As I promised back in December, I will be blogging about my favorite fats in 2010. I have tons of favorite fats, so hopefully that will translate into tons of interesting blogs for you all!
Let me first give you a brief background of my history with fat. I used to be terrified of fat! I have been a competitive runner since the age of 12 and all throughout my adolescent years, I abhorred the idea of eating fattening food: my diet was extremely unhealthy basically consisting of bagels and bananas. Through college, my repertoire expanded a bit, but still, I would steer clear of fat. I remember dining out with a professor and several students who were in my honors class and I ordered a salad without dressing. It was at that point I realized I had a problem. I wasn’t full-fledged anorexic, but my eating was certainly disordered!
With the encouragement of my boyfriend at the time, I invited more food into my life. He was a fantastic cook and introduced me to homemade hummus. I loved it so much. And the ingredient that made it so delicious? Olive oil, of course!
I soon became an olive oil snob of sorts. I would buy specialty bottles of olive oil and began making salad dressings with it. I started cooking with it. I would even dip bread in it for a snack! To this day, I use olive oil almost daily. My husband and I go through a large bottle every 4-6 weeks.
Let me tell you something. When I first began eating olive oil and incorporated more fat and protein in my diet in general, I felt far less fatigued. I felt focused and strong. A few years ago, my mom found out she had alarmingly high cholesterol levels. I convinced her to stop frying food in corn oil or butter and use olive oil. That was the only major health change she welcomed and guess what? Her cholesterol levels are now within a normal range! For that, how can I NOT love olive oil?
Let me first give you a brief background of my history with fat. I used to be terrified of fat! I have been a competitive runner since the age of 12 and all throughout my adolescent years, I abhorred the idea of eating fattening food: my diet was extremely unhealthy basically consisting of bagels and bananas. Through college, my repertoire expanded a bit, but still, I would steer clear of fat. I remember dining out with a professor and several students who were in my honors class and I ordered a salad without dressing. It was at that point I realized I had a problem. I wasn’t full-fledged anorexic, but my eating was certainly disordered!
With the encouragement of my boyfriend at the time, I invited more food into my life. He was a fantastic cook and introduced me to homemade hummus. I loved it so much. And the ingredient that made it so delicious? Olive oil, of course!
I soon became an olive oil snob of sorts. I would buy specialty bottles of olive oil and began making salad dressings with it. I started cooking with it. I would even dip bread in it for a snack! To this day, I use olive oil almost daily. My husband and I go through a large bottle every 4-6 weeks.
Let me tell you something. When I first began eating olive oil and incorporated more fat and protein in my diet in general, I felt far less fatigued. I felt focused and strong. A few years ago, my mom found out she had alarmingly high cholesterol levels. I convinced her to stop frying food in corn oil or butter and use olive oil. That was the only major health change she welcomed and guess what? Her cholesterol levels are now within a normal range! For that, how can I NOT love olive oil?
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