The Reality About Healthier Fats and Oils

A glass bottle of golden extra virgin olive oil sits beside fresh green olives, highlighting its rich and pure quality.

The reality about healthier fats and oils

If you're aiming to incorporate healthy fats into your diet, you might initially believe it's something you have to do alone, imagining yourself eating bland, cardboard-like meals while your family enjoys richer, fatty foods. However, you can reconsider this notion. By adopting a few strategies, you can create delicious, healthy meals for the entire family. Here are some tips.

Don't Cut All Fat

Some followers of low-fat diets make the mistake of either completely eliminating fat from their diet or continuing to consume trans "highly processed" fats. This approach overlooks the fact that your body requires fat. Certain vitamins, like the crucial Vitamin D, are fat-soluble, meaning they need fat for absorption. Therefore, ensure you incorporate healthy fats, such as olive, avocado, or flaxseed oils, into your meals.

Replace Trans-Fat with Healthy-Fat

Check your fridge to identify which trans-fat foods you can swap out. This ensures you have healthier-fat alternatives available for cooking. It's particularly simple to find more nutritious versions of dairy products. Health experts advise choosing healthier fats and less processed dairy items because your body struggles to absorb Vitamin D from dairy without some fat.

Switch to lean Meats

Ensure your kitchen is supplied with lean beef, poultry, and fish. Additionally, fatty fish, like wild caught salmon provide healthy fats, so it's beneficial to have them on hand. Chicken, beef, and vegetable stock are also available in leaner versions, which are convenient for various recipes. You can use the broth for sautéing instead of heavily processed oils.

Cook without high inflammatory Fats

Discover how to bake, broil, steam, and poach foods rather than frying them. When sautéing, consider using broth as a substitute for oil, or use this opportunity to incorporate some healthy oil into your diet.

Non-Stick Cookware

Admittedly, while cast iron cookware is long-lasting, it demands more "grease" compared to non-stick cookware. You must keep cast iron well-oiled for optimal performance. On the other hand, non-stick cookware allows you to cook with minimal added fat to avoid sticking.

Healthier-Fat Baking - Substitutes

Did you know that fruit purees, especially prune and apple, can substitute for some of the fat in various baked goods? The same applies to plain Greek yogurt as well. You can try replacing half to three-quarters of the fat in a recipe with low-fat, plain yogurt. And on the topic of plain Greek yogurt...

Keep Healthy-Fat, Plain Yogurt on Hand

This is a staple in kitchens focused on healthy fats. It can be strained to achieve a cream cheese-like consistency or used as a substitute for sour cream in various recipes. Plain Greek yogurt can thicken sauces instead of using heavy cream. Greek varieties are favored due to their natural thickness.

Add Healthier Fats to your Pantry

Incorporating ingredients such as salmon, avocado, and flax seeds into your dishes enhances the flavors and provides omega-3s and antioxidants to your meals. Be sure to check labels to ensure the ingredients align with your wellness goals.

Check out our Free Good Oils List!