Oils for weight loss

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Replies

  • SpanishFusion
    SpanishFusion Posts: 261 Member
    Oh my gosh! I just saw a recipe for Steak Diane using venison that called for 1/2 cup of butter!! I thought of this thread! Wow!
  • SpanishFusion
    SpanishFusion Posts: 261 Member

    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away. [/quote]

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.[/quote]

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though.

    It's actually fairly low maintenance if you use it regularly. It's higher maintenance if you have to store it, or use it infrequently.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though.

    It's actually fairly low maintenance if you use it regularly. It's higher maintenance if you have to store it, or use it infrequently.

    Does it work well with glass top cook tops? I have an electric range and I'm afraid it won't get as hot as it would have on a gas one.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though.

    It's actually fairly low maintenance if you use it regularly. It's higher maintenance if you have to store it, or use it infrequently.

    Does it work well with glass top cook tops? I have an electric range and I'm afraid it won't get as hot as it would have on a gas one.

    There is some risk of damaging the cook top, but no problem with the pan.

    So there's that.

    Normally, we throw ours in the oven after cleaning/reseasoning, run it up to 250 and then let it cool.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 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.

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

    bwahaha..Restaurant salad, anyone? ;P

    On the seasoning: I throw my caldera in the oven (as opposed to the stovetop) when re-seasoning.

    I use the aerosol spray oils... I can add way, way less than I could otherwise. I even get olive oil in the spray can for use on salads (I wouldn't really recommend olive oil for cooking though - unless you enjoy hitting the smoke detector with a broom frequently) along with a spray bottle of balsamic vinegar.
    aeloine wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though.

    Even on my other pans, when possible, I usually just throw in some extra clean oil after cooking, heat a bit, and wipe out the excess.
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member

    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.

    I would choose a rusty old cast iron made by Wagner or Griswold before I’d choose a new one. The metal on the old ones is better quality and has a smoother cooking surface. Rusty ones are easy enough to restore with oil and salt.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    @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.

    You're not supposed to wash your cast irons with water. You have to reseason them every once in a while, and it's good practice to oil them a bit before putting them away.

    Do you mean soap? Because if she doesn't clean it with water, that's just gross.

    Hmmmm.... maybe. But I swear she'd said water. But it might be soap, and she just cleaned with baking soda or salt? I was so stoked about having a bit of trivia up my sleeve, but I think I spoke too quickly.

    I've actually never owned one but have been thinking about getting one. Sounds like a heck of a lot of maintenance, though. [/quote]

    Here's a good article on this: https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Cast-Iron-Skillet

    Cast iron is misunderstood mainly because the only thing you should not do is put it in a dishwasher or use dish soap.

    Occasionally it will need re-seasoning, but in our household that's usually done just once a year. Usually all you need to do is clean, and wipe it down with some cooking oil.

    In many ways cast iron is EASIER to clean. If something's stuck on you boil some water in it and just scrape it off.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Cast iron - I have been using the same pans for decades and they are certainly seasoned. A ten inch skillet also makes an awesome roasting pan for a whole chicken - heat it in an oven to 500, take it out (carefully) and put the bird (seasoned however you want) in, return it to the oven for an hour or so with heat cut back to 375. It's yummy. If stuff ever sticks on, it's easiest dealt with while the pan is hot, and you can use either an un-soaped scouring pan or a few TBSP of kosher salt.

    For oil - I use olive oil in a "Misto" (it's cheaper and no worries about propellants), as well as olive oil generally, unsalted butter (100 calories for a TBSP so it's less than a TBSP of oil), and canola although often the canola gets bad before I can finish a small bottle.

    And finally, fat is an essential nutrient. You don't need a lot, but you do need some.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    Was feeling like eggplant today and decided to try something new. Browsing recipes I found this, which looked like something I would enjoy... Until I read the ingredients. That half a cup of oil reminded me of this thread.

    ETA: as for cooking with oil, it's not used for the sole purpose of preventing food from sticking. No amount of "water frying" in the world can bring out the flavors of an onion like oil does, and I use onions in many of my dishes. Roasted vegetables without a bit of oil are not the same, either. I refuse to waste my calories on food that doesn't taste good.

    That eggplant dish sounds yummy. Since the eggplant is already cooked after the roasting or grilling, I would just use a much smaller amount of oil to saute the onions and spices and cook the tomatoes, then add the eggplant until it heats through. It wouldn't have the authentic texture of the original dish, but it would still taste good. Personally, I would probably enjoy it more that way, because while I love the flavors of many dishes from the Indian subcontinent, a lot of the finished dishes seem to have a similar, cook-everything-together-until-it's-like-baby-food texture that I'm OK with in a side dish but gets monotonous in a main-dish-sized serving.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Was feeling like eggplant today and decided to try something new. Browsing recipes I found this, which looked like something I would enjoy... Until I read the ingredients. That half a cup of oil reminded me of this thread.

    ETA: as for cooking with oil, it's not used for the sole purpose of preventing food from sticking. No amount of "water frying" in the world can bring out the flavors of an onion like oil does, and I use onions in many of my dishes. Roasted vegetables without a bit of oil are not the same, either. I refuse to waste my calories on food that doesn't taste good.

    That eggplant dish sounds yummy. Since the eggplant is already cooked after the roasting or grilling, I would just use a much smaller amount of oil to saute the onions and spices and cook the tomatoes, then add the eggplant until it heats through. It wouldn't have the authentic texture of the original dish, but it would still taste good. Personally, I would probably enjoy it more that way, because while I love the flavors of many dishes from the Indian subcontinent, a lot of the finished dishes seem to have a similar, cook-everything-together-until-it's-like-baby-food texture that I'm OK with in a side dish but gets monotonous in a main-dish-sized serving.

    Yeah, I ended up using half the oil (which is still a lot), but used it as a sandwich spread so the portion was not too big and I enjoyed it a lot for reasonable calories. It still had a semi-authentic texture with the oil so the compromise did not affect my eating experience much. I recommend this dish, it turned out really good (if you like eggplant).
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    Was feeling like eggplant today and decided to try something new. Browsing recipes I found this, which looked like something I would enjoy... Until I read the ingredients. That half a cup of oil reminded me of this thread.

    ETA: as for cooking with oil, it's not used for the sole purpose of preventing food from sticking. No amount of "water frying" in the world can bring out the flavors of an onion like oil does, and I use onions in many of my dishes. Roasted vegetables without a bit of oil are not the same, either. I refuse to waste my calories on food that doesn't taste good.

    That eggplant dish sounds yummy. Since the eggplant is already cooked after the roasting or grilling, I would just use a much smaller amount of oil to saute the onions and spices and cook the tomatoes, then add the eggplant until it heats through. It wouldn't have the authentic texture of the original dish, but it would still taste good. Personally, I would probably enjoy it more that way, because while I love the flavors of many dishes from the Indian subcontinent, a lot of the finished dishes seem to have a similar, cook-everything-together-until-it's-like-baby-food texture that I'm OK with in a side dish but gets monotonous in a main-dish-sized serving.

    Yeah, I ended up using half the oil (which is still a lot), but used it as a sandwich spread so the portion was not too big and I enjoyed it a lot for reasonable calories. It still had a semi-authentic texture with the oil so the compromise did not affect my eating experience much. I recommend this dish, it turned out really good (if you like eggplant).

    I love eggplant. My favs are eggplant in garlic sauce (yu shang); baba ghanoush; plain grilled or roasted with olive oil and a little garlic; and eggplant parmesan (no breading, because anytime I can save time and calories by skipping something I don't much care for is a triple win). I should give this a try; I've tried a few southern/southwestern Asian recipes lately, trying to expand my repertoire. I love what sauteing the spices in oil with onion/garlic/ginger does for them.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,172 Member
    I use mostly olive oil for cooking, unless a recipe specifies something else.
  • kumardoc
    kumardoc Posts: 14 Member
    I've got olive oil, sunflower oil and butter and clarified butter (ghee, used a lot in Indian cooking). Use all of them as needed. I agree with a previous poster that you need oil to bring out the favour of onion. I use a lot of onion, ginger, garlic and coconut in my cooking and it doesn't taste the same without the oil. Coconut oil is the "in" oil now (facepalm) In south India coconut oil has been used for centuries, as another poster pointed out good for the hair too! In my opinion all oils are equally good/bad, use them in sensible quantities and log them. I have not tried the sprays and other stuff.