I must admit I was a Pam user. This has been a habit that has been very hard for me to break. I had heard the controversy over some oils being better for you than others but I did not know the details that went into it. I spent my morning the other day looking into this and boy was I shocked with all of the information that I found.
This blogger really explains which oils to avoid, which to use and the why’s of this. You will have to scroll down to the picture of the milk and then begin reading the information to the left of the picture but from there down the information is important. From just the first sentence Many of the oils used in the modern American diet are hazardous to our health, my attention was grabbed. It was eye opening to realize how harmful spraying my pan everyday with Pam really could be, or how cooking and baking with vegetable oil really isn’t the best idea. Most oil’s on the grocery store shelf are processed, cleaned with chemicals, and most come from genetically modified corn, canola or soy. They are heated to very high temperatures during processing; this heat oxidizes the oils. Oxidation also creates free radicals that can damage the cells of our bodies so it is best to avoid them. The processing increases the shelf-life of the oils and removes most of the natural flavoring, making them more attractive for the industrial food industry, but less attractive to the consumer. Vegetable oils, like canola and corn oil, are usually made with genetically modified corn, canola, and soy. FORTUNATELY there are some great substitutes, one of which is my new favorite, Coconut Oil.
The coconut oil that I have begun to use is nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil. As many online articles will explain coconut oil used to have a bad reputation but this is because what was being tested was hydrogenated coconut oil, this is not what is sold now and days. The nutiva website provides some great information about their product, it explains the common myths and the nutrition of coconut oil, as well as a brief overview of the product and what it can be used for. I was really intrigued about the information on Laruic acid. This article claims coconut oil it to be a “miracle” compound, because of our body’s ability to convert laruic acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties. It was interesting to hear that there are predictions of lauric acid becoming as popular and as well known as omega-3 currently is. I am interested to see if this does begin to become more well known and on the rise. What made me chuckle was on nutvia’s website they stated that Monsanto has already developed a GMO canola oil variety that is attempting to mimic coconut oil’s high percentage of lauric acid. We have learned a lot about Monsanto in my class and I thought it was funny that they would be on the cutting edge to once again take over one more thing.
Anyway, enough about the research on oils, here is how I have been using my coconut oil. My favorite thing to do is put a small amount in a pan and let it melt down and then cook my egg whites in the pan. It provides a great flavor to your eggs without having to add any seasoning or cheese which people most commonly add. I like to use just a little bit as it can become too sweet for me if I use too much but I have really grown accustomed to this and wish I had known this earlier. Another great thing is I sometimes put it on my piece of toast. I try not to eat too much bread but when I do I really don’t like to slab on the butter and jams. A nice thin spread of coconut oil on a warm piece of grain toast is delicious, I highly recommend giving coconut oil a try, again the price is not bad you can look around in stores or online for good deals too. I get my 29 oz jar for around $15 usually. A little pricey for being on a budget but well worth it.
Coconut Oil
Another great thing that has helped me break my habit of pam is the ‘misto’. My roommates parents gave this to her as a gift and it has been sitting in our cabinet empty for months. It has now become one of my favorite things. You can fill this with any type of oil that you would like and after a couple of pumps it sprays just like a can of pam would, but you can substitute it for healthier oil. We have extra virgin olive oil in ours right now and it works great for cooking veggies in a pan. The misto sells for around $10 and I have seen it at bed bath and beyond, target and I believe costco even had a dual pack. Here is a link to amazon where they are of course selling them.
Misto
Unrefined Undergrad 