For the islanders who live in the Pacific Ocean, the coconut tree is a real nurse. Locals even call it the tree of life, since all parts of this unique plant are used to produce a wide variety of products and raw materials. Coconut milk is a product without which islanders' food is unthinkable. But now the drink has gained recognition and wide distribution in other countries of the world.

Coconut milk - chemical composition and calorie content

This product, despite a high percentage of fats, is easily absorbed without converting to body fat.

Coconut milk contains a lot of useful substances:

  • vitamins C, E, group B;
  • amino acids;
  • fiber, which contributes to the natural cleansing of the intestine;
  • polyunsaturated acids;
  • protein;
  • essential oils;
  • trace elements: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron;
  • antioxidants.

Just one glass of such a drink is able to fully saturate the human body with the daily norm of omega fatty acids, which are so needed to maintain health. Coconut milk contains a lot of fats - more than ¼ of the total mass. The amount of carbohydrates and proteins is not so great. Calorie content varies from 150 to 200 kcal.

It is useful to drink such a drink to people who cannot consume plain milk due to lactose intolerance, and vegetarians to fill the deficiency of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

How to make Coconut Milk

You need to know that coconut milk is not at all the liquid that is inside the fruit.This clear liquid with a pleasant taste and smell is called coconut water, and milk is obtained from the processing of pulp. The pulp crushed into shavings is poured with boiling water and carefully filtered through gauze folded several times.

The result is an aromatic, thick, white liquid that resembles milk, with a high degree of fat content and a huge amount of nutrients.

A high-quality drink of the first extraction should have a saturated white color, and not a whitish shade. The translucent liquid of the second extraction also has a pleasant taste, but the concentration of nutrients in it is much weaker. Since the product is stored in the refrigerator, it can solidify and turn into a thick creamy mass. This is not scary: just lower the jar of milk with a container of hot water for ¼ h. And the mass will become liquid.

On sale you can meet 2 types of canned milk - in iron cans and cardboard boxes. When choosing, you need to carefully read the composition: artificial ingredients should be excluded. In a hermetically sealed container, the canned product can be stored for a very long time, but the shelf life of open milk is only 3 days, so it is better to buy small containers. You can buy not milk, but pasta: but it is too oily and simply diluted with purified water to make a drink.

Useful and healing properties

You can talk a lot about the benefits of coconut milk.

Reasonable use of it has a beneficial effect on the whole organism:

  • regulates digestion;
  • improves vision and strengthens bones;
  • increases hemoglobin;
  • well affects the condition of the stomach;
  • normalizes pressure;
  • helps to cope with infections and viral diseases;
  • slows down the aging of cells;
  • lowers glucose levels;
  • strengthens cells, prevents the development of cancer;
  • improves brain function;
  • strengthens the immune system;
  • cleans of toxic substances;
  • regulates the work of the heart and blood vessels.

The product has a strong antibacterial, antifungal and firming effect. It quenches thirst well and, thanks to its high nutritional value, eliminates hunger for a long time.

What is beneficial for women

Such a drink is primarily useful for those women who want to be in shape. Even a small amount of milk saturates for a long time and does not have to suffer from feelings of hunger. Nutrients, which are found in excess in the fruits of the palm, have a beneficial effect not only on the internal systems of the body, but also on the condition of curls, skin, teeth and nails. Therefore, everyone who wants to preserve beauty and health for many years needs to periodically enjoy a drink.

Benefits for men

Coconut milk is considered a natural aphrodisiac and increases sexual desire. The elements included in its composition normalize the hormonal background and directly affect potency.

Due to its nutritional value, milk relieves chronic fatigue, increases working capacity and physical endurance, activates brain activity, and improves the functioning of the nervous system. To maintain normal working capacity, the best drink can not be found. He is even called a natural power engineer.

During pregnancy and lactation

If the future mother is not allergic to the product, she definitely needs to include coconut milk in her menu. This natural source of vitamins and minerals strengthens the immune system, eliminates edema, has a beneficial effect on the development of the fetus, saturates the bone system with calcium. Such milk relaxes the muscles of the uterus and relieves increased tone, so it is very useful for pregnant women with the threat of miscarriage to drink it.

Do not buy a ready-made drink in canned form, as it contains a lot of harmful additives. It is better to buy shavings or coconut and make milk yourself.

Nursing mothers, too, should not give up this drink, because they so need vitamins and minerals to restore the body after childbirth.It has lauric acid, which is also part of breast milk. It is necessary to introduce a new product in the menu gradually to eliminate allergies and digestive disorders in the baby.

Applications for Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is used everywhere - in cooking as a component of a healthy diet, in dietetics, cosmetology, and even for weight loss.

Cooking Coconut Milk

This product is an excellent choice for a variety of drinks, cocktails, smoothies, shakes. Ice cream and puddings are also made from the component. Coconut cream, whipped with powdered sugar, is often used to decorate cakes, desserts and pastries.

It is interesting that during heat treatment the product does not curd, so it is often used for cooking unusual hot sauces, stewing seafood or meat.

Such milk is even added to vegetable cream soups instead of sour cream. The dish then acquires a new taste and becomes thicker. By adding milk to pastries or sweet cereals, you can change the usual taste of these dishes and give them a new creamy coconut flavor.

Benefits in cosmetology

This milk is widely used for the production of various cosmetics. It nourishes withered skin with nutrients, removes red spots after acne, relieves inflammation and cleanses oily skin. Homemade masks made from coconut milk saturate the skin with moisture, give the skin velvety, smooth small wrinkles.

Daily face wash with coconut milk helps prevent aging, helps to tighten the oval and restore elasticity and freshness.

Milk can be added to any cream for fortification with nutrients. Massaging the scalp with coconut milk removes dandruff, supplies the hair roots with useful substances, normalizes the secretion of the sebaceous glands, and eliminates itching.

For weight loss and cleansing

Despite the fact that coconut milk contains a lot of fats, it is often recommended for people to fight extra pounds. Nutritionists note that very often it is the lack of healthy natural fats that causes the accumulation of body fat. This drink quickly saturates even with insignificant use, due to which the brain receptors responsible for controlling appetite do not send constant signals about hunger.

Coconut milk powder - is it good?

Powdered coconut milk is also very popular. It is obtained after evaporation of the liquid, and then pulverized. Such a product is very convenient to use for the preparation of sweet drinks, desserts, as well as for cosmetics.

But you need to know that even organic milk powder will include artificial additives that prevent powder caking.

Harm and contraindications

Coconut milk is a rarity for our diet, so the first time it is necessary to use it in a minimal amount to check if there is an allergic reaction. The fact is that on the shelves of our stores and supermarkets a canned product is sold, which in its properties and composition can be very different from natural. Artificial additives and stabilizers are often added to preservation, which certainly do not benefit the body.

Of the contraindications to be mentioned:

  • fructose intolerance;
  • a tendency to indigestion;
  • hyperthyroidism.

Overweight people should not use first-pressed milk, as it is very nutritious. They are better off diluting it with water or purchasing a second-spin product.

You can include a product in the children's menu from the year on, but do not use it too often.

Is it possible to make coconut milk at home

This healthy and tasty product can be prepared at home. To do this, you need to buy coconut and ready-made chips. If it is a whole fruit, the shell must be broken, the pulp must be removed and crushed.

There are 2 cooking methods:

  1. Using cold water.Pour a glass of shavings overnight or at least for 5-6 hours and refrigerate. The chips should be completely softened and saturated with moisture. Put the softened mass in a blender, add 800 ml of water and beat until smooth. If desired, strain to get rid of small pieces of un shredded chips.
  2. Using boiling water. Pour boiling water into the chips and mix well. Leave to cool completely. Squeeze through cheesecloth. Pour the remaining cake again with boiling water and squeeze, and so 1 more time.

Then such milk can be refrigerated for a day. During this time, the cream will separate from the milk and rise up. Freshly prepared drink is best consumed immediately, since the shelf life does not exceed 2 days. In extreme cases, milk can be frozen. This will preserve its useful properties for a long time.

Coconut milk is a tasty and healthy drink that needs to be consumed at least occasionally. At the same time, preference should be given not to a canned product, but to one prepared by oneself.

Similar:More from the author: