All posts filed under: Cooking Basics

Fats Simplified

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Since I first posted this in 2013, we’ve had access to even more research, especially about saturated fats, and the news is good: they help decrease heart disease and they truly help inflammation. I updated this in ’17, ’19 and now for 2020. This is the post where I get into the most research. (You can also click on shorter posts at the bottom of this page.)Here is the latest: You need fats. Do NOT try and lose weight by turning to low fat options. Guess what they trade for fat so that the product tastes ok? SUGAR = CARBS. The trade off is that you’re hungry in an hour! Why? Your insulin just spiked.   How many times have you eaten a meal only to feel hungry in an hour or two? Fat gives us satiety, the feeling of “I’ve had enough to eat”. So, fat is your FRIEND, especially if you want to lose weight and lower your inflammatory load. Here’s simple guidelines for fat consumption. List of “Good” Fats: Vary where they …

Thriving with Kids at Home During Uncertain Times

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I posted this on my personal Facebook page last week and it has taken off, so I am sharing it here, and I have expanded it. If you are a parent, grandparent or aunt/uncle, here are things to help ease our anxiety in this time of social isolation. I will also be posting more recipes soon. Things to do with your kids: Ask them what they want to do. My granddaughter started a word document and listed some very academic goals! Kids will surprise you! They love the Prodigy game site for math. It works with parents to create challenges and our g-kids already had accounts from school. Cook with your kids. Teach them how to make REAL food. Don’t just make sweet things. Show them how to make soup. When they cook something they are proud and much more likely to eat it! Vitamins boost immunity. Ditch the junk food. Here’s a recipe. Use stay at home resources. There is even a Faceook Group Amazing Educational Resources that has a list of a TON …

The Skinny on Oils

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There is so much information on cooking oil out there, and so much confusion! On my coaching boards we discuss this a LOT, mostly because restaurants STILL think they are smart cooking with VEGETABLE oil. NO! Do NOT use canola, corn or soy! They are: not heart healthy they do NOT help your cholesterol they CAUSE inflammation they are NOT good for high heat cooking! So, with that in mind, what oils SHOULD you use? Here’s the lowdown, and it is pretty simple. The first question you should ask yourself is what are you using it for? If you are heating it to saute or roast, then only certain oils are safe. Many “good oils” degrade when heated, so you need to stay away from them. When I teach my “Food as First Medicine” class, I use this great graphic from The Academy of Culinary Nutrition: One caveat I would add: if you use butter or ghee, use only organic PASTURE RAISED butter or ghee. It is much healthier nutrition wise. For our family, we …

Beets 101

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A lot of people don’t know how to cook beets correctly, so they end up being tasteless blobs that turn your fingers red. This is a short, simple post on how to cook them correctly, which I learned from the PBS Victory Garden cookbook — which is one of the most comprehensive cookbooks on vegetables. Unfortunately I think it’s out of print. 😞 Here’s how to make beets so that they are not only completely tender, but extremely sweet. Cooking them slowly at low heat caramelizes the sugar in them and makes them taste almost like dessert. Roasted Beets This works for any amount of beets.  Our favorite are the golden beets. (yellow) Preheat your oven to 275º (yes, not a typo, only 275) I take a shallow pan, I use a ceramic one, and I cut the stems off the ends and trim any extra stuff. Do not peel them. Place them in the pan, and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on top of them, I shake the pan around a bit …

Bad-Better-Best: Coffee Creamer

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Here is something that confuses a lot of people.  What to put in coffee?  We were taught dairy was bad, and non-dairy creamer was glorified as “heart healthy”.  Guess what?  The last five – ten years of research has proven that the OPPOSITE is true.  Coffee-mate like beverages are the WORST thing you can put in coffee, and they contribute to obesity and heart disease, among other things.  They are full of partially hydrogenated oils/sugars/flavorings/stabilizers and chemicals.  THEY ARE POISON.   So, what’s better?  You’d be surprised. The best thing is black coffee, but if you’re like me, black coffee isn’t a taste that I love.  If you need a creamer, GRASS FED (aka “pasture raised”) organic heavy cream is best.  Why?  Well, first let’s undo the “saturated fat is bad” mindset we all got from years and years of hearing that it contributed to heart disease.  The enemy for heart disease, weight gain, metabolic syndrome and diabetes is CARB content, and guess what?  Heavy cream has ZERO carbs.  Next are flavored creamers that use dairy …

Bad-Better-Best: Is Butter Bad?

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I’m starting a series of quick posts that cover easy modifications you should consider when eating.  Today’s is one of the simplest.  Choose the right butter! Want more information on WHY you shouldn’t eat butter or margarine, only pasture butter or ghee?   Check out my update on fats:  It also explains that there are many other good fats to use for cooking and baking, see my posts about fats to see if your choices are among them. *Pasture butter is good for spreading, but ghee is clarified butter, so best for frying, sauteing and high heat applications. Next up:  coffee creamer, the good, bad and ugly  

Pan Perfect

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Cooking and being organic is great, but it doesn’t do you a lot of good if you’re using a non-stick pan that causes carcinogenic or toxic substances to deposit on your food.  When I went to Food As Medicine, (an amazing medical conference about cutting edge nutrition research and how food can heal us), we got some great advice from their resident chefs, including basic skillets to purchase for your kitchen. The list is pictured at the bottom of this post.  But I will also add my 22 cents about other pots you should consider.  Here they are, in order of importance: A heavy but reasonably priced Cast Iron Skillet — They are honestly the BEST thing you can do for yourself.  They never warp, and the one we bought in 1975 at a garage sale we still have and use! I’ve gifted all my kids and their friends getting married with them.  You can find them online, they are not expensive, and the brands they have below (Lodge) are what we own. All-Clad or other …