Green Innovations for All Manner of Oils

I have been hearing all kinds of whisperings about the different oils available for a plethora of things from home heat to the oils we cook with so I thought I’d give a run down of some of the coolest innovations I have uncovered recently as well as some of the folks who provide said oils (if possible). Suffice to say this post is going to be fairly link intensive so feel free to come on back and read through anytime!

Avocado oil - home cooking oil (primarily). In a Vegan cookbook my Mom gifted to Matt and I, the author uses almost nothing but avocado oil for her dishes. I had never heard of it and was intrigued. Lo and behold there is an entire Wiki page dedicated to the stuff. Sounds yummy. Next time I am at the supermarket I will be looking for this oil, review to follow!

Algae oil - petroleum replacement. A leader in production of this revolutionary product is OriginOil. The process entails creation of algae (possible without impacting any ecosystems) and subsequent extraction of the oil left behind after the algae mixture is mixed with CO2, water (greywater is preferred) and minerals. The CO2 is dissolved, water hovers in the middle, biomass sinks and the useable oil rises to the top to be harvested. Without having to drill or chop down a plant. Cool.

Flax seed oil - linseed oil, many uses. I have made use of linseed oil as a furniture polish as it leaves a wonderful sheen and strong protective coat when applied in layers. The flax seed is commonly ground up and used in food products. This oil can be used by Raw food enthusiasts as it is obtained through a cold pressing method. This is linoleum (common flooring material) in its pure form. No matter what is done with the oil take care not to place any soaked rags in confined spaces as it is common for them to spontaneously combust.

Coconut oil - a million and one uses! Coconut oil comes in virgin, refined, hydrogenated and fractionated types. When reading the back of a detergent bottle, there are sometimes the words: “natural surfactant” lurking about. Nine out of ten times this natural ingredient is coconut oil. This versatile oil can also be used in cooking, bath and beauty products, petroleum replacements (especially as vehicle fuels & lubricants), for medicinal purposes and a myriad of other applications.

Bioheat oil - home heating oil. Bioheat oil is created when conventional home heating oil and clean burning biodiesel are combined. In a bold move here in my home state of Massachusetts, a mandate goes into effect January of 2010 that at minimum 2% biodiesel must be used in conjunction with all standard home heating oil. This number is low but the effort is high. As the biodiesel movement becomes more standard and homeowners find it is viable, 2% will skyrocket as the years go on; reducing emissions and increasing clean burning fuel sources nationwide.

Image courtesy Domk

Raw Energy “Cook” Book is a Winner

I admit it. I am a meat eater. Tradeoffs have been discussed in my neck of the blogosphere many, many times and this is one of those instances where I attempt to do things that help to offset; because even though it is not often there are times I still enjoy a roast beef sandwich. But like anything I attempt to eat this in simple moderation and because of that I have begun looking into a whole new world of amazing food opportunities.

One of our favorite foodie bloggers over here at Green Leaf Reviewer is Miss Muffin (formerly Wild Ginger) as she provides us with a world of vegan delights that never (and I seriously mean never) fail to impress. But lately I have been hearing a whole lot about this raw food craze and started to wonder if it might be possible to supplement my diet as a whole with something from this genre other than a salad.

Enter the book Raw Energy (124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body) by Stephanie Tourles.

Excuse me? Did someone say snacks? I was immediately intrigued as this is my greatest weakness when it comes to food. I will raise my hand right now, stand up and admit to being a junk food junkie.

So when I read that the snacks in this book are all natural yet include things such as cocoa powder, coconut, lemon, sea salt, agave nectar, blueberries and a myriad of other bold and delicious flavors I started making a shopping list.

Seriously how does Texas Tango Salsa, Mighty Maine Blueberry Muesli, Chocolate-Orange Vibration Bites or Cantaloupe-Coconut Crush Slush sound? In addition to these recipes there are about 165 more pages jam packed with yummy goodness.

What really made me the most happy, however, were the first 93 pages of this book. Not only did Tourles go into amazing detail about a plethora of snack essentials to stock the cabinets with she also discusses the benefits and energy enhancements to snacking raw. As a newbie to this type of eating I found her information invaluable.

It would be unfair for me to attach a Leaf Rating to this book as of yet, mostly because I have not made enough of the recipes within to properly do so in a fair and unbiased way, but what I will do is encourage everyone to pre-order it on Amazon** immediately!

Look for this to be rated in the next couple weeks!

**Please note the book I received seems to be an early edition as the book currently available for pre order on Amazon is titled Raw Energy 125 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body ISBN #978-1603424677.