Saturday, June 28, 2014

Travel: Bali, Indonesia

A little different from my usual posts. I recently spent 6 days in Bali, and here are a few snapshots of my holiday.



Lots of restaurants to eat at. While a fairly cheap price, meals were pretty small compared to home.





Our hotel pool was awesome. And because it was 30 degrees every day it was much appreciated.

There was a nice big buffet breakfast included on our stay too which was great. And a free private shuttle back to the airport.

 



Sunset on Kuta beach was really nice. We stayed at the Kuta Paradiso Hotel. And although I don't intend on going back to Bali again, if I did I would definitely stay there. It was a great location and a really nice hotel for it's price.




More dining out, in between day trips and walking around.






On one of our day trips we went to a coffee plantation and got to try out a lot of different coffees...including Luwak coffee. Where the only way they can get the bean is to get a possum-like animal to eat it and poo it out. The coffee is ridiculously expensive considering it comes from animal poo.





Turtle releasing on Kuta Beach. We didn't do it, but we watched people do it. The turtles are so tiny, going out into the big ocean.







Lots of 2 for 1 cocktail deals. Frozen Strawberry Daquiris for me.




A lot of temple visiting, it was a shame it was quite cloudy on the day we visited this temple. 







Fresh coconut juice, is of course a must have.






We went to the monkey park which was cool. I didn't feed them, but mum did.







A ginger, lemon, carrot, and celery juice on our last night in Bali.



We had a full day before going home, since our flights were at 10pm. So we spent the day at Bali Safari and Marine Park which was really awesome. To pat a lion cub and get a picture only cost me $12 NZD.





I love to travel, and I'm glad I've been. But I would prefer to go back to Malaysia than Indonesia. It was a nice holiday, but 5 days was enough time to spend there.

Review: Artisana Coconut Butter

In my most recent iherb order (which is quite a while ago...I am in need for another!) I decided to try coconut butter. I never really liked coconut oil, so thought I might like this better. I love coconut.

To be honest, it's not a whole lot different to coconut oil. It does have more of a coconut taste, but the texture is only slightly softer.

It is often used as an oil replacement when cooking, and supposedly this butter version is better for spread. It can also be added to smoothies, energy bars and more.

My favourite way is to spread it onto crackers or toast and sprinkle cinnamon over top.

This raw, organic food is made only from whole coconut flesh. 

A serving size is 2 Tbsp (32g):

Nutrition: 186 calories, 18g fat (16g saturated), 7g carbs, 5g fibre, 1.9g sugar, 2g protein, 10mg sodium.

Obviously high in fat, it is low sugar and has a good amount of fibre.

Taste: A mild coconut taste. You can taste it a lot more than coconut oil, so I prefer it.

Texture: I wouldn't really describe it as "butter" it's more of a softer version of the oil. You can always warm it up to make it smoother. It melts in your mouth, which is nice.

Value: Pretty expensive, but it is raw and organic. I bought it for $11.05 USD on iherb for 454g (16 oz)

Overall: 6/10

It's just okay. For those looking for an alternative to butter and oil, it will be great for those who love coconut and want that subtle taste added to their food. It's good to have in the cupboard, and I prefer this over coconut oil. But I don't think I will be using it too often.

Want to try it out for yourself? You can get your own here, and use my code LDJ484 to get 5-10% off your first iHerb order.