How much fat is good for you?
All studies point towards the fact that the Western diet is too high in fat, and that lowering fat consumption has many health benefits. The Heart Foundation will only give their tick to products containing 5 g of fat or under per 100 g. This is a good guideline when shopping, as most products list the amount of fat as grams per 100 g. Remember, however, that it is not just 'low fat' but 'what fat?' you are looking for. We would always choose a natural fat product, such as butter, over a processed fat (often disguised as vegetable fat on the label) or a product with artificially lowered fat, even if the fat content is slightly higher. Just make sure you use it sparingly.
- Salad and vegetable dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup flaxseed oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- juice of 1 lemon
- freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of salt
Shake all ingredients together and pour over food. Keep in fridge.
Getting back to eating a more wholefood diet, which contains a lot of fruit and vegetables, grains, beans, lean meat, fish and natural oils will automatically reduce your unhealthy fat intake. You will soon see the health benefits. This does not mean that you have to miss out on yummy biscuits and cakes. Just make your own, and you will receive all the benefits from the good wholesome ingredients. And trust us, they will taste so much better than bought ones!
(Sometimes we add a small teaspoon of flaxseed oil to our children's cooked porridge and mix it thoroughly before we place their fruit and a small amount of pure maple syrup on top. They would never know and it is a good way to get some omegas into them! Do not heat the flaxseed oil: add it once the breakfast is cooked.)