Aluminum-Free Deodorants from Tropical Traditions

Frankincense

Organic Deodorant Roll-on

The people at Tropical Traditions have once again let me try out one of their products.  I have been looking for a deodorant that a) works! b) smells nice c) I can use on a regularly without my underarms breaking out in the itchy witchies! and d) work on DH as well.

RESULTS:
a) YES, it works!
b) I wanted to know what 'frankincense' (essential oils of wild crafted frankincense and sandalwood) smelled like but sort of thought it might be uni-sexual. My other choices were 'lavender' (essential oils of lavender, lemon and rosemary) and 'classic' (essential oils of rosewood, geranium, cedar wood and patchouli).  These might also server well for both sexes but I was really, really...you know. It smells very nice!
c) NO DESIRE TO CLAW THE UNDERARMS!
d) He acknowledges it works well. As for the fragrance, he is a bit ambivalent.

This is a winner! Next time we will try a different fragrance to see if it strikes his fancy better (men!).

Coconut Peanut Butter!

I like Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter and love Tropical Traditions! I got this a bit ago on a very warm (TEXAS) day. As it had set on the front porch a while, I had lots of time to keep rotating it to mix together the two ingredients. 

I waited until thoroughly cool and blended and tried it on some bread. I found it lots better than the organic butters I have tried in the past.

I delayed this posting until we (DH and I) had a chance to do some experimenting. First one failed: cooked chicken strips and added peanut butter at the end of cooking...split and was ucky. Second one worked: cook chicken strips alone. Warm some of the peanut butter in the microwave on medium until  more than warm. Serve over chicken strips and top with some chopped green onion. (I might have added some minced peanuts while heating the mix but we didn't have any...no extra coconut either). Third one worked:  cooked some Chinese noodles. Added finely minced onion to the butter as it is warmed. Toss with noodles and, wala, I had some quick dan dan type noodles...liked it best cold.

Tropical Traditions has lots of recipes for you like together Sweet Potato Coconut Peanut Butter Soup. I ask you, how good does that sound?? (They have tons of recipes for all their products if you don't want to invent on your own!)

Now here's the question...to add spices or to try some of Tropical Traditions other peanut butters?  I mean, look at the choices!!! I see classic (goes with everything), spicey Southwestern (cayenne maybe or Capote), vanilla cranberry (slerp), dark chocolate (love!),  cinnamon current (IE, raisin-don't even need raisin bread), onion parsley (maybe on potatoes?), Valencia (maybe orange) creamy and chunky, hickory smoked (what can i do with this!?), Thai ginger red pepper. This is like peanut butter heaven! Do you think they would let me try all of them...maybe like just an ounce of each?

100% Pure Valencia Peanuts!

Many peanut butters on the market today (including organic peanut butters) are a mixture of Valencia peanuts and other peanut varieties, often imported from outside the United States. Our Organic Peanut Butter, however, is made from 100% pure Valencia peanuts grown organically by family farmers in New Mexico and Texas. Grown in the dry climate of the southwestern United States, these peanut butters are certified organic and free from aflatoxins.

And the nuts are from New Mexico and TEXAS!!!! I mean, you gotta support your country and STATE.!  Everyone say 'YEA TEXAS'!

Peanut butter

I love peanut butter! My stepmom used to put it into the frig...urg...it would really tear up the bread! PB&;J was always a fav (in college I had to mix the two together so my roommate, who thought it looked gross, would leave it alone!) My mom used to mix it with the bananas that were going a bit off...dissappeared so fast! O, then she taught me to spread each slice with peanut butter and put thin slices of apple in between...YUM!  I had to try the 'natural' kind sold in the health store in later years. What a pain! Had to mix the old into the butter! and it didn't taste any better!

Why am I ranting on about peanut butter?

Because I get to try something new for me and I am giddy with excitement! Tropical Traditions is sending me some of their organic Coconut Peanut Butter! This is how they described it:

Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Peanut Butter is made from organic peanuts and organic coconut. Two ingredients: nothing else! No fillers, no binders, no sweeteners, and no preservatives. The peanuts are 100% organic Valencia peanuts grown organically by family farmers in New Mexico and Texas. Grown in the dry climate of the southwestern United States, these peanuts are certified organic and free from aflatoxins. The dried coconut is certified organic coconut meat from the Philippines from coconuts that are grown with no fertilizers or pesticides. This premium dried coconut contains no additives or preservatives, and is not sweetened. Unlike most dried coconut on the market, our dried coconut products are not treated with sulfites to keep them white. Together, these premium organic roasted peanuts and the premium organic dried coconut are ground together to make a delicious and nutritious spread!

No additives...nothing but coconut and peanut butter. I am hoping it is natually creamy and I can cook with it too...in dandan noodles and saty. I shall see soon and report back to you on how well it spread, etc.

O, this is what is on the label if you want to compare it with your current peanut butter now:

16 oz. size

Ingredients:Organic Dried Coconut, Organic Roasted Valencia Peanuts
Here's a bit more about peanuts Tropical Traditions uses:

What Makes Valencia Peanuts Unique

We call them nuts, but like all peanuts, Valencias are legumes, more closely related to peas and beans with one important difference: they grow beneath the ground.

Valencias are smaller, sweeter and have more intense flavor than other varieties of peanuts. They have three to five kernels in each shell and are grown almost exclusively in eastern New Mexico. In fact 90% of the Valencia peanuts produced in the US are grown within 120 miles of the Sunland plant. Portales claims the honor of being the "Valencia Peanut Basin of the Nation."

Farmers plant Valencia peanuts in May in the sandy soil of eastern New Mexico and west Texas. From a single peanut comes a beautiful plant which blooms in late August. Each blossom drops a "peg" which implants itself into the ground to grow a tasty Valencia peanut...more than 20 per plant.

Valencia peanuts love the sandy soil of the Portales valley and the surrounding high plains. After the peanuts are dug in the fall, they dry naturally in the sunny autumn days which are unique to the area. It's a climate that is vital for the Valencia- a time for the peanuts to be "kissed by the sun" before they're gathered for processing.

The peanuts destined for New Mexico's only peanut butter plant are shelled and roasted, and most of the red skins removed. Then the peanuts go through several crushing and mixing areas. 

Topical Traditions

    

You know I really like Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil, right?  Well, in another of  Bridget's (of Sweepstakes4MeAndU) contests, I won some of their Organic Teeth Cleaner.   I have been using it since it arrived. I gotta tell you, I like it and find it very effective.

You really should go visit and search out all of Bridget's Tropical Traditions reviews as she has tried many of their products!

As my skin was turn drier than burnt toast and flakier than ....their coconut, I brought some of their Moisturizing Lotions (Anica) variety.  Tropical Traditions described it as follows:

Excellent for massaging tired muscles. Ingredients: purified water, organic virgin coconut oil, organic jojoba, emulsifying wax (plant based, no soy), grapefruit seed extract, virgin palm oil, organic macerated Anica oil, and organic essential oils of wintergreen, peppermint, clove, helichrysum, and spruce.

The bad news is I found it so thick that I had to get my DH to squeeze it out for me.  Then I discovered I really don't like the smell of it.  I had gotten a really good twofer offer, hence, I gave them to DH who can squeeze the lotion out and does not care about the smell. 

Does this mean I am giving up on Tropical Traditions?  Of course not!  They are a good company with lots of other products to check out!  And because, when I bought the Lotion, I also bought CHOCOLATE!  

Yes, my friends, I am a self admitted chocoholic!  And with everyone and their brother talking about organic chocolate, I had to go for it!  Go for it, I did! All I can say is, Tropical Traditions makes some really, really good chocolate!  From a chocoholic, that's saying something!  Will, I buy their chocolate again. YES!!! Who cares about zits at my age!  

I have been trying to think of what I want to try next.  I have had two thoughts. 

Coconut Peanut Butter sounds really good. I've gotten organic nut butters before but found them a pain it the bum as you always have to stir them up as the oil is always on top. But I am thinking that the coconut oil should help alleviate that issue.

My other thought?   Yes, the deodorant.  I am so hoping to find one that works and I am not allergic to.  What flavor, Frankincense.  

And then, and then....coconut!  Flaked or shredded. or chipped..don't know but I want try some of the Tropical Traditions recipes and see if I can't come up with some to give them.

Tropical Traditions

First I have to let the people of Tropical Traditions talk about themselves...not all of it, you can go to their site yourself for that. I just want to share some points I found interesting.

When I first read about the wonderful benefits of coconut oil, I asked my wife Marianita, who grew up on a coconut plantation in the Philippines, if there was a more natural way to extract the oil from the coconut, so that we didn't have to buy the refined coconut oils found in all the stores in the Philippines. She said there was a method the older generation used to extract the oil by grating the fresh coconut, extracting the coconut milk, and then letting the coconut milk stand in a covered container for about 24 hours. After about 24 hours, the oil naturally separates from the water producing a crystal clear oil that retains the full scent and taste of coconuts. So we started making our coconut oil that way and using it for our cooking needs with our three children. ...

Today, more than 6 years later, there are other companies now selling coconut oil again in the US, most of them mass-produced by machines. But we are committed to time-honored traditional practices that have produced healthy coconut oil for hundreds, if not thousands of years. ...Today when you buy Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, you are buying the highest quality coconut oil we have to offer, and it is still made by hand and benefiting families in the rural areas of the Philippines where the coconuts grow.

Brian Shilhavy, Founder, Tropical Traditions, Inc

If you are a blog follower like I am, you will have seen this company discussed before but you might have missed the above.

Ok, "So what?", you ask. For several years now I have dabbled in food grade oils that you can add to other things food or other oils for all kinds of things. So the what is, this product is processed in a most "natural" way, "unrefined coconut oil"

The folks at Tropical Traditions have some lovely (yummy) recipes for you who need cooking ideas (so far, I have just been winging it).

I love grill cheese sandwiches...but how bad is it when I use butter on the outside for grilling. If I use the Weight Watcher cheese and bread amount, but use coconut oil instead of butter...ah, not so bad for me! Now this is what is amazing: the oil does not do much to change the flavor of my favorite sandwich! How cool is that!

I love oatmeal and have learned to like it without sugar but not without butter. Not good for my cholesterol which is one of the reasons I am eating it. You know what I tried don't you? Yes, I like the coconut oil in my oatmeal and works well when I add different fruits.

Think about adding it to sweet potatoes or regular potatoes...idea! I love making stir fry with turkey leftovers! Use coconut oil instead of whatever oil you currently use, with left over turkey, onion, thin slices of raw sweet potato, hold cranberries, and left over dressing instead of rice...you could even use some of Tropical Traditions' Coconut Flakes, too!

Hmmmm, instead of hot buttered rum, I wonder what hot coconut oiled rum would taste like???

Go visit Tropical Traditions for lots more uses and recipes....and let your imagination run or not if you are not an op-art cook.

(All underlined parts of the afore will whisk you over to the area of the site referred to.)

[Oh, Tropical Traditions sent me a jar to experiment with (test and review) but with the knowledge that I form my own opinion of products. (I like it! You might, too!)]