If I say Coconut Milk…

If I say Coconut Milk, what do you think of? Something in a carton from the Alternative Milks aisle? A can of something in the canned milk and baking aisle? Something in the can that’s so thick that a “church-key” can opener is useless… Yet all those things are classified as coconut milk. They can all be used in recipes with varying results, success depending on paying attention to the fat content. You can sub most of the coconut milks in cartons for standard dairy milk. You can use the higher fat canned coconut milks that you’ll find in the Asian food aisle for standard dairy milk too….shake it really well and be prepared for a really yummy rich and dense result.

Coconut milks with low fat
So Delicious brand Serving size: 1 cup (8 oz.) 4 gr. fat ( 5%) 45 fat calories
Vita Coco brand Serving size: 1 cup (8 oz.) 3 gr. fat ( 4%) 50 fat calories

Coconut milks with high fat
Trader Joe’s brand Serving size: 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) 11 gr. fat (14%) 110 fat calories (Organic)
Thai Kitchen brand Serving size: 1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) 12 gr. fat (15%) 120 fat calories (Organic)
Thai Kitchen brand Serving size: 1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) 14 gr. fat (22%) 140 fat calories (Keto friendly)
Chaokoh brand Serving size: 1/4 cup (2 oz.) 15 gr. fat ( 23%) 150 fat calories
Aroy-D brand Serving: 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) 17 gr. fat (26%) 150 fat calories

Which to use for what? If you don’t want dairy milk, coconut milk should be a nice substitute. However…if you’re cooking foods with an Asian/East Indian influence, the milks with higher fat content will give you richer sauces and soups.

I’m honestly in search of a “favorite” coconut milk. I used to know what was immediately available, but things have changed. Right now I’ve got Chaokoh and Aroy-D in the house. I confess: I really like the little 5.6 oz cans! There are just two of us and the little cans are just right! It seems I used to have Mae Ploy coconut milk in my stash, but that’s been awhile. I’ll get back on which worked best for what….because I appear to have my head in a cloud of Thai!!

Banana Muffins

I’ve never done a lot of baking here…but… Everyone needs good breakfast bread recipes now & then & this adaptation is my favorite (at least for now!!)!

With grateful thanks to Sally’s Baking Addiction, I’ve used her recipe almost exactly – I just play some of the lines a little…. If it’s an odd situation to melt the butter….I use coconut oil instead. If the bananas don’t yield quite enough fruit…I add applesauce (don’t tell, but with so much cinnamon in the mix, apple butter will be ok to about 1/3 cup of that 1-1/2 cups).

When everything was mixed together, I got exactly 12 muffins using a fairly level size 16 culinary scoop.

Out of respect to Sally… I’m only going to give you a list of the ingredients…her recipe is here….
3 bananas, very ripe
flour
sugar
melted butter or oil
baking soda and baking powder
cinnamon and nutmeg
vanilla

These muffins had a delicate soft texture, while bringing wonderful banana flavor to the table. You’re welcome to add nuts…walnuts or pecans would work well. Enjoy!!