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Sunday, May 24, 2009

always say never

i know, the saying is "never say never", but i'd argue that you should "always say never" to cooking with certain food items. and here's why:
  • heavy cream - it's just plain bad for you. all possible nutritional benefits are outweighed by its bad-for-you-ness. it is extremely high in cholesterol and saturated fat. yikes. even if you love a recipe using heavy cream, try a substitute - milk, ricotta cheese to make pasta creamy, cool whip on your pie. i promise. it's worth it.
  • bacon - it's not in the meat group. it finds it's position in the food guide pyramid right at the top - in the "fats, oils and sweets" category. so, i guess that would qualify bacon as a "fat"? do you really need any more convincing? if you have to, use turkey bacon... and only do it once a year.
  • shortening - again, it's high in saturated fat and cholesterol. not to mention, if i were to imagine the consistency of liquid fat, shortening would be it. yuck.
  • vegetable oil - not made of vegetables. read more about my opinion on this here. choose something better. you can do it. i believe in you. this isn't as hard as you'd think. my husband just realized last week we don't have vegetable oil and we've been married for almost 4 years.
  • butter in excess - i love cookies. i even love to put butter on my toast. but drenching anything in butter is bad. popcorn. pasta. potatoes. rolls. even vegetables. break the habit.
  • soda - drinking soda is the best way to gain weight, become dehydrated, loose bone mass, rot and discolor your teeth. does this sound like a good idea? do a test for me. for one week drink water in place of soda and let me know how you feel. you'll be surprised. (and yes, i drink it on special occasions. i'm not crazy!)
  • fried food - another confession - i love french fries almost as much as i love my husband. sorry hubby. :) but i will never, ever, ever, fry anything in my home. ever. and i don't order fried anything else at restaurants. you can bake, grill, sautee lots of things. no more frying. i even make baked french fries at home to kill my cravings. they are delicious!
that's not a long a demanding list, right? just a few minor changes and you can "always say never" to these icky ingredients/foods, too.

here's a great recipe to try. baked, not fried, chicken parmesan and it was the most delicious chicken parmesan i've ever eaten. visit meghan's blog, you're gonna bake it after all, for this and other great recipes. (and the panko bread crumbs in this recipes are perfect. totally worth it. try an asian market - way cheaper than the progresso brand version at the grocery store.)

3 comments:

Meghan said...

Oh my gosh! I am so behind on my blogging - it's been a crazy few weeks! This is a great list - I wish I could say I followed every rule - I try at least! That chicken parm is so good- I need to make it again :)

BrittWilk said...

there are definitely exceptions to every rule - the whole point is that they are exceptions, right?. :) for example, i found myself totally craving homemade ice cream just now... for which i would definitely have to buy and use heavy cream... ahhhh!!

Lexie said...

I totally agree with you on that list! I just read today about panko bread crumbs in Paula Deen's magazine. Sound good..I will have to try them.

Btw...love your blog!!

healthy cooking on a budget

disclaimer: i don't claim to be an expert on cooking, weight loss or even healthy eating, but i do love to cook, find healthy, taste bud-friendly tricks and most of all, i love to eat!

qualifications: what qualifies me to blog on cooking healthy on a small budget? well, as my husband is still a student, my budget is not what you'd call large. and as for the healthy part, when i was 10 i was diagnosed with pancreatitus - a disease that doesn't effect me much anymore unless i eat food that is too greasy or has too much fat (in which case, well, let's just say i get really sick). this had steered my experience and limited cooking expertise in a health-conscious direction.

please feel free to comment, criticise, rate recipes, try ideas and make requests for future posts!