Get Fatty

Image credit: Herbcompanion.com

If my heart is telling me it is the right thing to do… why is it such a struggle? This journey back to vegetarian is not as easy as I thought it was going to be- sure, I feel great and my stomach problems have virtually vanished. I am eating well, simple, but well. I am not hungry often, and my body is adapting nicely to this change. But the cravings… they’re not there, for the most part. Until I am at school, cooking up a big pot of Chicken Cacciatore, roasting off a big breast of Chicken Supreme, pan-frying chicken fingers or stuffing a leg for Chicken Ballotine. And I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I try to focus on where the chicken came from, and I apologize for the graphics- the process I went through to cut through the spine, ribs cracking as I split the helpless dead bird in half to prepare it for cooking. The torture it went through before it reached my cutting board and the repurcussions within my body for consuming it.  I know I don’t want to eat that. Somehow, it still seems so very good to me. But my heart, and my body, say vegetarian- at least the majority of the time. So what is a girl to do?

Deciding what is truly best for me is harder than I ever could have imagined.

On a similar note, I have been noticing a difference in my energy and my body since focusing on eating more real foods. Nick and I took a trip to the famer’s market on Saturday and I stocked up on lushly colored vegetables- blood red tomatoes, deep purple potatoes, thick bunches of organic kale, peppers in every color imaginable. Aside from the daily organic lollipop, I have been filling my plate with nature’s bounty, and my body is thanking me. I have also been focusing on eating a variety of grains- last week barley, wheat and oat bran provided me with the bulk of my starches, this week I am focusing on rolled oats, buckwheat noodles, rice pilaf and banana bread. But veggies, fruit and grains are not the only components of my natural diet.

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Eat fat.

During my quest to eat more naturally, I have been thinking a lot about fat. I love fats, I mean really- who doesn’t? They add an irreplacable texture and flavor to foods. They fill you up, and, if they’re the right kinds- they provide you with a plethora of heart healthy nutrients. However, I was not always this way. Fats used to be the enemy, during my disordered eating days. Now, I have realized the benefits- satiating, heart healthy, not to mention tasty- of fats and oils. But not all fats are created equal.

I like to focus on fats that are the most minimally processed. Olive oil being one of my favorites, butter being on the top of my list, coconut butter, almond and flax oil up there as well. Of course there are many more I would like to try.

I really like Heidi Swanson‘s philosophy; if you can’t make it in your own kitchen (for example, pressing olives/almonds/etc to extract their oil), it is not natural.

When it comes to cooking, I choose my fat by what kind of heat I am applying to the dish. For a quick sautee or lower heats, I use butter- because as my Chef  (my very slim, healthy chef at that) always says, Butter is love. Now, I know butter contains a good amount of saturated fats, but I don’t pile it on. I use a small amount- less is more, and it adds a flavor that is impossible to replicate. Love, really.  And can you get any less processed than cream churned into butter? It’s almost as natural as natural can be. I look for organic, unsalted varieties.

For other low-to-medium heat dishes, or to drizzle on salad as a dressing, I like extra virgin olive oil- it is pretty much my all-purpose oil. I like to find fine, organic, unrefined and cold pressed artisinal varieties. It is pricey, but 100% worth it. The type of olive oil is also crucial- I prefer italian and greek to cook with, spanish or greek for drizzling on salads.

For higher heat, I occasionally use canola oil- but I don’t like it and am trying to steer clear of it, because it is highly processed, and it is rare to find an unrefined, organic canola oil. As a substitute, I really like sunflower or safflower oil, although I need to use up my bottle of organic canola oil before I buy a new oil!

I love coconut oil, even though it has gotten a bad rap in the past for being highly saturated. The good news? Your body doesn’t react the same way to plant-based saturated fats like coconut like it does animal-based saturated fats. It doesn’t have the same cholesterol-increasing effect, and therefore we are safe to eat this healthy, delicious fat- in moderation, of course.

Other favorite cooking and drizzling oils include  sesame oil, which I use in virtually all my asian dishes, flax oil, which provides a nutty taste, almond oil, walnut oil and peanut oil. The last three are a bit pricey and I buy when I can- but they provide distinct tastes that add incredible complexity to many dishes. I always try to find organic.

Oils I have not tried and want to try include pistachio oil, pumpkin seed oil, avocado oil and hemp seed oil.

I try to avoid margarine at all costs- even though it says “trans-fat free”, it may not be. And nothing beats real butter. However I do occasionally buy Earth Balance- it is 100% trans-fat free and has a lovely taste in and of itself. As I mentioned before, canola oil is far too processed for me, so I try to avoid it, as well as shortening, all-purpose vegetable (usually soybean) oil, corn oil and grapeseed oil- all of these either contain or can contain trans fats, are extremely high in saturated fats, or are refined.

For other sources of healthy fats outside of cooking, I rely on lots of nuts and nut butters, avocados, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds and sunflower seeds.

What are your favorite fats/oils? To cook with? To use on dressings?? What are your favorite sources of healthy fats??

xo

K

Tagged as: real food