Put Some Coconut Oil On It

This stuff is AWESOME. I can't even tell you. You can seriously use it for everything from cooking to soothing a rash. It's extremely healthy for your body, inside and out, and has a zillion practical uses as well.

It was a little pricey at our local grocery store so I stopped buying it for awhile. But I recently found it at Sam's Club for $8 for a 20 oz jar so I stocked up :-) (at the grocery store the jar was half this size for a couple dollars more). You can sometimes find good deals online as well. The good thing is a little of this stuff goes a very long way, so it lasts a while.

Currently, it is our #1 go-to as a lip balm. My son gets horribly chapped lips, but he REFUSES to put anything on them. I even bought him a super cool, Star Wars chapstick that was colorless, odorless, tasteless, and looked like a light saber (it had a light on it so it glowed red when he turned it on).

He loved it....as a toy. Wouldn't get it anywhere near his lips. I have to sneak into his room a couple times a night to put lip balm on him. Not fun.

Then I had someone tell me they used coconut oil as a lip balm, so I tried it out. LOVE IT! It is soft, silky, and instantly soothes chapped lips. And the best part - my son will use it! I should have known he'd have no problem rubbing food on his face ;-)

And when I say a little goes a long way, I'm not kidding. To generously cover both his lips (and the chapped areas above and below his lips) I only need to scrap a tiny amount on the tip of my fingernail and it covers all the problem areas.

Here are a few of my favorite uses for this awesome stuff:

Lip balm
Body lotion
To cook with as a butter replacement
In smoothies
On mosquito bites
On my son's eczema (just found this one, we'll be trying it next time he flares up)

I googled around and here are a few other awesome uses:

As a natural SPF 4 sunscreen
Mixed with salt to remove dry skin on feet
Rub a little inside your nose to help with allergies
Anything baby related - as a diaper cream, baby lotion, to help with cradle cap, as a nipple cream for nursing moms (and it can help treat thrush)
As an eye makeup remover

And, one of my all time favorite uses and the reason I started buying the stuff.....you can make a healthy chocolate snack out of it :D 

Here's the recipe (which I found on this awesome blog):

I prefer to use agave as a sweetener, but you can also use liquid Stevia drops, maple syrup, honey, or any liquid sweetener. This is what I do:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder 
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted) 
• 1 Tbsp agave nectar (this is the original recipe - I played around with the amount a bit to make it a tad sweeter as my kids don't like dark chocolate. It makes it taste a little fruity, but it's yummy!)
• Optional - different flavored extracts or other add ins (crispy rice, nuts, etc)

Combine the coconut oil with your sweetener, then stir in the cocoa powder and stir until it's totally smooth. Then pour into any flat container and freeze until it is set (store in the freezer).

Simple, yummy, and healthy! :D