What fats/oils we use in our gluten free and vegan baked goods

People are always asking us what ingredients we use in our products and why we use them. So, we are going to discuss some of our ingredients every week here on our blog. These week we are starting with our fats. The two main fats we use are olive oil and coconut oil (very occasionally we will use soy butter though usually done per customer request). In some of our raw products, our Pure2 raw line, we use cacao butter as well. We still believe in moderation with any fats, those we chose to use these fats over any other fat do the health benefits of them. Why do we use these fats? Extra virgin olive oil is derived from the first pressing of the olives and has the most delicate flavor and most antioxidant benefits Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are discovering has excellent health benefits. For more information on olive oil check out: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=132 http://nutra-smart.net/olive.htm http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/an01037 These are just a few sites with information about olive oil. You may do your own research and find out more. The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, and much more. Here is some more information on coconut oil: http://www.coconutdiet.com/health_benefits_coconut_oil.htm http://www.coconut-connections.com http://www.coconut-info.com/ http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org These are just some sites that discuss coconut oil, there are plenty more research and articles on this great product. What is Cacao butter? It is what white chocolate is made out of. It contains no chemicals, no hexane and no solvents. Cacao butter goes great in dessert recipes or as skin moisturizer. Cacao butter is made by cold-pressing the organic Cacao nibs (which we will talk about at another post) into a "cake" in such a way that the oil begins to separate from the protein and fiber. It is one of the most stable fats known, containing natural antioxidants that prevent rancidity and give it storage life of 2 to 5 years. There are more great benefits of raw cacao butter which we will post on a later date. So check back in for more information.