On Sunday, July 25, Chef Amber West and I will be teaching a special weekend raw food Breakfast and Brunch class. Hope you can join us! We’ll be demonstrating a variety of healthy breakfast dishes, including one of my favorite recipes, Tropical Fruit Crepes, by Chef Matt Samuelson. Before I got into raw foods, I wondered how to make a raw crepe and found a recipe that was as simple as blending up bananas, spreading the mixture on a teflex sheet and dehydrating. In Matt’s gourmet recipe, we  include the water and flesh of young Thai coconuts in both the crepe and the filling. I appreciate the fact that this dish, with the incorporation of coconut, is so tasty and healthy at the same time!

Coconuts have an amazing range of health benefits. They are high in electrolytes and minerals, particularly calcium (for bones), magnesium (for the heart) and potassium (for muscles) and contain a range of B vitamins, as well as dietary fiber to help with digestion.

Students in our classes use coconuts in a variety of their culinary creations in our Ethnic Flavors in Recipe Development and Raw Fusion Spa Cuisine in Recipe Development. I am always so amazed by there creations! Here are a few of the creations from our last Gourmet Chef Training:

Salad with smoked salmon made from coconut flesh and coconut chips on the side

Turkish Baklava with a coconut wrap

Thai Dumpling with Shiitake Cashew Tofu - with a coconut wrapper and coconut chip on top

Recently, we have also started incorporating another coconut product called coconut aminos, as a substitute for soy sauce, nama shoyu or tamari. It is made from the sap of the coconut tree and is raw, low glycemic, gluten-free, dairy free, vegan, and an abundant source of 17 amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. For more information on the benefits of coconut, check-out John Kohler’s article at the Living and Raw Foods Community site.  John also has an entry in our Hot Raw Chef Video Recipe Contest that includes coconut. I’m looking forward to watching all the amazing demos in the contest! Go to www.hotrawchef.com/to watch the videos and vote for your favorite!