28 Ways to Use Coconut Oil, the World’s Best

There are hundreds of ways to incorporate coconut oil into your daily cruelty-free routine. Love the smell of coconut? Try unrefined oil for a light fragrance, or use refined oil when you prefer no scent. Here are our top 30 ways to use coconut oil:
1. Toothpaste (for animals and humans): Combine equal parts baking soda and coconut oil. Add stevia to sweeten and/or an essential oil for flavor.
2. Hair conditioner: You can leave the oil on your hair as an overnight conditioner or make a defrizzing conditioning spray.
3. Skin moisturizer: Whip coconut oil, a couple of drops of vitamin E oil, and an essential oil together for a quick DIY skin lotion.
4. Face/body scrub:
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup sea salt
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Couple of drops essential oil (if you want it to be scented)

• Combine the ingredients and apply to skin.

5. Shaving cream: You can use coconut oil instead of shaving cream or as aftershave lotion (check out number 3!).
6. Lip Balm: Scoop a dollop of coconut oil into a small container, and you’ve got a portable, cruelty-free lip balm.
7. Coffee creamer: The key to using coconut oil as coffee creamer is blending it instead of stirring it.

8. Frying Oil: Oil up that pan with coconut oil to make any dish healthier.
9. Deodorant: You can use coconut oil by itself as a deodorant, or follow this recipe:
3 Tbsp. coconut oil
6 Tbsp. baking soda
Couple of drops essential oil

•  Combine the ingredients and apply under arms.

10. Furniture polish: Yep, it makes wood look shinier.
11. Cold sore soother: This truly miraculous oil kills bacteria and helps rejuvenate cells, thus helping pesky cold sores heal.
12. Mosquito bite soother: The same properties described in number 11 help heal mosquito bites, too.
13. Paw and skin treatment for cats or dogs: If your animal’s paws are cracking or he or she has dry skin or a hot spot, try applying coconut oil to the affected body parts.
14. Dog or cat food supplement: Add coconut oil to your dog or cat food to help make coats shiny and skin more hydrated.
15. Makeup remover: Apply coconut oil with a cotton pad to your eyes and face at the end of the day.
16. Chocolate Fruit Pops: You can make these with bananas, kiwis, or any other fruit!
3 bananas or 6 kiwis
12 popsicle or lollipop sticks
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut oil

• Quarter the bananas or halve the kiwis.
• Puncture each piece of fruit with a stick, place in a freezer container, and freeze.
• Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan or microwave oven.
• Dip the frozen fruit into the chocolate mixture.
• Place each piece of chocolate-covered fruit in the freezer container and refreeze.

Makes 12 servings
17. Chocolate-Dunked Coconut Delights!
18. Pan greaser: Use coconut oil instead of questionable hydrogenated substances.
19. Baby lotion: Want to keep your baby’s skin soft and smelling sweet? Apply to skin as needed.
20. Lubricant: Yep, that’s right. Just be sure not to use coconut oil with latex condoms. Try polyurethane ones instead.

21. Yeast infection treatment (for animals and humans): Coconut oil contains caprylic acid, which is excellent for combating yeast infections both internally and on the skin and in the ears. You can mix the oil with food or apply it topically. For dogs, the dose is 1 tsp. per 10 lbs.bodyweight per day.
22. Butter for baking: Use coconut oil as a substitute for butter or margarine.
23: Butter for popcorn: Same idea as number 22! You can pop the corn using coconut oil, and also use it as a topping—it melts wonderfully. Then add salt for savory popcorn or cinnamon and sugar for a sweet snack.
24. DIY shampoo (for animals and humans): 
1 cup pure liquid castile soap
1 cup water
1.5 Tbsp. coconut oil
5 drops your favorite essential oil (Try peppermint oil.)

• Combine ingredients and apply to hair, as usual.

25. Moisturizing face mask: Once a week, cover your face with oil before bedtime (and sleep with a towel on your pillow!).

26. Makeup brush cleaner: The oil helps cut through the dirt on the brushes.
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 cup warm water

• Combine the ingredients.
• Soak the brushes in the mixture overnight.

27. Shoe polish: Yep! Make that vegan leather shine by softly rubbing a dollop of coconut oil into it with a washcloth.
28. Cuticle oil: Soften your hands during a manicure with this cruelty-free moisturizer.

Why and How to Freeze Blueberries

Ahh, summer. Full of hazy days, humid nights, and lots and lots of blueberries. Those sweet orbs of azure joy are welcome anytime of year, but especially right now, when they provide afruitacular (fruitacular?) balm for the grossest weeks of summer.

That’s a flowery way of saying that blueberries are currently on major sale at both my supermarket and Costco, going for about $0.16/ounce. That’s just about as cheap as they’ll get around here, and I want to preserve the bounty for the winter months. (That’s when I  crave blueberry pancakes, but have to usually settle for acorn squash pancakes. It’s just not the same.)

Fortunately, freezing blueberries for future use is easy as (blueberry) pie, and a heckuva lot cheaper than buying off-season ones come January. All you need to do is follow these simple steps. You’ll thank me come Christmas (because surely, there’s no one more deserving of expensive gift-like things than a babble-prone, extremely lax blogger you barely know.)

Anyway, let’s get to it.

Step 1: Cut a hole in the box. Buy an Ark-of-the-Covenant-sized carton of blueberries from your local farmer’s market, big box store, or preferred fruit venue.

Step 1.5: Get some freezer baggies while you’re at it. Honestly, they’re nice to have around, regardless. Tom Bosley was right on.

Step 2: Take a picture that you may someday use as a computer background. Make sure it is well-lit and in focus, so people (note: your mom) think(s) you’re super awesome.

Step 3: Measure out your desired amount of blueberries. It could be in cup or half-cup increments, or by weight. Whatever you prefer. For my own nefarious purposes, I did eight ounces at a time.

Step 4: Place the blueberries on a small baking sheet. Stick that sheet right in your freezer.

NOTE: Blueberries are weird in that you should generally wait to wash them until right before using ‘em. Less mushiness that way.

Step 5: Freeze for a few hours. Overnight is best.

Step 6: While the freezing process is occurring, watch the finale of Friday Night Lights and contemplate your values. Hope that someday you may make Coach Taylor proud.

Step 7: Once berries are frozen through, pour them into a freezer-safe Ziploc baggie. Get as much air out as possible, using a straw or your purty, purty mouth. Then, label that sucker.

NOTE: You do not have to write “Frozen Blueberries,” as so brilliantly demonstrated here. Odds are you’ll know they’re frozen when you remove them from … wait for it … yep, the freezer.

And that’s pretty much it. The blueberries should keep for a couple of months this way. (If you start seeing major freezer burn or frost buildup, it’s probably a pretty good indication they should be used soon.) Try them in smoothies, crisps, or the aforementioned flapjacks. Viva la France!

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