I absolutely loooove coconut! And everything it represents. The smell of it, the taste of it even the look of it. It's like a hairy little face. HA.....anyways - to the point!
While grocery shopping at the local Nature's Fare, I stumbled upon "Natural Coconut Sweetner", which is, I discovered, sugar made entirely from coconut sap. SO after thinking about it for a while I finally decided to try it, as I found a recipe for coconut macaroons (which I will give you later because they're soo delicious and soo easy!) and it called for "brown sugar" and I thought it[coconut sap sugar] would make a good substitute. It did. And this stuff is way better for you than I thought! So here's a little background info on this type sugar, and why it is way better for you.
Well for starters, coconuts in general are just plain good for you. They're a tropical fruit that is very rich in protein, and the meat is good for destroying intestinal parasites and the water is good for the kidneys and bladder (and full of electrolytes). It's a good muscle builder, it prevents goiter because of the organic iodine content, and it relieves constipation and gas. The oil is good for many things as well, such as; sunburns, eye makeup remover, scalp and hair, wrinkle cream, and helps heal cuts and scratches - probably because it's so rich in vitamin E.
Anyway, back to the sap sugar. The sap is collected from the inflorescence, it is then boiled and concentrated to form granulated sugar. The sap is 12-18% sugar, contains essential vitamins, amino acids, and micro and macronutrients. It is very low on the glycemic index coming in at 35! 55 and under being considered low.
Here is a scale of it's major nutrient content in comparison to brown sugar;
Nutrient / CocoSap Sugar / Brown Cane Sugar
Nitrogen / 2020 / 100
Phosphorus / 790 / 30
Potassium / 10,300 / 650
Magnesium / 290 / 70
Chloride / 4700 / 180
Zinc / 21.2 / 2
Iron / 21.9 / 12.6
It is also rich in amino acids and vitamins, so next time you go to reach for the plain old white death, why not try coconut sap sugar instead!
Oh! I almost forgot, the coconut macaroons recipe! These are such a simple and tasty little treat, and now you know you're not just giving into your sweeth tooth but getting some nutrition out of it too!
1 1/2 C of unsweeted shredded coconut
1/2 C sugar, in this case, Natural Coconut Sap Sugar!
2 egg whites
a dash of vanilla
nutmeg or cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 350.
The recipe calls for nutmeg but I didn't have any so I tried cinnamon in it's place and it worked out great! Mix together the egg whites, the sugar, the vanilla and cinnamon OR nutmeg, add the coconut and mix until it's totally blended. Scoop little spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, (I put a little bit of coconut oil on mine so they wouldn't get stuck). They will be a little bit crumbly but don't worry! Pop them in the oven for about 15 miunutes, or until they're a little brown, let them cool for abit and they should come off your baking sheet in solid form. However, if you're impatient like me, and take them off before they're totally cool - it will crumble. Either way it tasted the same! ENJOY! :)
