12 Steps to Whole Foods
Avoiding Bad Fats, Enjoying Good Fats How Can I Eat Coconut, Olive, and Flax Oils? This is an easy and fun step in month 4 of your 12 Steps, because some of the coconut oil recipes are snacks and treats, and flax oil can be easily added to salad dressings (replacing ¼ of the olive oil) and green smoothies you’re already making. The recipes in this chapter will give you new ideas, and Chapter 11 has plenty of ideas to use coconut oil in treats, as well. Coconut Oil This oil is excellent for frying, baking, desserts, popcorn, and “buttering” whole-grain toast. Substitute for butter or shortening in any cookie recipe, using it in its solid form. Coconut oil doesn’t work well in salad dressings (or in things that are cold, such as green smoothies). That’s because it becomes solid in the refrigerator (lower than 76°), and unprocessed oil has a strong coconut flavor. Some of the main dishes in Chapter 6 use small amounts of coconut oil, which you can replace with olive oil if you don’t like the slight taste of coconut in the food. You can use coconut oil as a solid fat (like shortening) or as a liquid oil.If your home is colder than 76°, and you want liquid oil, don’t microwave it (which kills nutrition with radiation). Instead, just put your bucket of coconut oil in a sink with a couple of inches of hot tap water for a few minutes until enough oil becomes liquid to pour out. Several coconut products are in the recipes in this book. However, while they are all good for you, these are the coconut products you should use, in order of highest to lowest nutrition: 1. Raw young coconut meat and liquid (perfect electrolyte balance, completely raw and unprocessed—see my GreenSmoothieGirl YouTube video on how to open them: www.tiny.cc/3X3Xi) 2. Extra virgin, organic coconut oil 3. Coconut cream concentrate 4. Dried coconut, shreds or flakes (from a good source, not the sweetened kind containing the toxic chemical propylene glycol) Extra Virgin Olive Oil This oil is rich in oleic acid and antioxidants and is an excellent salad oil. It is comprised of long-chain fatty acids that contribute to body fat, so use it in moderation. Use olive oil for salad dressings, as well as for sautéing when you don’t like your food to have a slight coconut flavor. The greener your olive oil is, the more nutritious and unprocessed it is—so don’t buy olive oil that doesn’t say “extra virgin.” Extra virgin means that the oil came from the first pressing of the olives and is not heat treated. Flaxseed Oil This oil is best added to a green smoothie. I put a couple of tablespoons in my blenderful every day, unless I will be eating flax crackers with my smoothie for lunch. The other way to use flaxseed oil is to replace a little of the olive oil in salad dressings with flaxseed oil instead. Do not heat flaxseed oil. 102 12 Steps to Whole Foods © Copyright Robyn Openshaw
Avoiding Bad Fats, Enjoying Good Fats Summary Know the difference between good and bad fats, because fats are critical and necessary for a healthy life. Obsessively counting fat grams will not lead to health and leanness. I have personally eaten a handful of nuts and one entire avocado daily for extended periods of time with absolutely no weight gain over my ideal weight. Actively seek out adequate amounts of good dietary fat, including unprocessed, organic coconut oil; extra virgin olive oil; and refrigerated, fresh flaxseed oil. Coconut oil, used in baking or directly on the skin, is metabolized more like a carbohydrate, in the liver, than other fats. It supplies medium-chain fatty acids missing in most Western diets, and is high in lauric acid, an immune-system support. Extra virgin olive oil can be used in sautéing and in dressings. It is linked to longevity, is well documented in many studies of the Mediterranean diet, and has many heart-healthy nutrients. Flaxseed oil, used cold only (not for cooking), helps address an Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency in our diet; it is a compound found in very few foods that the body cannot manufacture from other materials. Flaxseed oil in salad dressings or green smoothies can help prevent mood disorders and hormone imbalances and it has cancer- and heart disease-preventative effects. Eat a variety of high-fat whole plant foods like avocados, seeds, and nuts every day. Avoid “like the plague” fake fats like margarine and shortening (and other hydrogenated fats such as rapeseed oil found in low-quality peanut butters), vegetable oils, and any processed oil such as canola and safflower. If you purchase specialty oils (such as almond or sesame) for special recipes, remember that “virgin” oils are unprocessed and others should be avoided as much as possible. This month, you have a small number of recipes to try, but Chapter 11 (page 299) has many treats that feature dried, shredded coconut and coconut oil, if you want to augment your experimentation this month. Chapter 6 (page 157), Chapter 9 (page 245), and Chapter 10 (page 275) also have recipes using coconut. Using the tips above for each oil, using these oils is simple, in both your food and your nightly beauty regimen. Your Journal Entry What changes do you notice, using these highly nutritious oils, both externally and internally, and avoiding processed oils? 1. Do you notice any difference in your skin, lips, and/or hair using coconut oil topically? 2. Do you notice any differences in your hair, skin, or nails from internal use of lipid-rich, high-nutrient oils? 3. Did you gain or lose any weight while using these oils? 4. What are your favorite ways to make sure you get the wide-ranging benefits of these various oils in your diet? 5. Do you feel better using these oils rather than the refined vegetable oils or butter or shortening that you used before? 6. What are your favorite recipes in this chapter? 7. Any other observations during this month? © Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 103
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Avoiding Bad Fats, Enjoying Good Fats<br />
Summary<br />
Know the difference between good and bad fats, because fats are critical and necessary for a healthy life.<br />
Obsessively counting fat grams will not lead <strong>to</strong> health and leanness. I have personally eaten a handful of nuts<br />
and one entire avocado daily for extended periods of time with absolutely no weight gain over my ideal weight.<br />
Actively seek out adequate amounts of good dietary fat, including unprocessed, organic coconut oil; extra<br />
virgin olive oil; and refrigerated, fresh flaxseed oil. Coconut oil, used in baking or directly on the skin, is<br />
metabolized more like a carbohydrate, in the liver, than other fats. It supplies medium-chain fatty acids missing<br />
in most Western diets, and is high in lauric acid, an immune-system support. Extra virgin olive oil can be used<br />
in sautéing and in dressings. It is linked <strong>to</strong> longevity, is well documented in many studies of the Mediterranean<br />
diet, and has many heart-healthy nutrients. Flaxseed oil, used cold only (not for cooking), helps address an<br />
Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency in our diet; it is a compound found in very few foods that the body cannot<br />
manufacture from other materials. Flaxseed oil in salad dressings or green smoothies can help prevent mood<br />
disorders and hormone imbalances and it has cancer- and heart disease-preventative effects.<br />
Eat a variety of high-fat whole plant foods like avocados, seeds, and nuts every day. Avoid “like the plague”<br />
fake fats like margarine and shortening (and other hydrogenated fats such as rapeseed oil found in low-quality<br />
peanut butters), vegetable oils, and any processed oil such as canola and safflower. If you purchase specialty<br />
oils (such as almond or sesame) for special recipes, remember that “virgin” oils are unprocessed and others<br />
should be avoided as much as possible.<br />
This month, you have a small number of recipes <strong>to</strong> try, but Chapter 11 (page 299) has many treats that feature<br />
dried, shredded coconut and coconut oil, if you want <strong>to</strong> augment your experimentation this month. Chapter 6<br />
(page 157), Chapter 9 (page 245), and Chapter 10 (page 275) also have recipes using coconut. Using the tips<br />
above for each oil, using these oils is simple, in both your food and your nightly beauty regimen.<br />
Your Journal Entry<br />
What changes do you notice, using these highly nutritious oils, both externally and internally, and avoiding<br />
processed oils?<br />
1. Do you notice any difference in your skin, lips, and/or hair using coconut oil <strong>to</strong>pically?<br />
2. Do you notice any differences in your hair, skin, or nails from internal use of lipid-rich, high-nutrient<br />
oils?<br />
3. Did you gain or lose any weight while using these oils?<br />
4. What are your favorite ways <strong>to</strong> make sure you get the wide-ranging benefits of these various oils in<br />
your diet?<br />
5. Do you feel better using these oils rather than the refined vegetable oils or butter or shortening that you<br />
used before?<br />
6. What are your favorite recipes in this chapter?<br />
7. Any other observations during this month?<br />
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw <strong>12</strong> <strong>Steps</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Whole</strong> <strong>Foods</strong> 103