SHIRLEY! coconut manna??

[dazygyrl]

i have some shredded coconut i'm trying to make coconut butter/manna. i did put a bit of vanilla and some ezsweets in there too. i have it in my food processor and it just stays powdery.

suggestions??

[dazygyrl]

oh...then i got frustrated and drizzled a wee bit of coconut oil there....didn't help.

[pendragginp]

This is a discussion (off site though) on making your own...
google: Get Fit Katie's Low Carb Blog: Recipe: DIY Coconut "Manna"

[shirleychef]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

i have some shredded coconut i'm trying to make coconut butter/manna. i did put a bit of vanilla and some ezsweets in there too. i have it in my food processor and it just stays powdery.

suggestions??

Sorry I wasn't around earlier.

It does turn powdery but if you just continue to let it go it will turn creamy. It takes a few minutes but the transformation does take place and it becomes creamy and wonderful. I learned that you CANNOT add CO until the shredded coconut is completely creamed, then add your CO if you want to. If you add the CO before it is completely creamed it stops creaming and never reaches that smooth texture.

I used 1 pound of coconut and got about 16 ounces of butter. I added about 1 cup of CO after it was creamed, which gave me about another cup total. The first batch was supper yummy because I allowed it to cream fully before adding the CO. The second batch I got impatient so it is still slightly shredded rather than fully smooth. Still good, but not that glorious melt in your mouth smoothness.

[dazygyrl]

yap...i shoulda waited till you responded. i ended up adding a bit more oil. i also had less than 8oz, so that may have been part of my problem too....just not enough volume in the FP. i will proly try it again sometime. would the vanilla and sweetener have affected the creaming? should that also be added after it has creamed?

i don't even like coconut but i WANT to. so i thought if i added the vanilla and sweetener it may help me learn to like it....lol.

thanks, shirley!

[shirleychef]

Hey Girly... CUTE new pic of the kiddos on your avitar...

I've been chatting with some others online about making homemade manna... the conclusion seems to be that the volume DOES matter. One gal tried 1 cup in a bullet and it would NOT turn to cream. There is another gal that like me is using 1 pound or 7-10 cups and has no problem getting beautiful smooth creamy manna.

I hope that info is helpful!! Some of those I've been chatting with are adding 1 tsp of vanilla extract or almond extract to it once it is smooth. Sounds YUMMY to me... I might try that in my next batch but I still have 2 16 ounce containers full from the last time I made it and I'm trying to be a good girl and not eat much of it every day... I could sit down and eat an entire jar in one sitting which is like over 3000 calories... OUCH!

[Felina]

Shirleychef can you post the complete recipe? I'd like to try it.

[dazygyrl]

thank you, shirley! i appreciate the info.

i was, however, introduced to nutivia coconut manna. OH.MY. my sister had a jar, so we went right out and bought me a jar...this was last thursday evening. i got home from her house monday afternoon...the jar was 3/4 gone between thurs and monday. and i don't like coconut, remember....

but if i am ever so inclined, i will try this again.

[shirleychef]

That is the first CM I tried ... LOVE IT!!! :-) I can easily eat an entire jar in one sitting... BAD BAD BAD!!! I've been better about just a couple TBSP a day lately! :-)

[heatherwagnon]

Originally Posted by Felina

Shirleychef can you post the complete recipe? I'd like to try it.

Felina I believe it's just coconut blended in the food processor until smooth then coco oil if you'd like, Shirley will definitely know though.

I have so coconut I'm going to try to make this with but haven't yet...truth be told I have NO CLUE how to use a food processor but I needed it sooooo bad

[HCG girl]

Sounds yummy, and I dont even really like coconut desserts!!

[shirleychef]

Homemade Coconut Cream
1 pound shredded organic unsweetened coconut
1 cup Virgin Coconut Oil, warmed (optional)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (optional)

1. Put your shredded coconut into your food processor or a very powerful blender like a vitamix or Ninja, and turn it on high. It will turn the coconut into a powder before it turns it into butter/cream. You may want to turn it off and scrape the sides a couple times. Depending on your machine it can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes to reach the point of being creamed.
2. If you want the added benefit of more coconut oil in your coconut cream, warm 1 cup of virgin coconut oil at a very low temperature so you do not kill any of the good stuff. I use hot tap water and put my jar in the water to warm the oil. You can add this oil to the food processor AFTER the coconut is fully creamed. Add the extracts AFTER the coconut is at the cream stage too. PLEASE NOTE: Do NOT add the oil before the coconut is butter or it will stay kinda gritty and flaky and will lack the beautiful smooth mouth feel.
3. Pour your coconut cream into clean pint jars and store until use or make coconut cream candy.

[dazygyrl]

would you mind sharing your recipe for coconut cream candy?

[shirleychef]

Coconut Cream Candy

1 cup coconut cream
2 tbsp cocoa powder
stevia or the sweetener you prefer to taste
1/2 cup coconut oil melted (if you did NOT already add CO to your cream.. if you did you do NOT need to add more unless you want the benefits of more CO)
shredded coconut (optional)
chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
chopped pecans (optional)
mini muffin wrappers.

1. In a pan or bowl combine the coconut cream, cocoa powder and sweetener.
2. On a cookie sheet, place your muffin wrappers in rows. Put in the muffin wrappers any "extras" you like. I usually put a little coconut in one row, then macadamia nuts in a other, and chopped pecans in another, and I like to leave some plain too. You only need a little bit in each wrapper, do not fill it to the brim, just a little sprinkle along the bottom is all that is needed.
3. Pour 1 Tablespoon of the chocolate cream mixture into the muffin papers.
4. Cool in the fridge or freezer.
5. Stack wrappers and place in a container. Keep them in a cool room of your house OR the refrigerator. If it is warm where you live refrigeration will be needed so the candies do not melt.

There is also a Lemon Truffle recipe somewhere on youtube or a blog out there in cyberspace. It uses lemon juice, the zest of one lemon, sweetener and coconut cream. I have not tried it yet... but will eventually and will post the combination of ingredients and amounts that I like.

[heatherwagnon]

yum sounds great shirley thanks for sharing!

[dazygyrl]

yum!! thank you!!

[hcgnc]

I think youtube user HebbieDobby has a lemon truffle recipe.

[dazygyrl]

so i made some candy...'cept i had to tweak it.

1/2 cup manana
2 T cocoa powder
2oz cream cheese (didn't want to use more coconut oil)
ezsweets
vanilla extract

it was a bit crumbly, but i pressed it all into a container and am hoping it'll firm up in the fridge.

[shirleychef]

Yummy! let us know how it turns out. If it is still crumbly then the CO should fix that. :-)

I was going to say that if you want it more chocolaty to add more cocoa to the recipe I posted. I want to experiment with cocoa powder and almond butter with the coconut manna and see what I come up with...... BUT I'm such a coconut manna addict that I'm not making any new treats with it until I'm closer to my LDW... or until I start JUDDDing which will be soon especially if I don't move lower on the scale eating strict phase 3 with some CD's.

[Felina]

Thank you Shirley and Heather.
Shirley, I was searching online for coconut manna recipe and I came across your blog. There's lots of good stuff there so I bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing your expertise. Not only that, but after reading about your family and your lifestyle, I have great admiration for you.

Oh, also, I have been losing a little and I'm under my LDW for the first time. I'll see what I weigh in the am and maybe, just maybe I might be able to add in some carbs here in p4.

[BusyMomOf4]

Thanks for this thread! I usually buy the Artisana brand of coconut butter, but it's so pricey. So... tried to make my own today. Didn't come out too bad, but I think I needed to process it a bit longer as it still has little bits of shredded coconut in there. I processed it somewhere between 12-15 minutes. Stopped because my food processor was getting hot, so didn't want to ruin it.

I will definitely try this again (and maybe just take a little longer to do it letting the FP rest for a bit every now and then). The price of a bag of organic coconut ($3.75) is way better than the price of Artisana coconut butter ($10 something). I got about 1 3/4 cups out of a 16 oz bag of coconut. Good deal!

[dazygyrl]

hey, miss shirley...

i just got a CASE of shredded coconut from amazon yesterday. going to try this again.

[shirleychef]

I find 1# or more works best...smaller amounts do not work as well. So if you have a FP or large blender put in as much as you can... or 1- 1.5 pounds.

Let me know how it goes!! I will get really powdery then all of a sudden it will thicken up. DO NOT add extra oil until it is totally smooth, then if you want to add melted CO & vanilla or almond extract go for it! Some add a titch of sea salt too. :-)

[adelinesdream]

busy mom, I was looking at your weight loss journey and I saw you've done many rounds. if you are still checking out this thread and see me, I need help with my maintenance, and may I ask if you used real HCG or homeopathic. I struggle and end up gaining back the weight on maintenance, I need help that I don't do that again this time. I think I've done 4 rounds of HCG that I can remember, I didn't keep track cause they were spread far apart. What is the secret to maintaining and going back on a round and continuing to go down down down. thanks Adeline

[adelinesdream]

Shirley is that coconut butter for, like a butter or a candy, or what?

[dazygyrl]

it turned out PERFECT!!

(we won't talk about the plastic spoon bit i had to fish out of there....ahem...)

but, it's turned out creamy and yummy! i didn't add anything to it as it tasted just like the nutivia stuff! which is what i was hoping. i have it in the fridge now to solidify and then i'll store it at room temp.

i got 12, 8oz bags of coconut for $24. so that's 6 JARS worth of coconut butter. it costs $8-9 for ONE jar of the nutivia butter!! CRAZY!!

[shirleychef]

Coconut butter is coconut meat that is creamed like peanut butter is from nuts. It is creamy in texture when warmed and is fabulous for dipping fruit in, or spreading on things. I personally love just eating it off the spoon! YUMMY! I do use coconut butter to make coconut candies similar to the cocoa crack.. but it has a creamier texture.

Maintenance.. that is a journey for everyone. I've had rounds where maintenance has been stellar.. and others where I fell into old bad habits and simply refused to eat what and how much I knew I ought to... it is all part of the learning process. Hang in there!!

[aerin8]

Ingredients
2 Tbsp Coconut Manna
1 tsp Stevia
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate until firm. Break into small chunks to serve.


I made this a few days ago for a fat fast....yum! I keep picking away at it. The original recipe called for 2 T of sweetner, but I love the coconut manna directly from the jar and didn't want to make a "candy" that tasted more like artificial sweetner...

[shirleychef]

I'm the same way when I make "manna" candy. I don't add as much sweetener as when I make cocoa crack.

[dazygyrl]

(pssst...did you see my reply above, shirley? )