Opinions on Canola Oil Salad Dressing

cindytw
cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
edited November 27 in Social Groups
Yes, I avoid this usually, but there is a particular brand of Italian dressing I LOVE! I have tried and tried to duplicate it and can't! The only reason I avoid it is canola oil, so my question is...how bad do people think it is to just eat that one item of canola oil?

Replies

  • bluefish86
    bluefish86 Posts: 842 Member
    Canola oil is a refined seed oil, so it doesn't really fit into a paleo diet... personally though, I subscribe to an 80/20 philosophy and if the worst thing you do is have a couple of tablespoons of salad dressing once in a while, I think you're still doing ok. You just need to be honest with yourself, and if everything else you're eating is wholesome, paleo food then I wouldn't be overly concerned.
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited December 2015
    I went and bought it and its DELICIOUS, just as I remembered!! I feel I am offsetting it by buying coconut oil potato chips for my salty indulgences!! :blush:

    Funny story...I got an email from some Paleo discount thing...coconut oil organic potato chips 50% off!! I am a salty, fried food girl who LOVES chips and fries!! So I thought coconut oil chips are a huge step up from regular when I get my cravings so I ordered a case (of what I thought were 12 servings). Nope!! 12 regular sized bags!! LOL I put them in these secret storage compartments we have in the house to keep them out of sight and mind!!
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    I think canola is garbage and I resent how it's been marketed however I will prefer it over soy oil. As mentioned, a bit here and there doesn't have to be a big deal but for me the politics behind the stuff is worse than the actual oil. I really resent that soy and canola are in everything so buying as little as possible of those things from Big Food makes me feel a bit better but I'm not as resistant to organic canola oil in smaller brand food products.
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    I think canola is garbage and I resent how it's been marketed however I will prefer it over soy oil. As mentioned, a bit here and there doesn't have to be a big deal but for me the politics behind the stuff is worse than the actual oil. I really resent that soy and canola are in everything so buying as little as possible of those things from Big Food makes me feel a bit better but I'm not as resistant to organic canola oil in smaller brand food products.

    I hate it too! But I LOVE my dressing!! Hence how I am torn and wanted opinions!
  • mccraee
    mccraee Posts: 199 Member
    If you love it and it's keeping you on track otherwise I would embrace it. You're eating it once a day? On a big pile of greens?

    After a while maybe you'll get to the point where you dilute it with some other oil or mix it half and half or make something from scratch that you feel better about. You might come up with a way to get off the juice (ha ha). But, really I would pay myself on the back and keep going until I was ready to deal with it

    I have to admit that I love Newman's own lite sesame dressing. On cabbage w/ avocado. Maybe some grilled chicken in there an I'm in heaven. If I have a bunch of cilantro and green onions I can toss on the top I feel like I just had a 5 star lunch or dinner! When everything else about my diet is falling apart I will go to that. It actually helps me get back in the grove and it's easy. And a treat. And I can walk thru the grocery and get dinner as fast as any take out. I
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited December 2015
    mccraee wrote: »
    If you love it and it's keeping you on track otherwise I would embrace it. You're eating it once a day? On a big pile of greens?

    After a while maybe you'll get to the point where you dilute it with some other oil or mix it half and half or make something from scratch that you feel better about. You might come up with a way to get off the juice (ha ha). But, really I would pay myself on the back and keep going until I was ready to deal with it

    I have to admit that I love Newman's own lite sesame dressing. On cabbage w/ avocado. Maybe some grilled chicken in there an I'm in heaven. If I have a bunch of cilantro and green onions I can toss on the top I feel like I just had a 5 star lunch or dinner! When everything else about my diet is falling apart I will go to that. It actually helps me get back in the grove and it's easy. And a treat. And I can walk thru the grocery and get dinner as fast as any take out. I

    Yeah I get what you are saying, I have tried and tried to make something like it with no luck. I also was off the "sauce" for quite some time and just wanted it and missed it! Yes I eat piles of greens when I have it, the day I bought the bottle I ate 4 salads! :) Now it is more like 1x a day or every other day.
  • monkeydharma
    monkeydharma Posts: 599 Member
    My take: I get suspicious whenever I HAVE to have a food. This is where paying attention to your body comes in. If I'm craving something, that usually means I am shorting myself in some nutrient - IF the food I'm craving is a healthy one. If it isn't however, then you've got food scientists somewhere trying to play with your addiction centers.

    Salad dressings come under the latter category. When I went primal, I got rid of them all and switched to EVOO and some type of vinegar. That allows me to focus on the tastiness of the plants, rather than the salt, sugar and who-knows-what in commercial dressings. On rare occasions (like holidays) the wife will make bulk Caesar salad (with a commercial Caesar dressing) for the family, and I'll eat as well, but that's only a couple times a year.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    ^amen to monkeydharma's comment. I too find myself craving commercial dressings etc and because I am aware of what food manufacturers stoop to to make us buy their stuff I know that I'm funding their research to develop more addictive, non health promoting foods. But it's a choice. Over time I come to prefer my own dressings but it takes some perseverance. And strangely I end up preferring just oil and vinegar (usually avocado oil and balsamic). Or I just skip the veggies entirely. Not an option for everyone but a healthy option for me with my health situation.
  • cmarangi
    cmarangi Posts: 131 Member
    I say as long as your Omega 3's and 6's are in low ratio, you could do worse.
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
    I read some sobering info when I first started this journey. It was perhaps Rob Wolf or Mark Sisson, something to the effect that "bad" fats mimic good fats in a bad way. The cell wall is made up from fat (?) -- saturated fats get plugged into the cell wall, which is a living, functional structure, passing things in and out of the cell. The unsaturated and trans fats, if I'm remembering right, get plugged into the cell wall the same way but don't function the same way. My understanding is that they create "dead spots" in the cell wall. Since there's constant renewal going on, changing your diet from unsaturated to saturated fat leads to healthier cells and body processes.

    That explanation made sense to me. Now when I'm tempted by sweet potato fries or chips where the "only" bad ingredient is canola oil, I think of waxy, nonfunctional cell walls...
  • LHWhite903
    LHWhite903 Posts: 208 Member
    Just don't stress out about this. Diets vary. Eat delicious and healthy foods as much as you can.

    Anyway, I just use a little bit of nuts and some fruit, usually, instead of dressing, myself. I like the crunch.
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