Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe

 
Does your moisturizer make you nervous? Let me guess: it's either filled with questionable ingredients or wildly expensive. Or both. Like you, I've been seeking a natural alternative to those bottles of creamy (but chemical-laden) conventional lotions. It hasn't been easy. Coconut oil has always been a top contender, but it wasn't until I tried a new homemade whipped coconut oil body butter recipe that I finally found my personal holy grail moisturizer.

Whip It: The Secret to Moisturizing with Coconut Oil

I've been having an on again, off again love affair with coconut oil as a moisturizer for a few years now. I love that it's pure, natural and even inexpensive. But we don't always get along, and in the winter things get hard. Literally. I practically need a jackhammer to get enough coconut oil out of the jar to moisturize my dry winter skin. This is a serious problem, because I'm a big fan of convenience, and wrestling with a jar of coconut oil isn't exactly my cup of tea in the wee hours of the morning.

Heating the jar to melt the oil never worked for me, either, because I chronically forgot to do it! So most of the time I'd end up digging it out with my fingernails, or I'd just give up and go back to my old lotion stand-by. But deep down I felt there was a way to work things out. Coconut oil and I were meant to moisturize together. I just needed to figure out the how.

One day I ran across a recipe for whipped shea butter, and this got me thinking: can you whip coconut oil? Well, by golly, I had a brand new KitchenAid mixer sitting on my counter (my husband sure knows how to melt a girl's heart on Christmas!) and five gallons of coconut oil sitting in my pantry. Why not give it a go?

The result was a superbly light and fluffy moisturizer that far exceeded my expectations. With a jar of this on hand, I doubt I will ever be tempted to fool around with expensive store bought lotions ever again.

Want to try it out? Here's how you whip coconut oil:

Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe

I love that this recipe only requires one (yes, one!) ingredient. Anything else is completely optional. It also only takes a few measly minutes, and you'll have enough whipped body butter to last at least a month or two. In fact, if you get carried away, put some in an attractive jar and it makes a great gift! It feels sinfully luxurious as a moisturizer, and yet an entire jar of it costs less than $2 to make.

What you need:

• 1 cup coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil (optional)
• a few drops of your favorite essential oils for fragrance (optional)\

What to do:

1. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl. (You do not have to melt the coconut oil first.)

2. Mix on high speed with a wire whisk for 6-7 minutes or until whipped into a light, airy consistency.

3. Spoon the whipped coconut oil body butter into a glass jar and cover tightly. Store at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your house is so warm it melts the oil.

Tip: An electric hand mixer will work, but my KitchenAid stand mixer did an amazing job and I was able to get other work done while it was mixing away. A blender or food processor may also work, but I haven't tried those yet.

Note: Your whipped coconut oil should stay relatively soft, even at colder temperatures. I noticed mine beaded into a froth of tiny coconut oil pearls that melt right into my skin.

Looking for high quality coconut oil at an affordable price?  Check out my resources page! 

Have you made whipped coconut oil body butter? Do you have your own body care recipes to share? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Do you love coconut oil? You might enjoy these posts:

• Coconut Oil for Clear Skin

• The Coconut Oil Miracle Book Review

• Super Easy Coconut Oil Fudge Recipe

• Coconut Oil Benefits: Lauric Acid

• Coconut Oil, Weight Loss and Metabolism

• 4 New Ways to Use Coconut Oil

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Real Food Myths: Attitude Doesn't Count

Food affects our moods. This concept is well known in the real food community and I've written about it several times myself. It's also an idea that hits close to home for me, because the reason I became interested in real food nutrition was because my own emotional health (or lack thereof) was really putting my life and my family through the wringer. When you're plagued with mood swings that prompt fits of irrational anger and bouts of crippling depression... well, suffice it to say that's a real wake-up call that things need to change!

And let me tell you: real food played a key role in improving my mental and emotional health. After all, nutrition affects our blood sugar levels, our stress hormone levels, our neurotransmitter levels and so much more. It's easy to see why eating well provides a strong foundation for emotional healing.

But it's important to realize that while it is a foundation, real food is not the only factor involved with achieving emotional resilience.

In fact, promoting the idea that real food alone is the solution to all of our mental woes sets up unrealistic expectations and can ultimately cause you to feel pretty discouraged. And if you're anything like me, you'll end up chasing your tail trying to find the magical real food pill that will transform your dark side into sunshine and rainbows.

Well, I learned from experience: that ain't gonna happen! In fact, this myth just caused me a lot of unnecessary stress and ended up perpetuating the bad mood cycle by keeping me focused on the negative and the unrealistic.


Don't Let Diet be a Crutch

I would be lying if I said real food alone solved all of my emotional problems. It took a lot more than just food to really make an impact, including making key lifestyle changes and working on eradicating mental thinking habits that detracted from my life.

And all of this also took time. I started my healing journey more than three years ago, and while I saw many positive changes in my moods within just a few months, I've also noticed significant improvements in the last year as well.

And I can assure you that this did not happen because my diet became more perfect during this time...  if anything I've relaxed my standards quite a bit since I started my journey.

For me, believing that a perfect diet is a requirement for emotional health often trapped me into blaming any negative thought or bad mood on my diet. Over time, I learned this isn't a very productive way of thinking: it never motivated me to eat better, and it certainly never helped me get to a better place mentally or emotionally. In fact, it basically did just the opposite.

Once I admitted that I wanted to improve my moods whether or not my diet was ideal, it opened the door for me to discover how other factors were contributing to my moods--and how to get past them. I realized my own attitudes and thinking patterns had an enormous impact on my moods. Making changes in this area has been an invaluable part of my journey.

I also recognized that I was human and bound to make mistakes or experience negative moods regardless of my diet. Real food doesn't make me superhuman!

Real Food: One (Important) Piece of the Puzzle 

My point is not that real food doesn't matter. I do believe good nutrition is important and even crucial if you want improve your moods. It is an excellent place to start and it can pave the way for greater emotional healing down the road. And some people do experience downright miraculous transformations in their moods from diet changes alone.

But for others, real food is only one piece of the puzzle. And if that's the case for you, continuing to focus on nutrition alone is denying yourself the complete healing experience you deserve. 

What do you think? Is it all about diet or is there more to the picture than just nutrition? I want to hear your side of the story! Tell me what you think in the comments below.

Winner of the Beautiful Baby E-Course Giveaway!

I am touched by the comments so many of you left in the Beautiful Babies giveaway post. Pregnancy, childbirth, and raising healthy babies can be an emotional topic. Tears of joy, tears of angst--I've cried my share with both my children when they were babies. Hopefully, real food nutrition can save you a few of those tears of angst and leave more for the joy category!

Even if you didn't win free enrollment in the Beautiful Babies nutrition class, I hope you consider taking the course anyway. Considering how much car seats, strollers and other baby gadgets cost these days, think of this class as a worthy investment in the health and future of your baby.

If you want to enroll, be sure to do so during the next 3 days to get the best possible deal. Here's how to save $70 on the class:

• Click here to enroll now and use coupon code BEAUTIFUL20 to save an extra $20 (coupon expires October 22, 2011).
• Save another $50 by signing up on or before October 31, 2011.

And the winner is...

Lauren (Comment #7)

Congratulation, Lauren! Please contact me within the next 48 hours so we can get you enrolled in the class.

Thanks, everyone, for entering the giveaway and stay tuned for more to come...