AIP savory roasted coconut flakes with oregano - a salty crunchy chip substitute

The crunchy, salty things go first on AIP, and that particular loss shows up at bad moments: mid-afternoon at a desk, the last 20 minutes of a long drive, standing in front of an open pantry with nothing that fits. This is what fills that specific hole, toasted coconut seasoned savory with oregano and sea salt, ready in under 10 minutes and just as easy to make again next week.

There is no headline nutrient to hang this one on, and that is worth saying plainly rather than dressing it up. The real medicine here is adherence: a snack you will actually reach for, again and again, is part of what gets a person through months of elimination without reaching for something off the protocol instead.

Make a full jar of it, not a token batch. Coconut and oregano are about as plain and real as ingredients get, and having something this simple ready on the counter is its own small kindness to your future self at 4pm.

If coconut does not sit well with you, set this one aside and come back to it later.

Ingredients

• 3 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• Pinch of fine sea salt

All ingredients are AIP Core. No swaps needed. Oregano is an AIP-permitted herb, not a seed-spice.

Method

Heat the oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, toss the coconut flakes with the olive oil and oregano until every flake is coated.

Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until lightly browned. Watch closely near the end, because coconut goes from golden to burnt quickly.

Salt after baking. Eat warm or let cool, and store in a sealed jar.

Air fryer variation

Toss the coated flakes into the air fryer basket and cook at 300 F for about 4 to 6 minutes, shaking the basket every minute or two so they brown evenly. Coconut flakes are light and toast fast, so check often and pull them as soon as they are golden. This time is ARM-derived and not yet kitchen-tested, so treat your first batch as the test run.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*