Tropical Traditions Coconut Flakes - Review & Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed.***
Winner: Jennifer

I hope you like coconut! Tropical Traditions was kind enough to send me a GIANT bucket of their Organic Coconut Flakes to try out. I'm talking about 2 lbs of fluffy flaked coconut here!The coconut is dessicated, so 2 lbs is a lot! I can't wait to use it in lots of things from curries to cookies and bars. It comes in a 1 gallon pail that I admit I had a little trouble opening. It has a break-off tab, and you peel off a strip, and then bend back the tabs to open. But the tab that you pull the strip with broke off completely... Thanks to sharp scissors and determination, I did get it open. To close it I had to kneel on it! That tells you just how strong the seal is! I am sure that with more openings and closings it will become easier to do. Sometimes you just have to put your back into baking!

This arrived with perfect timing for that last minute holiday baking. But I've done a lot of that - I decided to make Oatmeal Energy Bars. I got the recipe from my Canadian Living Baking Book(which I recommend - lots of great recipes), but you can also find it here, at the Canadian Living website. (Of course, there are loads of recipes on the Tropical Traditions blog too - just search for "coconut flakes"!) And although I was planning for these to be lunch treats for my husband to take to work, they are so pretty and tasty that they're going in the holiday tins, too, cut small into bite-size pieces.Check out that big bucket of gorgeous coconut! I also used Tropical Traditions Organic Thick Rolled Oats in this recipe (you can read my previous review of those here). The coconut smelled wonderful as soon as I got that lid off. It's crispy and fresh-smelling. I like flakes better than shredded, because to me shredded coconut has a sawdusty texture. I'm weird, I know.I didn't have apricots for the recipe, so I substituted raisins. I would have used dates, only someone (okay, it's my husband) doesn't like them. Bah. And slivered almonds? I only had whole. So I whizzed them in my mini food processor to chop them up. You could really substitute anything for the dried fruits and nuts in this bar. I love dried cranberries, so those go in for sure! But you could go for variety by adding anything from desserty options like chocolate chips and mini marshmallows to pepitas and goji berries.

And here's what you do when the recipe calls for a 9x13" pan, but your 9x13" pan is in the fridge, full of a cashew and eggplant casserole - line a bigger pan with parchment paper, fold up an edge to approximate a 9x13"-ish size, and fill the rest of the pan with your pie weights (we use beans). Looks funny, works great.
Look how they turned out! Yum! If you wanted to get fancy, you could drizzle them with melted white chocolate or that "yogurt" coating stuff (aka partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, whey powder, yogurt powder and sugar... not healthy at all).

Tropical Traditions has generously offered one of my readers the chance to try the Organic Coconut Flakes for free!

The giveaway:
A 2 lb pail of Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Flakes!

How to enter: Head over to Tropical Traditions and let me know one other thing you'd like to try, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

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  Win ~Organic Coconut Flakes~ from @TropTraditions at Emily's Latest @emilyisland US/CAN http://bit.ly/fCuvqU (Ends 1/6)
  

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I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺ If you already do any of these things, it still counts for entries!

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends January 6th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Note for Canadian entrants: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway. (FYI - it's unlikely to have a charge, being well under the $60 that incurs duty charges. There was no extra charge on my shipment, which came to Canada quickly and packaged well.)

I received the product to review, but was not otherwise compensated for this review.