Arrowroot, Ginger and Coconut Oil

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Arrowroot, Ginger and Coconut Oil

by Pharr
(Cape Cod)

I tried to make the veggie curry burgers today. The recipe calls for arrowroot but does not provide instructions. Help! For the detox tea please quantify how much ginger 2-3" by how much? The banana bread calls for coconut oil which is very high in saturated fat. Is this safe? Thank you.

Answer: Arrowroot powder comes in bulk or in a package (the brand we use is Bob's Red Mill). You can find it in health food stores or order it online through our Whole Body Detox Diet Store or Mountain Rose Herbs. It is a white powder made from a root. It acts a lot like cornstarch and holds things together. For the burgers you just add the powder into the mix and stir, before chilling and frying them.

For the detox tea, the amount of ginger can really be to your personal taste... but the guide of 2-3" can be off of a typical root that is maybe 1" in diameter. I think of it as about 2-3 tablespoons if you can visualize that - then just slice it into the water. If you love ginger, you can go heavy on it, if you don't like it, then make it a smaller amount. You can't go too wrong unless you make it too spicy for your taste.

Coconut oil is a very healthy saturated fat because it is unrefined. Our body actually needs saturated fats to properly make hormones and function correctly. Fats have gotten a bad rap over the years which has in fact been detrimental to our health in general. Trans fats particularly are NOT good for us. So we do have to pay attention to getting the correct fats into our diet. Read our page on Healthy Oils for more information.

Thanks for your great questions!

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Arrowroot, Ginger and Coconut Oil

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Jun 16, 2010

Follow up question NEW
by: Pharr

Hi Cindy,

Thank you so much for your response. I just completed my week and I feel really good. It felt good to completely eliminate all meat, dairy, wheat and refined sugar. I already have a plan to repeat this with two friends over the summer. Thank you! I learned so much.

I did have two follow up questions. I admit I skimmed the "healthy cooking oils" section but I am still unclear on two things. First, it recommends always using "unrefined oils". Some of your recipes call for "unrefined coconut oil" and some just say "coconut oil". i.e. "raw cacao fudge" unrefined, "banana bread" coconut oil. Secondhand, {not the best way to get correct information, I know}, I have heard that the two have very different flavors. So in your recipes do you always mean to use "unrefined coconut oil" ?

Secondly, you do not recommend using safflower oil but it appears in the "carrot cake" and "chewy carob brownies" recipes?

Thanks and blessings. Pharr

Jun 16, 2010

Answer NEW
by: Jo delAmor

Hi Pharr,

Thank you for these insightful questions about the oils we recommend and use in our recipes. And thank you for pointing out some inconsistencies in the way we were referring to them on our recipe pages. We'll be modifying all our references to these oils to reflect our stance on these oils and make it nice and clear which oils we recommend.

You are 100% right...On the Healthy Cooking Oils page we recommend always using unrefined oils and to look for terms like "expeller pressed" or "cold pressed" on the labels. This is because there is a wide spectrum of quality in the oils that are available to us and the health implications of this spread are significant. Most oils are severely altered from their natural state through the extraction and refining processes they undergo. High temperatures and toxic chemicals are often used to produce the oils on the grocery store shelves. Both of these factors not only greatly diminish the nutrients available from that oil but can also transform the oils into toxic substances for our bodies.

So as far as coconut oil is concerned, we recommend always using 100% pure extra virgin raw unrefined coconut oil. Lower quality, refined coconut oils are made from dried coconut (copra) which tends to be contaminated with mold and bacteria. Once extracted they are also refined, bleached and deodorized adding harmful chemicals and stripping away the naturally beneficial nutrients.

Pure raw extra virgin unrefined coconut oil is made from fresh coconuts, never heated above 104F and is extracted and processed naturally, using no chemicals. The result is a fresh, delicious oil that is rich in lauric acid and other beneficial nutrients. This quality of coconut oil is pure white when solid and crystal clear when liquid.

Because of the bleaching and deodorizing process the refined coconut oils tend to be tasteless and odorless. The pure virgin coconut oils, however, are rich and flavorful. A pure, high quality coconut oil should have a light clean coconut flavor to it. I have, however, had experience with "unrefined" coconut oil that was not of high quality and had a strong rancid coconut flavor. Yuck. As always, quality is essential to ensure health safety and yumminess.

Our favorite brands of pure coconut oil come from Nutiva and Mountain Rose Herbs. You can purchase either of them here through our online store or look for Nutiva in your local health food store. We'll be modifying all of our recipes so that it's clear that we always recommend using 100% pure virgin unrefined coconut oil. Thanks so much for your feedback on this.

Jun 16, 2010

Safflower Oil Answer NEW
by: Jo delAmor

And now for the Safflower Oil question...
Safflower oil is traditionally polyunsaturated and therefore quite susceptible to rancidity. But, in modern years new strains of these plants have been bred to have high monounsaturated content and increased oleic acid content which makes them much more stable.

This version of safflower oil is labeled as "high oleic." The high oleic version of this oil is a good, non-saturated, high heat alternative that can be used for baking or high heat cooking in place of coconut oil, if needed. Again, and as always, purchase an expeller pressed unrefined version of this oil. Wherever you find safflower oil in our recipes you can substitute it with gently melted coconut oil if you are unsure about this somewhat modified oil.

I hope this answers your questions sufficiently.

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Arrowroot, Ginger and Coconut Oil

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Arrowroot, Ginger and Coconut Oil