Finding food that’s both unique and healthy can be a challenge, especially healthy food that seduces your taste buds into participation on a regular basis. However, here’s one man who may be able to help.
Avid coconut enthusiast Carl Johanson, who runs the ‘Coconut Odyssey’, Australia’s only coconut tour at Thala Beach Lodge near Port Douglas, invites guests into the world of the coconut.
Here Carl dispels certain ‘myths’ about coconuts, such as all saturated fats are bad for you, while sharing some unique and tasty recipes that he attests will take years off your life.
Here’s a few of Carl’s flavoursome favourites:
Coconut Chocolate – (which Carl believes could be the world’s first fat loss Chocolate)
Ingredients
1/3 cup of coconut oil
1/3 cup of organic cocoa powder
2 eggs, separated
Stevia (to your own taste)
Desiccated coconut
Method
Whisk egg whites in a mixing bowl until firm. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, cocoa powder and stevia and blend until smooth. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, stirring continuously. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, in 2 batches.
Once combined, spoon into a small glass container (roughly 10cm x 10cm) that’s been lined with cling wrap. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut, gently patting it into the chocolate.
Refrigerate for 2 hours to set, then cut into bite size pieces.
Coconut kefir
Ingredients
1 litre of coconut water
kefir culture
Method
Fill a glass container with the coconut water and add a ‘sprinkle’ of kefir culture on top. Seal the lid, then let sit for 24 hours at room temperature before placing in the refrigerator for a further 12 hours.
According to Carl, coconut kefir is a “fizzy, sour, champagne-like drink”, that contains healthy bacteria largely missing from the western diet. He says the drink is fantastic for building the immune system.
Kerala prawn curry with dirty rice and mango lassi
Curry sauce ingredients
50ml coconut oil
½ tsp black peppercorns ground
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder
20 curry leaves
2 red onions diced
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seed ground
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tomatoes finely diced
1 tsp salt
60ml tamarind paste
1 cup fish stock
1 tin coconut milk
40 tiger prawns clean
3 handfuls spinach
½ bunch coriander to garnish
Method
Heat oil and add peppercorns and mustard seeds, and sauté until they start to pop. Add curry powder,
curry leaves and onion, then sauté until golden brown. Then add coriander, turmeric, chilli
flakes, diced tomato and salt and cook out until tomatoes are fully broken down. Add
stock, tamarind and coconut milk and simmer. Keep reducing until right consistency is obtained.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
Heat 30 mls of coconut oil in a wok and add prawns and quickly stir fry. The add curry sauce
and spinach, and simmer until prawns are cooked.
Dirty rice ingredients
1 cup jasmine rice
½ tsp black peppercorns
3 cloves
½ stick cinnamon
1 star anise
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp salt
1 sticks lemongrass
1 ¾ cups water
Method
Grind pepper, clove, cinnamon, star anise and lime leaves to a fine powder. Wash rice
thoroughly then place in sauce pan. Add all ingredients to sauce pan and bring to the
boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Tip onto tray to
cool.
Mango lassi
500ml natural yoghurt
200ml mango nectar
80g sugar
1 tblsp chopped coriander
Method
Add all ingredients, mix together, and serve as a side accompaniment to the meal.
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Media Contact: Michelle Behsman – [email protected]