Coo Coo for Coconut Oil!

Coconut Oil: Trader Joe's

We have been getting tons of submissions about coconut oil lately and it seems like everyone is going coo coo for coconut oil!  Everyone loves coconut oil because not only does it have different purposes, but it's really good for your health as well.  Coconut oil is a significant source of Vitamin E!

Sure, there are hundreds of different uses of coconut oil, but we've broken down the list to the top 10 easy, conventional ways to use coconut oil, so you can give it a try!

1. Immunity

Eat one to two spoonfuls of coconut oil to boost your overall immunity function.  Coconut oil will help fight against any viruses and bacteria that may be inside your body.  Eating a spoonful will also help your colon with digestion.

2. Hair

If you're looking for a natural, organic product that will help strengthen, lengthen, and make your hair shinier- well, coconut oil will do it all for you.  Melt the coconut oil under natural heat (do not microwave), and apply it all throughout your hair to create a hair mask and leave it in for a couple of hours before you rinse it out.  If you have a shower cap, leave the hair mask on overnight to give it an extra boost.  

3. Nails

Put coconut oil all over your nails and cuticle to strengthen your nails.  Remember, oil can stain fabric so be careful before you touch any of your favorite closet pieces!

4. Body Lotion

Coconut oil will not only leave your skin feeling nice and smooth, but using coconut oil for body lotion has actually been proven to reduce cellulite and stretch marks! Which is why so many pregnant women uses Coco Butter, which contains coconut oil to prevent or reduce stretch marks.

5. Face Moisturizer

There are different reasons why you should use coconut oil as your face moisturizer and here's why:

   -Prevents and reduces wrinkles and sagging.

   -Evens out your skin tone.

   -Helps heal sunburn 

   -Leaves your skin feeling smooth and silky. 

6. Cooking

Replace unhealthy vegetable oil with coconut oil when cooking and baking.  You can also use coconut oil as a non-stick spray for your pots and pans- Trader Joe's actually carries a coconut oil non-stick spray can.  If you don't like the flavor of coconut, don't worry- the taste won't seep through into your dish.

7. Make Up Remover

Many people use oil to remove heavy duty waterproof mascara and eyeliner, but by using coconut oil, it does the same work while evening out your skin tone and reducing wrinkles and sagging around your eyes.

8. Deodorant

Weird, right? We know, but many people utilize coconut oil for deodorant by dabbing just a little bit for a natural, organic deodorant.

9. Tanning Oil

Instead of buying a $7 tanning oil spray that contains tons of different chemicals, spend the same amount of money on a jar of coconut oil with multiple uses and still be a bronze beauty!  The oil will absorb the sun and will give you a natural glow.  It also doesn't feel as sticky so it's wonderful!

10. Lip Moisturizer

Carry around a little container of coconut oil around with you to moisturize your lips and also give that natural shine.  The great thing about using coconut oil is that your lips do not become heavily reliant on coconut oil, unlike chapstick.  

Try these different ways to use coconut oil!

How do you use coconut oil?  We would love to know!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie... ever

The chocolate chip cookie, the mother of all cookies.  There's hundreds and thousands of recipes to make "the best one", but there's one special recipe that's been floating around that The Sorority Secrets will reveal today.  It's literally perfect; not too sweet, not too rich... if you like vanilla, you'll definitely like this recipe. Oh! and not to mention that it's always soft and gooey (Sakura doesn't like the other word for "gooey", so we won't say the word that rhymes with "joist")!

As we promised, this is a 2-in-1 post... so we have 2 secrets to reveal today!  The other secret is from our lovely reader and food blogger, Rhea Sommer.  We always see in recipes to use "room temperature ingredients", well do you know why? Rhea told us that it is important to use room temperatured ingredients because these ingredients bond and form air traps that expand while baking giving you a light and fluffy texture!  Make sure to use Rhea's secret when making these delicious chocolate chip cookies!  

Ingredients

1 Cup (2 sticks)- Butter *room temperature!*

1 Cup- Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup- Granulated Sugar

1 Teaspoon- Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon- Vanilla Extract (add 1/2 tbsp or 1tbsp more if you like Vanilla like we do!)

2 Large Eggs

3 Cups- Flour 

1/2-3/4 Bag of Chocolate Chips (depends on how chocolatey you like it!)

Directions

-Heat the oven to 375º F

1. Cream the butter with the beater. The texture of the butter is really important to your end result; make sure that it is creamed, not melted.

2. Add brown sugar, sugar, baking soda, and vanilla! 

3. Mix, mix, mix! Make sure that it's mixed really well. It will be a grainy texture from the sugar.

4. Add the eggs.

5. Mix, mix, mix.... and mix!  You will beat this section for about 5 minutes at the highest speed.  The baking powder and the eggs will combine to make the texture light brown and fluffy, almost like whip cream! (Taste to make sure that you added enough vanilla during this step after you mix!)

6. Add the flour and mix.  You're going to want to mix it until the batter is stiff enough that the batter won't stick on your hands.

7. Add the chocolate chips and mix again!

8. Roll them into quarter size balls and place them on the cookie sheets

9. Pop in them oven and wait 10-12 minutes!

Enjoy your yummy cookies!

Have a secret that you would like to share?  

E-mail your secret recipes to secret@thesororitysecrets.com

Meet Lauryn Evarts

Girls, meet Lauryn. Lauryn, meet our girls.  Lauryn is the face, creator, and founder of The Skinny Confidential.  Girls from all over the country have been obsessed with Lauryn's lifestyle- health and fitness blog and she also happens to be our sorority sisters' brother's girlfriend! (small world, we know.)  The Sorority Secrets had a chance to sit and interview this So-Cal sunkissed beauty to find out a little bit beyond her blog.

Make sure to visit The Skinny Confidential for great healthy recipes and fun workout tips!

Thanks Lauryn! xo

1. What inspired you to start this blog, Lauryn?

The idea of The Skinny Confidential started while I was attending SDSU. 

The lunch options were hideous so I began modifying and substituting my meals. I would take the chicken off the street tacos from Rubio's & add it to a salad from another cafe. I started carrying fruits & veggies (I know, what a weirdo) in my handbag. 

Let's just say I was that girl taking the bread off my sub at Subway. After a year of doing this I wanted a platform to share my tips/tricks that I collected along the way! You can read my whole fitness & health journey here.

2. What's your go-to healthy snack?

Hands down: avocado! I'm obsessed. It's a clean, healthy snack that takes no time to make. Slice one open, add some sea salt, chili flakes, & a squeeze of lemon. Yum!

3. When you're not blogging, what do you like to do?

Being at home, spooning my chihuahua (also known as 'the most beautiful girl in the world'), drinking a glass of chilled champagne in bed, while reading...is probably my heaven on earth. 

But when I'm not relaxing, you can find me taking Pilates, hiking, juicing, cooking/baking, watching Real Housewives of Whatevs, teaching fitness, going out to dinner with friends, shopping (well, online shopping), hanging with my babe, creating, &/or taking pictures (<< I LOVE photography)!

4. You seem really busy with The Skinny Confidential, how do you find time to work out and stay healthy?

Honestly, it's difficult. The Skinny Confidential is my baby. Sometimes it's really hard to separate work from my relationships/friends/family. There have been countless Friday & Saturday nights where I've worked when everyone else is out partying. Even though The Skinny Conf is consuming, I love it. It's my absolute passion & nothing about it feels like work.

When it comes to working out, I multitask like crazy. If I'm teaching Pilates, I will do arms & abs with the clients. If I'm on the Elliptical, you'll def find me returning a million e-mails. When I'm working out I'm also constantly thinking of new ideas for the site. 

Multitasking is my middle name!

5. What beauty products can you not live without?

I die over Cetaphil. It's a super cheap cleanser that gets the job done. This kind of Great Lash mascara (ya know, the one in the hot pink tube?) is the best mascara ever. And I cannot live without Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker- it's totally nostalgic & gives me the perfect punch of red. 

6. What's your breakfast of champions?

A piece of Ezekiel (low sodium) toast with a swipe of coconut oil & a sprinkle of cinnamon. I also love Suja's 'Fuel' (fresh pressed juice).

7. What are your top workout songs?

You can find my four favorite workout playlists here, here, here, & here. The next playlist will be available on the blog next week! Stay tuned ; ).

8. What do you like to wear when you workout?

If everyone's wearing it, I hate it. I get bored seeing the same crap on everyone. I will wear vintage tees with black pants & bright Nike Frees. I also love Bia Brazil- she just gets a women's bod. Lorna Jane is another favorite! 

9. What can people expect on your blog?

They can expect a lifestyle. People ask me to categorize the blog...& it doesn't really fall into one specific category. The Skinny Confidential is all about balance. How to balance diet, exercise, relationships, style, lookin' like a sexy hottie, family, friends...& life! 

They also can find my YouTube channel! It's called The Style Kittens- it's where fashion meets skinny. I have teamed up with jewelry/style guru, Jacqueline Nicole Brown to bring my readers everything girly!

10. How do you feel about wearing makeup to the gym?

If it works for you, go for it! I'm certainly not lookin' like Kim K. when I'm headed to the gym. It's just not necessary to contour my cheeks when sweating! 

But to each its own. I like little chap stick & tinted moisturizer (obviously with SPF). When I'm outside, I ALWAYS wear a hat. Because no one likes wrinkles.

Whatever you feel like doing, do it! I mean, you never know who you'll run into right ; )?

Breakfast On the Go!

Start your day with protein (in the form of meat, seafood, eggs, nuts), carbs (in the form of fruit, veggies) and quality fats (in the form of avocado, nuts, olive oil and coconut oil). Protein will stabilize our blood sugar when coupled with a carb. Eating a carb alone will only yield a short amount of energy and spike our blood sugar (which is not good for our body); while protein will keep us going for hours, and satiate us much longer. Also, for the girls that workout, protein is extremely important for rebuilding muscle tissue and quicker recovery. 

Here are my personal favorite breakfast meals and snacks when I have:

5-10 minutes: easy to enjoy in the car or when you get ready in the morning.

• smoothie made with protein powder, almond or coconut milk, berries and banana. 
• Sweet tip: add a splash of almond extract or honey. 

time to relax and enjoy:

• eggs with shrimp, sautéed veggies and avocado, topped with pico de gallo.

mid-late morning hunger:  these quick snacks/meals are great to have in your purse, car and work desk. For easy transport, carry these items in ziplock baggies!

• fruits and veggies: apple slices with cinnamon, celery with almond butter, carrots, bell pepper slices, banana (all travel well)
• homemade trail mix: raw cashews, pistachios, walnuts, almonds and/or pecans; dried fruit; unsweetened coconut. 
• bars such as Lara, Kind, or Trio (gluten and lactose-free are ideal). An easy homemade bar recipe can be found here.

Courtney Schwagler, RD

Registered Dietician

Superbowl Snacks: Puppy Chow

As we mentioned in Superbowl Snacks: Rolo Pretzel Delights, we are really excited for the Superbowl! The Superbowl would not be fit without some snacks to munch on, so here is the recipe for the last snack we plan on taking to our Superbowl parties: Puppy Chow.

Puppy Chow
Source: Adapted by Chex Mix
Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups original/plain ChexMix square cereal
2 cups powdered sugar

Pour the nine (9) cups of original/plain Chex Mix square cereal into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter/margarine in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Remove the bowl from the microwave as soon as the chocolate chips have melted. Add and stir in the vanilla extract.

Next, pour the melted chocolate mixture into the large bowl of Chex Mix square cereal, making sure to coat the cereal mix with chocolate (using a spatula to disperse the chocolate is best).

Lastly, pour the powdered sugar into a 2-gallon ziplock bag and proceed to spoon in the chocolate-covered Chex Mix cereal. Seal the ziplock bag and shake it to thoroughly coat the cereal mixture with powdered sugar.

{ENJOY!}

Superbowl Snacks: Rolo Pretzel Delights

We are so excited for the Superbowl and have been gearing up to root for our favorite team (*cough*49ers*cough*). In preparation for the BIG game, we've decided to put together a couple fun snacks to munch on [all involving chocolate of course..lol]. These snacks are ridiculously easy to make and are perfect to bring to any Superbowl house party: Rolo Pretzel Delights & Puppy Chow! First up, Rolo Pretzel Delights!

Rolo Pretzel Delights
Source: Adapted from Rolos
Ingredients

1 bag of pretzels
1 bag of Rolos
1 bag of glazed pecans

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, lay about 16 pretzels onto a pan with aluminum foil (or parchment paper). Top each pretzel with Rolos. Place the Rolo-covered pretzels into the oven, baking for 3-5 minutes or until the chocolates have fully melted. Take the pretzels out of the oven and quickly top it with a glazed pecan. 

{As easy as 1, 2, 3!}

Who will you be rooting for while you're munching?

Recipe of the Day: Lemon Bars

Last night, each of our sweet tooth's kicked in, begging for some sugary goodness. We decided that dessert would fulfill our craving and left it to you guys to decide what we should bake. One of our fab readers, Victoria, suggested we whip up something that wouldn't require a lot of kitchen appliances. Sugary goodness....limited kitchen appliances...We couldn't think of a more perfect treat to fulfill these two must haves and that would be quick and easy to make: Lemon Bars!

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup of softened butter
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour

Lemon Curd

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cups of flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 regular sized lemons (to be juiced)

~optional: powdered sugar

*9x13 inch pan to bake

First, grease your baking pan with oil and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, in a separate bowl combined the Crust ingredients (softened butter, white sugar, and all purpose flour). Once well mixed, pour the crust mixture into the greased pan, pressing it into the bottom of the pan to form a nice crust mold. Place the crust-mixtured pan into the oven and let it back for 15-20 minutes. Remove the crust mixture, but keep the oven on.

For the Lemon Curd mixture, first combined the dry ingredients into a bowl (the white sugar and flour).  Whisk in the eggs and juice from the 2 lemons second. Pour this entire mixture into the now heated crust and pop the whole mixture back into the oven to bake for another 20 minutes.

Let the mixture cool allowing the lemon curd to settle in. Sprinkle the powdered sugar as desired on top of the mixture (optional). Cut into squares (serves up to 12) and you're all done!

Enjoy...{we did!}

Happy Launch Day!

The Sorority Secrets from The Sorority Secrets on Vimeo.

We've been working hard since September 2012, and the day is finally here.  Welcome to our site!  We can't wait to share our secrets with you.  Check out our video above, created by the talented Ty Sugg of TunLL Photo, Video, & Creative Arts.  

Also, a special thanks to Boutique To You for letting us use their fabulous clothes for our video shoot.  Bonus, they're giving us a special promo code just for you-- our readers!

Use the promo code Secret15 for 15% off of your entire purchase at Boutique To You.

Good Egg?

Mistaking a good egg from a bad egg could ruin a delicious omelette that you made for breakfast, or the homemade chocolate chip cookies that you were making for your honey.
We recently found out a simple little trick to find out whether your egg is good or bad and all you need is a bowl and water!

Simply fill up your bowl with water and place your egg in it. 

If it...

Sinks- It's Good

Floats- It's Bad

A bad egg will float because there is less liquid inside.  Keep in mind that eggs typically last about 3 weeks after you bring them home from the grocery store!  By knowing this trick, you can save at least a little bit of money on eggs!