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If you have been attempting to eat healthy for very long I am sure that fat is one of the biggest things you have avoided in your diet. We have been told for the past 20 years that fat is bad. That fat makes you fat. Yet when you look to see all the people who have switched to a low fat diet do you see healthy people? I dare say you have not. In the last couple of years new diets have come on the scene such as Atkins and South Beach that have lead to a new approach to eating which includes healthy fats. The trouble with fat is not all encompassing. It is the type of fat which is the problem. Bad fats inhibit your body’s ability to function properly, can cause cancer and can make you fat. Good fats will satiate your hunger, provide resources for your body to run properly, and help you absorb important vitamins and minerals from your foods.

So what are the healthy fats and which are the ones to avoid?

Healthy fats are:
Virgin Coconut Oil
Butter (preferably organic from grass fed cows)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cold Pressed Flax Seed Oil
Tallow
Lard
Palm Oil (Spectrum makes a great shortening with palm oil)
Marine Oils (i.e. cod liver oil).

Fats to avoid are:
any hydrogenated oils
Soy, corn and safflower oils
Cottonseed oil
Canola oil
All fats heated to very high temperatures in processing and frying

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a wonderful fat that has antimicrobial, anticancer properties. Its health benefits have been recognized for centuries by many other cultures. It is easy to digest and contains lauric acid which is found in breast milk. When it is 76 degrees or warmer this oil is perfectly clear when the temperature falls lower than 76 it becomes a pure white solid. Although it is a saturated fat, it is only a medium chain fatty acid which is what makes it so easy to digest. For more specific information about the chemical structure of VCO and other fats please see the books listed below.

Instead of relying on carbohydrates to fill your hunger use proteins and good fats which will keep you satiated longer and give your body more of what it needs to be healthy. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables do have an important place in your diet but without the proteins and fats you will not be able to absorb the vitamins from those foods and you will still be hungry. (This usually translates into eating too much!)

VCO is easy to incorporate into your diet. You can use VCO to replace butter in most recipes with great results. Add a tablespoon to your smoothies or in a cup of tea. We love to make popcorn on the stove using VCO as the oil and then top with melted butter and sea salt. Delicious!

Here are some recipes to get you started.

Recipes:

Coconut Chicken Strips

Chocolate Drop Cookies

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Sources for Coconut Oil:

Wilderness Family Naturals

This company provides several great coconut products. They sell some of the best organic virgin coconut oil from the Philippines and it comes in glass jars instead of plastic containers. I highly recommend this company!

Books:

Eat Fat, Lose Fat

This book has 3 different meal plans including for changing the way you eat: One for losing weight, one for good health and one for healing. It is a very practical way to introduce the Nourishing Traditions methods into your daily habits.

Nourishing Traditions

By Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.

The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

This amazing cookbook/encyclopedia has been a wonderful addition to our library. It is filled with information about the kinds of foods that sustained generations before us. This book has over 700 recipes and an education on what to eat and how to prepare it. I highly recommend this book if you want to be challenged in your quest to feed your family healthy foods that will sustain them and generations to come. There is a huge chapter on fats in it as well.

The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife

This informative book expounds on the health of the peoples who regularly consume coconut oil. It also discusses the battle that has taken place in our country over what are considered healthy fats. This is a must read!

I love making cookies for our friends and family every year. I usually dedicate one day to baking as many cookies as I can. I try to involve the children in some of the fun ones. I plan it just like an investment cooking day. I pull together all my recipes and compile a grocery list of all the ingredients I need. Then I put together a plan of which order to do them in. Some need the dough refrigerated and other recipes need to be baked right away. I grind all the flour I need for all of the recipes at once. I also use parchment paper on the pans to make clean up and doing the next batch easier.

As I have become more health conscious I have looked for cookie recipes that are actually good for you instead of ones filled with trans fats, refined sugars and flour. Some simple changes you can make to recipes are just ingredient replacements although you will need to experiment to make sure that you get the consistency you desire. By making these simple changes even your holiday cooking can be an investment in your health.

Here is a basic list of replacements:

All-purpose flour: soft wheat/pastry flour, spelt flour or if you must use white flour try King Arthur’s unbleached white flour

Fat: you can use butter or Spectrum Naturals has an all vegetable shortening made from palm oil that is not hydrogenated and therefore has no trans fats in it, you can also use applesauce in cake, brownies or moist cookies with good results

Refined Sugar: use evaporated cane juice sugar (Sucanat or Rapadora), honey or molasses

Make sure that if you are using baking powder that you use a brand that contains no aluminum in it. Rumford is the brand I use.

Instead of grabbing regular salt use one that still has minerals in it. Use an unrefined sea salt. I like RealSalt which is readily available.

Always use free range eggs instead of the battery eggs. The yolks should be a bright golden to orange color not the pale yellow that you get from the normal grocery store eggs. If you can get your eggs from someone locally that has their chickens outside all days that is even better!

Recipes:

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

½ pound butter — softened
1 cup brown sugar — firmly packed
½ cup evaporated cane juice sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups oats — rolled, raw
1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, & cinnamon.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture; mix well.

By hand, add oats & raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Snickerdoodles

3 ¾ cups soft wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening (non-hydrogenated)
2 cups sugar (evaporated cane juice)
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift together 1st 4 ingredients. Set aside.

Beat butter & shortening for 30 seconds; add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add eggs, milk and vanilla, beat well.

Add dry ingredients a cup at a time mixing until well combined.

Chill dough for at least 1 hour.

Form dough into balls the size of walnuts; roll in mixture of cinnamon & sugar

Place on cookie sheet & flatten slightly.

Bake at 375 for 10-11 minutes or until light golden brown.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

½ cup butter — softened
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup molasses
2 eggs
4 cups soft wheat pastry flour — divided
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add molasses and eggs.

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt & spices; beat into molasses mixture. Gradually add remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.

Divide dough into 2 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shaped with cookie cutters.

Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Date Balls

(Dates are one of the highest fiber foods, have more iron than beets and more potassium than bananas!)

In a food processor combine:

10 oz. pitted dates
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup nuts (we like almonds)
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup shredded coconut

Whiz together until everything is mixed then add 2 tablespoons of barley malt or brown rice syrup to bind it all together.

With damp hands, roll mixture into balls.

Variation: Use peanuts and peanut butter

The Magnificat:

And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Luke 1:46-55