The First Years might be a trustworthy brand, they make EVERYTHING, so how could they perfect any of their items?

Off to Target to pick up a new pump, (and a new bottle brush which broke on day two) I was determined to buy a good working pump. What I figured out when I got there was that I should be buying a pump from someone who knows what they are doing. A brand that has a main focus of pumping/breastfeeding. Maybe even a brand so trusted that hospitals and lactation centers use it. Above all, a brand that would not disappoint me. What did that point do? Duh, Medela. I felt almost dumb I didn't realize this before, but then again how do you learn if not through trial and error?

I've been using my handy dandy Medela manual pump (which also helped by giving me the parts needed for the hand me down electric one I have) and I haven't had any trouble yet. The design looks positively ingenious, just like it cannot have happen what my last two pumps did. I am thrilled. I hope it lasts.



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All these opinions are my own. I was not paid or compensated in any way for writing a positive review, nor was I required to write one for any reason.