Oils for weight loss

24

Replies

  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Can anyone recommend a good cheap non stick frying pan? I want to reduce my oil using but my food just ends up burning!

    I strongly recommend a cast iron frying pan. It's inexpensive and once seasoned, lasts for life.

    http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/how-t0-season-a-cast-iron-skillet

    Have you heard of black steal? You season it, like cast iron, but it’s thinner, about like stainless. It’s perfect for omelettes, potatoes, eggs, and crepes.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Here is a straight, up-to-date, science-based statement on the matter: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/

    And here's more detailed, similarly reliable, information:
    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2012/06/21/ask-the-expert-healthy-fats/
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    thecharon wrote: »
    I understand. It's more fun to eat an avocado, some salmon and some nuts instead of adding 1/2 cup of oil to a dinner.

    That sounds disgusting. Who adds 1/2 cup of oil to dinner?

    Seriously. I only use 1/4 cup to make a whole pan of spanakopita and that includes oiling the phyllo layers! It's 4 huge, no side-dish entree servings or 6-8 with sides.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    Heads up that coconut oil has more saturated fat in than butter, (if that's what you're concerned about although how bad some saturated fats are for you is up for debate) olive and sunflower oil have more unsaturated fat however apparently sunflower oil isn't great for cooking with compared to coconut because it releases too many aldehydes when heated up. I personally use a range of different fats to cook with and I tend to do most of my light frying and stirfrys with garlic infused rapeseed oil, roasted sesame oil or olive oil.

    https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/ask-the-expert/coconut-oil

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/nutrition/everything-you-know-about-cooking-with-oil-is-wrong/

    interesting links, whether they're woo or not is up for debate and I'd be interested in what others think. :)

    I do think there is definitely enough evidence to give some merit to the good fats vs bad fats argument and which oils you should be cooking with so not sure why you're getting so much friction in this thread.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I can't cook using my daughter's thin steel pots and pans. Everything sticks and burns. The cast iron takes longer to warm up, but I swear; nothing sticks. And I can use a regular spatula not worrying about ruining the finish.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I can't cook using my daughter's thin steel pots and pans. Everything sticks and burns. The cast iron takes longer to warm up, but I swear; nothing sticks. And I can use a regular spatula not worrying about ruining the finish.

    Or a hammer :)
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    My problem with cast iron is that I bought one, seasoned it, apparently did a bad job at it despite following instructions to a T and buying expensive flaxseed oil to do it, because it sticks like crazy. Maybe my oven just doesn't get hot enough. I don't use enough oil when cooking anyway so it won't season itself and would just keep sticking and being a pain to clean and care for. I don't do much searing anyway because I don't like meat, and I do lots of tomato sauce based stuff in my pan so that's another minus. I wish I could give my cast iron pan to someone to use it regularly for a year or so and give it back. I just use a normal nonstick pan and spread 2-4 grams of oil with my fingers around the pan and my eggs slide off like a charm.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    thecharon wrote: »
    I understand. It's more fun to eat an avocado, some salmon and some nuts instead of adding 1/2 cup of oil to a dinner.

    Why on earth are you cooking with 1/2 a cup of oil?
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    I've learnt something new today...you need to season (whatever that is) a cast iron frying pan!
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,111 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    Well, technically whole grain foods have a little oil. Like wheat germ oil from wheat. Little momma plants know that their baby seeds (grains) grow a lot faster if there's some oil in their nutrient package. We should take a lesson from momma plants.

    I can't think of any leafy vegetables that come with oil. Avocados and soybeans have oils but then they are just a grown-up sort of seed.

    Kale, for example, gets nearly 20% of its calories from fat. So it does contribute. I wouldn't want to try to meet my fat needs just from kale (I'm not likely to eat enough kale in a day to get more than a couple of grams of fat), but the poster who suggested meeting fat needs from dark greens, whole grains and (if I recall) nuts wasn't offering woo.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2983?fgcd=Vegetables+and+Vegetable+Products&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=50&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=kale,+raw&ds=Standard+Reference&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=

    But I don't see what's wrong with using oils in cooking and salad dressings.

    OP, I haven't read every post, but I haven't seen anyone point out that from a calories standpoints, oils are pretty much created equal.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited November 2017
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.


    So basically, never going to happen for me. I don't eat bacon :astonished:
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,111 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Can anyone recommend a good cheap non stick frying pan? I want to reduce my oil using but my food just ends up burning!

    I strongly recommend a cast iron frying pan. It's inexpensive and once seasoned, lasts for life.

    http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/how-t0-season-a-cast-iron-skillet

    This, although I also have a small ceramic pan I mostly use for eggs, both because my cast iron skillet is overkill for one or two eggs and because, despite being well-seasoned, it occasionally wants to hold onto a little of the egg.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    I tend to keep the following oils on hand: butter, shortening, olive oil, vegetable oil, a spreadable low-fat spread (which my husband hates) and coconut oil. Bacon drippings are used in a subsequent dish.

    When cooking or baking sometimes the type of fat/oil matters. Sometimes not so much. But eliminating oils entirely makes many foods unable to be prepared even with non-stick pans--how can one make chocolate chip cookies without butter and/or shortening? I don't even what to live in that sort of world...

    Oh, and coconut oil also makes a great hair product in a pinch. And olive oil is nice for shaving.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.

    I didn't know there was any other way to cook eggs.

    I don't know, I don't wash my skillet. I just rinse and wipe and then re-apply oil and dry it on med-low heat. I've only had it a few years, though - and I have left it on the heat empty a time or two. It's fine, still rinses off. I'm just saying it sticks. No big. Still a great investment, I love it.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I use butter, peanut oil, olive oil, and vegetable oil spray in cooking. Calories are the same in regards to weight loss.
    For health or what works best in your dish that is a different topic.

    I have stainless steel pots and pans as well as cast iron. My experience is if I heat my pan on medium until it is hot before adding something like eggs the food does not stick. If I put the food in before the pan is heated all the way or at too high a temperature it will stick and burn. If something does stick you don't have to worry about ruining your pan trying to remove it though and the pans can last a lifetime.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.

    I didn't know there was any other way to cook eggs.

    I don't know, I don't wash my skillet. I just rinse and wipe and then re-apply oil and dry it on med-low heat. I've only had it a few years, though - and I have left it on the heat empty a time or two. It's fine, still rinses off. I'm just saying it sticks. No big. Still a great investment, I love it.

    :grin: Just a question of time then, and there's a theory that older pans may have a different level of finish/smoothness that may be a manufacturing difference, or may just be 40 years of use.

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.

    I didn't know there was any other way to cook eggs.

    I don't know, I don't wash my skillet. I just rinse and wipe and then re-apply oil and dry it on med-low heat. I've only had it a few years, though - and I have left it on the heat empty a time or two. It's fine, still rinses off. I'm just saying it sticks. No big. Still a great investment, I love it.

    :grin: Just a question of time then, and there's a theory that older pans may have a different level of finish/smoothness that may be a manufacturing difference, or may just be 40 years of use.

    Right.

    Along those lines, what's with Value Village selling old rusty 10" cast iron skillets for $20 when I can buy a brand new one for $12?

    Methinks they are thinking rust = seasoned like Grandma's.
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    edited November 2017
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.

    I didn't know there was any other way to cook eggs.

    I don't know, I don't wash my skillet. I just rinse and wipe and then re-apply oil and dry it on med-low heat. I've only had it a few years, though - and I have left it on the heat empty a time or two. It's fine, still rinses off. I'm just saying it sticks. No big. Still a great investment, I love it.

    :grin: Just a question of time then, and there's a theory that older pans may have a different level of finish/smoothness that may be a manufacturing difference, or may just be 40 years of use.

    The more you use a seasoned skillet, the better it gets. I’ve had my black steal for about ten years. I barely have to use any oil to fry with it now. Somethings are best cooked with just enough oil to coat the pan.

    I haven’t tried the new preseasoned cast iron. It might be better.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Maybe it's my old lady experience with early Teflon. I've thrown out several old Teflon frying pans, but never my cast iron.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    edited November 2017
    cmriverside wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Well, to be fair - even a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will have eggs stick to it, IME.

    It takes a long time before eggs won't stick. I've had cast iron that eggs would not stick to... well my mother did. but the key to that is you cook the bacon first(in the same pan) and then cook the eggs.

    I didn't know there was any other way to cook eggs.

    I don't know, I don't wash my skillet. I just rinse and wipe and then re-apply oil and dry it on med-low heat. I've only had it a few years, though - and I have left it on the heat empty a time or two. It's fine, still rinses off. I'm just saying it sticks. No big. Still a great investment, I love it.

    @cmriverside :

    I saw a segment of some show on the Food Network where there was a girl that had had a cast iron passed down through generations. Her proudest fact was that it hadn't been touched by water in over 100 years.

    ETA: maybe it was soap?
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