Many people ask why many of my recipes have the option of being so low-fat (or fat free). I wrote the answer on my FAQ Page, but for the sake of convenience, I’ll write it out again here. From the FAQ page: “Many of your recipes seem low-calorie. Why is that?”
I know a lot of the people who read my blog are trying to lose weight or can’t just eat as much as they want. I strive to make my recipes relevant for as many people as possible. Therefore, I try to give variations in the recipes so that everyone can make them. That’s why I say things like “Use sautéing liquid of choice” instead of just calling for oil. That way people can make the recipe as high-fat or low-fat as they want.
(You can make the Pumpkin Pie Stir Fry as oily or oil-free as you wish)
But especially lately, I’ve been bombarded with questioners demanding to know why I, personally, don’t use any oil in my recipes. Well, hmm… I never knew I said that! In truth, it depends on the recipe (and for whom I am cooking), but I’m not afraid of a little olive oil. I’m not going to glug back a whole jar at once, but a bit in a recipe can really amp up the flavor.
Many people fall victim to the practice of always shunning all oils when cooking. This can be a mistake: A little oil helps sauce adhere to food, so without it, food can taste bland. What happens then? One might end up dousing the food in soy sauce (high in sodium), ketchup (high in sugar), or another condiment less healthy than oil. This is especially sad for those watching their weights, because, often, the sauces added to get the food to actually taste like something end up being more calories than if one had simply used a little oil to begin with! And the higher-in-calories (or sugar/sodium) food doesn’t even taste as good.
Plus, healthy oils (olive, canola, flax, hemp…), when eaten in moderation, impart multiple benefits to those who consume them: shiny skin, luscious locks, lowered risk of heart disease and high cholesterol, and—oh yeah—delicious taste! One of my favorite “recipes” using oil (where the taste of the alternative fat-free cooking method DOES NOT compare) is a simple zucchini side dish. Without the oil, this dish tastes bland and burnt, but add a little evoo, and you get something you could swear came from a gourmet Italian restaurant… all in just a few minutes’ cooking time!
Italian side-dish Zucchini
(Boring name… I couldn’t think of anything better! Suggestions?)
- however many zucchini you want, sliced into coins
- a drizzle of high-quality olive oil (Be sure to store olive oil in a dark container. It loses health benefits when exposed to light.)
- minced garlic
- salt to taste (and pepper if you don’t hate it like I do)
Heat a pan over high heat for about a minute before putting anything in. Then add the oil, quickly followed by the garlic and then the zucchini and salt. Try not to stir too often, and do not add any water. That’s it! Once again, I’m not even sure I can really call this a “recipe” because it’s so simple. But hey, Rachael Ray has recipes with only two ingredients! So, in comparison, this one’s complex!
Question of the Day:
Do you use oils at all? If so, what are your favorite ways to use them? And what’s your favorite oil?
By the way, please don’t be alarmed at some of the small-scale studies coming out that say cooking with healthy oils is bad for you. First of all, they’re small-scale studies; you can find a study to confirm almost anything these days (Yes, there are studies that try to tell you broccoli is bad!). And secondly, look at the biggest study of them all: history! As a rule, the Italians probably consume more olive oil than anyone, and they have one of the highest life-expectancies (It’s way above the US’s).
So, just like with the Japanese in the Soy and Processed-Foods Debate, I choose to trust a large-scale study, a.k.a. hard facts deeply rooted in history. Here’s to a long, delicious life.
I agree with your attitude concerning oils. I definitely think that my cooking suffers without adding any oil, but I’ve also realized (since going vegan) that SO MANY dishes contain excessive oil. This goes for dishes from my favorite Ethiopian restaurant and foods that I buy occasionally like Sabra (I love its texture, but it has gobs of oil). Now that I recognize the presence of oil in light applications, I prefer to avoid greasy food. Mostly. 🙂
BTW, you might also like to try shredding your zucchini, which speeds up the cooking and produces a crisp texture!
When you write “sauteing liquid of choice” – What is your list of ones to use??? Thanks 🙂
Linds,
oil, water, broth, or whatever other liquid you want, really 🙂
To the person a few above me who wrote a book:
It doesn’t sound like you actually read Katie’s post. You wrote that oil has no health benefits, but this is completely not true! Please go back and read Katie’s actual post!
(Sorry, Katie, to chime in, but I don’t want anyone else reading her comment and getting the wrong idea. Like you said, some added oil in a diet is very healthy!)
Hrm. There is actually nothing wrong in her post, IMO. There might be some nutrients in processed oils but not much. Compare the nutrition of a walnut vs. walnut oil, coconut vs. coconut oil, olives vs olive oil, etc. The whole foods have so much more to offer. Its sort of like processed grains vs whole grains, IMO. Whole plant based foods, with their natural oils intact, are the most nutritious choices. 🙂
Processed oils don’t provide high micro or macronutrients, no fiber, etc. They give a good source of lipids and some vitamins but not much else, really. They can help you better process some vitamins/nutrients in the rest of your food (fat soluble vitamins and such) but that’s also true of whole food based fats. Plus, whole food based fats have the added benefit of being more satiating, in my experience.
Eating whole foods that contain healthy fats rather than using added oils is a perfectly healthy, reasonable way to eat. If someone wants to avoid added oils in favor of nuts/seeds/avocados, etc. than that’s not an issue. If someone wants to use oils, that’s also not an issue. To each their own.
Oil really isn’t necessary in a healthy diet. FAT is but you can get that from whole foods rather than processed oils if you choose. See Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat Right America stuff or the Engine 2 diet by Rip Esselstein for more on it. It’s a valid point and diet choice.
As long as someone isn’t suggest NO dietary fat at all(!) I think we’re all in agreement. Fat is necessary. Good fats come in a variety of forms. Eat the ones you feel best about. 🙂 I prefer to avoid processed oils and eat my fat whole instead of drizzling it. 🙂 More bang for my caloric buck.
Not sure where one of the commentors got the idea that oils have no nutrients/health benefits, but whatever…
I always use oils in recipes that call for oils. I may modify the amounts, but it’ll still be in there. I stirfry with oils, sautee with oils, roast with oils. To me, the dishes just aren’t the same, and the oils not only add flavour, but they help you absorb some of the nutrients there as well. Obviously I’m not sitting at home doing olive oil shots or anything, but a tbsp of oil in a stirfry that feeds 4 people is nothing to worry about.
I’m a little late to the game, as per usual but wanted to say how much I agree with what you said, Katie- oils can be good for you- noone has yet mentioned it here, but you actually need some kind of oil/fat intake in each meal for your intestinal epithelial cells to take up fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E etc) and other micronutrients- e.g. also the lycopene from tomatoes+ vitA from carrots. You definitely need fat in your diet- to synthesise your steroid hormones (like your sex hormones and one needed to for kidney functioning), also for your cell membranes, e.g proper nerve transmission. So they’re not exactly ’empty calories’, I guess in a scientific kind of viewpoint. Some even have added bonuses e.g. antioxidants such as polyphenols in less refined olive oils, and γ-oryzanol in rice bran oil- most also have lots and lots of vitE. Yes some can partially oxidise when heated above their smoking point, so if someone is worried about that- check the smoke point and go for more refined olive oils, avocado oil, rice bran oil, safflower oil etc- and of course never, never cook with flax or hemp oils- which oxidise really easily to carcinogenic byproducts. Ask anyone who fell into the 1990’s low fat diet trap and they- including me- will tell you how unhappy+unhealthy they were, despite ending up, like you said, eating more! I don’t think I could ever try olive oil on ice cream like they do in Italy though- could you?! You have such a great head on your shoulders- I read somewhere yesterday a post warning people about pseudoscience which seems to be everywhere nowadays! Sorry for writing such a novel, please remove it if you want, I’ve got my revision head on at the moment so am spouting all sorts of sciencey gobbledeegook!
Laura,
Remove it?! Are you kidding?? I absolutely LOVED your long comment. It was so spot-on and well-written! I enjoyed reading every word, so thank you for taking the time to write it.
Haha I hadn’t ever heard of pouring olive oil on ice cream before. Now I’m intrigued… I tried putting coconut oil in a pudding the other day, and it turned hard and gross… so maybe I should try olive oil! There *is* a gelato place around here that sometimes has a flavor called “olive oil and pepper” but it isn’t vegan. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to try it even if it were vegan! 😉
Hi Katie–love the site. A patient recently asked me about oils in baking and I came to your site as a reference. I love the coconut, walnut etc oils but my main concern is the canola oil—I read that it is a rapeseed oil that can affect your mitochondria –eventually leading to respiratory issues —do you know much about this? I would appreciate any advice on baking oils etc–many of my patients in the program are trying your recipes!!! And loving them, I might add.
Thanks
Angela
I hadn’t heard about that, but to be honest I usually use coconut oil when I’m baking… just because I love it so much :).
In my opinion, oil is like fruit juice. Oil is just one substance, and fruit juice is just another mono-substance. I think it’s better to eat nuts, avocadoes, and olives rather than their oils because the whole foods have more vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients, whereas the oil really only has a lot of vitamin e. The same thing for fruit juice. Now, I won’t shy away from a little olive oil to lubricate my pan, or to flavor, but I don’t go out of my way to use it.
WHATTTT??? oil is amazing! why would anyone want to NOT use oil? not only does is make things taste yummy it also is good for you in some way or something. idk thats what my mom preaches. fat DOES NOT make you fat! carbs and sugar do that! (unless of course we are talking about transfat)