Tip of the
month:
ehope is a non-profit organization that forms
caregiver support networks to provide the non-medical, physical, social and
emotional support for patients at no cost.
Check it out if you know someone who needs this sort of help or if you can donate time for someone
in your vicinity: http://ehope.nu/defaultM.aspx
Food
Focus: Oils and Fats
Can it get any more confusing?
Saturated, unsaturated, poly-unsaturated, mon-unsaturated, hydrogenated,
partially hydrogenated, or transfats – which oils are which? Which are “high
heat”? Which need fridge storage, which not?
Briefly, our ancestors ate the fats
available where they were: blubber in the Arctic, olive oil around the
Mediterranean, butter in northern Europe, coconut oil in southern India, and so
on. For us, who can whistle up almost
any food the globe offers, the choices may be too abundant. Even medical researchers disagree to a
considerable extent. Consensus, however,
has arrived in the black-balling of transfats, i.e., hydrogenated oil. If you see the word “hydrogenated” on the
label, don’t buy it.
Saturated fat, which is hard at room
temperature, can be used for cooking, as it only goes rancid at extreme
temperatures: butter, lard, coconut oil, etc.
A minority of authorities claim that these fats are not necessarily
harmful. Coconut oil, for instance,
contains -- as does breast milk -- lauric acid, a strong support for the immune
system.
Olive oil, a mono-unsaturate that’s
liquid at room temper-ature, is a good choice for salad dressing. Flax oil, much in the nutrition news these
days for providing the precious omega-3 fatty acids generally deficient in our
modern diet, can be used for salads, too, but is more fragile and must be kept
refrigerated. Sesame is another tasty
salad oil.
How
much do you need? Your body requires
dietary fat for more than quick energy. Fat is used by all your organs and,
indeed, by all cells. If you are not an
Inuit on a traditional Arctic diet, you probably only want 25-30% of calories
from fat. If you are worried about
weight gain, remember that sugar and refined carbohydrates are more likely to
fatten you up, calorie for calorie.
When selecting oils, buy the highest
quality organic products you can afford. Good words to look for on the label
are organic, first-pressed, cold-pressed, extra-virgin and unrefined. Words to
avoid are expeller-pressed, refined and solvent extracted.
Two recipes this month!
1) Savory
Tahini Sauce
Prep
time: 5 minutes
Yield:
1 cup
Ingredients:
1/2
cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4
cup water
3
tablespoons lemon juice
2
tablespoons tamari sauce (soy sauce, available without wheat)
2
tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
1-2
cloves of garlic, minced
1
pinch of cayenne (to your taste)
Directions:
1. In a bowl briskly whisk together the tahini and
water until combined. It will look separated at first: just keep whisking!
2. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until
combined.
3. Adjust flavors to your taste. Add additional
water if you want it thinner.
4. Serve over grains and greens.
Note: Tahini sauce keeps refrigerated for up
to one week.
2) Avocado
Dip
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 large peeled and pitted avocado
2/3 cup of plain yogurt
1 diced tomato
A dash or two of cayenne pepper
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Mash avocado with a fork until very smooth.
2. Add the yogurt, tomato, and cayenne. Blend
until smooth. This may be done in a food processor, in a blender, or with a
fork.
3. Finish with the salt and pepper.
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