The Healthy Kitchen: Cooking Oils

 When you are cooking your dinner what is a must have ingredient? Oil, but did you know that there are good and bad oils in regard to your health? Did you know that the smoke point plays a role in how healthy an oil is. Another thing that affects the health of an oil is how it is processed. Unrefined oils are healthier and less processed but more expensive. Refined oils tend to have higher smoke points. 

What are some of the best oils to use in cooking?

1. Olive Oil

The smoke point is approximately 350 degrees. It is versatile. Olive oil is rich in vitamin E, which is an antioxidant. It has oleic acid which may have anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Olive oil can also help with lowering blood pressure and helping prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidizing. Olive oil contains heart healthy compounds and may help prevent conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

I personally love Spartan Valley Olive Oil from Springfield IL. It is a Greek product and is so good. I love to use it when popping popcorn. 

2. Avocado Oil

The smoke point is approximately 520 degrees. It is great for high heat cooking and frying. It has a neutral flavor making it a very versatile oil to use in sweet and savory dishes. The nutritional elements are similar to olive oil. Avocado oil has the same health benefits as olive oil but also may be beneficial in helping joint pain from osteoarthritis, post-meal blood sugar, and total cholesterol levels. 

I like the Chosen Foods Avocado Oil and Avocado Oil Cooking Spray. I use avocado oil for most of my cooking needs due to its neutral flavor except for certain things. I tend to use Olive oil in Italian dishes but avocado oil for most other things. 

3. Sesame Oil

The smoke point is approximately 410 degrees. It is high in the heart-heathy antioxidants and has been shown in one study to benefit those with type 2 diabetes with their fasting blood sugar. It works well for sauteing, general cooking, and in salad dressing. It has a mild nutty flavor. 

I don't use this one much, but I do like to use sesame oil when making Asian dishes and things like stir-fry. 

4. Safflower Oil

The smoke point is approximately 510 degrees. It is made from seeds of the safflower plant. It's low in saturated fat and contains a higher amount of unsaturated fatty acids. It you purchase one with at least 70% linoleic acid it could help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. It has a neutral flavor that works well in marinades, sauces, dips, barbeque, and frying. 

I have never personally used this oil type. If you have, what do you think?

There are some honorable mentions where there is some controversy on whether they are good for you or not. Like coconut oil. It may be better than some other options, but it is not as heart healthy as the ones listed above. Canola oil is another one. The issue may be more in how the oil is being used and not necessarily in the oil itself. 

The bottom line, if you have any health conditions like me you may want to choose some of the healthier oil choices. If not, choose the oil you prefer. Just remember if you are using the oil to fry a bunch of food its ultimately not going to be very healthy. 

The Grocers Kitchen: AL Dente Carba-nada pasta

 A family run business that focuses on authentic artisan style pasta. 

Carba-nada pastas are high in protein and fiber, lower in carbs at 24 Net Carbs. They are a favorite among diabetics due to the fact that it does not spike blood sugar. They are kosher, vegetarian, and non-GMO.  A serving size of pasta is 2oz. This pasta cooks in 4-8 minutes depending on the type of noodle. It is made of durum wheat semolina, wheat protein, and modified wheat starch. 

Carba-nada noodles come in rigatoni, cavatappi, fusilli, egg fettuccine, and roasted garlic fettuccine. A 12oz package will run about $4.59 online. They are sold locally at Harvest Market but only the egg fettuccine noodles. 

I have tried the egg fettuccine and it tasted good. I honestly was very surprised by how little my sugar increased with these noodles, even with an extra helping. If you load up with protein and veggies as well this would also keep the sugar from spiking. 

There is so much variety and you can do so much with these noodles. My next plan for these is to make a chicken noodle soup with the egg fettuccine noodles. 

Next time you are looking for a pasta alternative, try these noodles. They are very good in my opinion. 

The Holiday Kitchen: special Easter cooking

 For Easter I want to try some special things. I had never made a ham on my own before so I wanted to try that. Now being a single person I did not need a big ham but I found a 3LB boneless spiral ham at Aldi for under $15. The trick I did not want to use soda or juice in making the ham. This was harder than I thought to find a recipe. I ended finding a recipe for an herb crusted ham but I did end up adding a bit of honey to sweeten it up a bit. 

So the seasonings used were:

1 TBSP dried oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp of cayenne powder

a pinch of black pepper

2 tsp of onion powder or flakes

1 TBSP brown sugar

I mixed all these together and coated the ham in the mixture. Now this is for a 6lb ham, so I cut the amounts in half. I also drizzled some honey over the ham to add a bit more sweetness. I cooked this in the slow cooker for about 4 hours, basting every hour or so. I did add 1 C of broth to the slow cooker to help keep it from drying out. 

I feel like it turned out pretty well for my first attempt. Plus, I have a lot of left over ham. 

The other thing I wanted to make was not a traditional Easter treat its more of a fall thing, but I love it. Pumpkin bread was made for dessert.  This is supposed to be even better than Starbucks pumpkin bread which I love. 

The ingredients:

1 3/4 all purpose flour

1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon (I used cinnamon)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 can pumpkin puree not pie filling

1 C sugar granualated

1/2 C brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 C oil

1 TBSP vanilla extract

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease 9x5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper for easy removal. Set aside.

In medium bowl whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In large bowl, whisk the pumpkin and sugars. Beat in eggs, oil, and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the flour until there are no more clumps. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50-55 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. At the 30-minute mark lightly cover with foil to make sure the top does not get too brown. 

Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then slice and serve warm or allow to cool. 

This bread was very good the taste was a bit lighter with just the cinnamon versus the pumpkin pie spice. So, if you like a stronger pumpkin taste I would stick with the pumpkin pie spice. Also, I cooked for 50 minutes and had to cook a bit longer it was not quite done in the middle. 

Some things you can add are things like chocolate (my favorite), nuts like pecans, pumpkin seeds, cream cheese. You can also make these into muffins instead of a load. I topped mine with butter. I mean what is not made better with butter right?

This was a super simple recipe to make, and it was really good. Next time you are looking for a treat idea or a fall treat this would be a great option.