It's Sunshine Awareness Week at Kitchen Stewardship! I'm burned on half my body as a result of testing natural sunscreens...be sure to check all this week's posts for the scoop on what works, what doesn't, and when (if?) we need sunblock at all, along with over $400 in sun protection giveaways. Check out the natural sunblock review for the scoop.
Make sure you don't miss a thing by subscribing via RSS or email.
More fat, less fat, more fat…it’s all about the balance, as you’ll see when you read this week’s Food for Thought on polyunsaturated oils. And you must, if you’re to understand the Monday Mission. (See all the Fat Full Fall posts here.)
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to choose one practical way to cut down on your omega-6 intake.
Level of Commitment: Making Strides
Omega 6s and 3s need a proper ratio. I challenged you this summer to increase your omega-3 intake. That is something that doctors and health officials are crying from the rooftops, so I wasn’t exactly groundbreaking (or even very interesting or informative) with that one.
However, once you understand the delicate dance omega-3s and omega-6s perform in your body and the need to balance them, you quickly understand that a deficit of omega-3s has the same net result as a surfeit of omega-6s. If you live in America (or probably another industrialized nation) and you consume things with more than one ingredient that you purchased in a store, chances are your diet has an excess of omega-6 fatty acids. Here are various practical steps you can take to cut down ( choose one – baby steps, remember!):
- Make your own salad dressings. Salad dressing have a ton of soybean oil in them – you can cut down omega-6s and increase your monounsaturated fat intake by using extra virgin olive oil. Here are my recipes for Italian, Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Caesar Dressings. My latest is Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing, and I’ve been liking Kelly’s ranch (I use at least half EVOO where she uses sesame oil in the mayo and did refined coconut oil once, but it’s really firm that way).
Make your own crackers. Hopefully there will be a few recipes to choose from in this week’s “Un-Processed Foods” carnival. King Arthur’s faux Wheat Thins are fabulous, and if you have a sourdough starter, Sarah has a great sourdough cracker recipe.- Get rid of your vegetable/corn oil. When you need a liquid fat for baking, use melted butter. Try sauteeing at low heats with EVOO and higher heats with coconut oil. (Why not canola?)
- Read labels closely. If you can find an alternative with a safer fat (or no fat if it comes to that), choose it. Some salad dressings are made with olive oil (or at least partly EVOO – it’s better than 100% soybean!), refried beans don’t always have industrial oils added, better spaghetti sauces have better oils, etc.
- Avoid packaged breakfast cereals. You might choose to make your own granola, just have oatmeal, try your hand at homemade yogurt (or a plain tub of full-fat yogurt will suffice, of course), or have easy scrambled eggs. [UPDATE: I actually took the time to check some cereal boxes, rather than just assuming they used soybean and vegetable oils. Lazy me. Most don't use fats, just lots of sugars! This is probably not a place to avoid the oils, but if you're nervous about consuming too much CORN, period, breakfast is a great place to cut down.]
- Make from scratch. Really, corn and soybean oils are so pervasive in processed foods, if you’re going to avoid them, you’re going to have to make your own of some things. I’m pleased to invite bloggers and others to share their “Un-Processed Foods” recipes this Thursday at KS. Hopefully you’ll find some great ideas there. Until then, here are some of mine:
Remember, good Kitchen Stewards…just choose one. When you have accomplished that one, come on back for a second. No need to overwhelm yourself or your menu plan with too much all at once!
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
I’ll give you another mission next week… Sign up for an email subscription or grab my reader feed so you don’t miss out.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Hungry for more? Related posts:
I was so pleased to see that I already do all of the above! I’ve been slowly purging processed food out of the house. The only thing we have left is an organic cheerio knock-off with very low sugar and a few “emergency” boxes of organic mac and cheese hidden in the back of my pantry, up high, so they don’t see it and ask for it.
I think I’ll try the crackers today. I’ve seen cracker recipes in the KA Whole Grain book and have yet to tackle them. They’d be a nice addition to my husband’s lunch box!
Natalie´s last blog ..A is for Alligator Bowling
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Welcome, Natalie! You’ll love them, for real. I thought they’d be better with the “white whole wheat”, by the way, but the traditional ww actually tastes more like Wheat Thins, so I’d recommend starting there. Nice job on the processed foods! I’m still working on it, myself.
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
I just wanted to thank you for a tip I got from your site. I’ve been making stock for awhile now and rarely get it to gel. I read on your stock post recently about not having too much water. That got me thinking that maybe I wasn’t using enough bones. So, yesterday I loaded up the stock pot with beef knuckle bones (about 4 pounds worth) for stock. I only had time to simmer it for five hours and then I put it in the fridge overnight. When I came down this morning to check it — GEL! So, thanks for the tip:)
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Kari,
Awesome! When I made beef stock, by the way, I used the bones twice, with decent results. The second broth was thinner, so I mostly used it for beefing up cooking, like rice or chili, in place of water, but I know it still added nutrients. If you still have the bones, esp. since they’re knuckle bones and likely quite high in gelatin, I’d give them another go ’round and see what happens!
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Thanks for all the recipes! I’m working on it, I’m working on it. I made homemade refried beans yesterday with bacon grease…..bacon…good bacon from a local source. I’m still working on garden cleanup, so I haven’t been blogging much, but hopefully at some point I’ll be able to join in the blog carnival.
Laurie N´s last blog ..Healthy Homebrew – Kombucha
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Aw, thanks, Laurie. Feel free to link up an old recipe post if you have one that fits the theme, too.
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Great post! I’m actually working on this in my own diet as I’m trying to control my rheumatoid arthritis through diet. Another hiding place for omega-6s is tilapia. I thought eating fish was good for me, but it’s important what kind.
Mrs. Mordecai´s last blog ..Freezing meals and a cooking vacation
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Mrs. Mordecai,
Oh, noooooo! That is the only kind of fish I’ve been able to get my husband to eat, and he’s been faithfully *choking* it down almost weekly since January, thinking he was getting his vital omega 3s. I’m so glad you shared (but sometimes knowledge is a bummer, too). Now I’ve got to find a new not-so-fishy fish. Anyone have any suggestions for me to try?
Now that I’ve ranted, let me welcome you to KS! Thanks for stopping by; hope you’ll be back sometime!
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Mrs. Mordecai Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
My doctor says salmon. Look for wild-caught; I think most of the problems come from fish farming.
I was diligently eating my tilapia every day last year (it’s the cheapest kind of fish I could find, that’s why) and I think it might have actually triggered an arthritis flare-up. Not good!
I’m actually looking into more vegetable options now for my omega-3s, like olive oil and flax.
Mrs. Mordecai´s last blog ..Freezing meals and a cooking vacation
[Reply to this comment]
I don’t understand why soybean oil is so bad… Isn’t soy supposed to be good for you???
kanmuri´s last blog ..Saturday Picture Post: White
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Kanmuri,
You ask an important question, and we’re about to to open the proverbial can of worms. There’s a lot of controversy about soy these days. It’s high in protein, but also phytoestrogens, endocrine disruptors sometimes linked to cancer. Real food folks say ONLY fermented soy (miso, traditional soy sauce, etc.) are good for you. Most soy in our processed foods are products derived from soy, but they don’t always have health benefits. Soybean oil is just a little part of the soybean, and because of its negative ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, it’s not something that we want to eat very much of.
For more on the “is soy good for you”, Kelly has a roundup of some good posts from recent history around the blogosphere here: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/09/the-dangers-of-soy.html
Hope that helps!
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
We stopped buying salad dressings and started making our own sometime last year. I’ll have to share my poppyseed dressing recipe tomorrow. I’m also really interested to see what you have to say about canola. I’ve heard some bad things about it, and tried to donate an extra bottle we have to a food shelter. (which is it’s own ethical question–should I donate food to people that I wouldn’t eat myself out of health concerns? But I digress…) Anyway, my husband said, “We don’t use it that much–a little bit here and there isn’t going to kill us.” I’m trying to find the balance between doing everything within my power and budget to eat healthy, and recognizing the sovereignty of God. I still tell people all the time about your post on the importance of our meal blessing. Sounds like I need to read it again!
April´s last blog ..A giveaway, and some bloggy love
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
April,
And if I’ll get another bottle after the few Tbs I have left runs out!
You are too cute! I’m curious to see what I’ll say about canola, too.
Will you enter the dressing recipe in the carnival this week? I’d love to see it!
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Thanks Katie. Unfortunately, I threw the bones out before I saw your message. I’m trying to make stock every week now so I’ll have another chance next week and I’ll try using them twice and see how it goes. Great idea!
Kari´s last blog ..Heartwarming Almond-Oat Scones
[Reply to this comment]
I gave up canola oil several years ago and switch almost exclusively to coconut oil. In the beginning getting used to a “solid” oil verse liquid was a slight inconvenience from time to time, but other than having to melt for baking recipes it was very smooth going.
As a low carber I got over my fat phobia a long time ago, it’s full fat all the way. Of course I did a great deal of research before choosing this way of eating, that and I’m old enough to remember when butter was normal and oleo was new, when going on a diet meant giving up starches, when eggs were fresh and didn’t come from the grocery store. Meals were cooked and not Nuked and families ate together at a table, imagine that. Fat wasn’t to be feared back then, my mom cooked with bacon fat (as do I ) of course she also use corn oil and shortening, the only shortening in this house is for treating my cast iron pans…. ;O)
[Reply to this comment]
More on Fats, Particularly Coconut Oil and Lard | Musings of a Housewife // Mar 13, 2010 at 4:46 pm
[...] Are Polyunsaturated Oils Healthy? [...]