A few of my favorite things……..
In the kitchen, that is. Since making major changes in the food we consume my family and I have tried lots of new stuff. In the kitchen, that is. Since making major changes in the food we consume my family and I have tried lots of new stuff. Some of the stuff is good and some not so much. Below I’ve written about three of my favorite products for cooking and baking.
- Grapeseed Oil-
I love this stuff and use it every day on something. It is a light nutty oil that is high in all the “good” fats. It has the same health benefits as olive oil but can withstand high temperatures. Olive oil puts off carcinogens when heated past 300 degrees. Grapeseed oil is fantastic for roasting, sautéing and grilling. I’ve read it can be used for frying but I can not attest to that as I don’t fry foods. Some studies show that grapeseed oil is not processed in your body as fat like other oils. I use grapeseed oil when cooking vegetables, baking bread, baking cakes, making dressings, and even popping popcorn. It can be used in any recipe that calls for vegetable or canola oil. - White Wheat Flour-
My friend, Kelley, began using this flour with good results and I soon followed suit. White Wheat Flour is 100% whole wheat but it has a lighter taste and texture than its brown cousin. White Wheat Flour is not as white as all-purpose flour even the unbleached kind. It has a slight yellow tint. I personally love the taste of the brown wheat flour and I still use it some but this pleases my family. The white wheat flour mimics all-purpose flour in recipes. I use it to make our bread and cereal bars every week. I’ve used it in pizza dough, muffins, cupcakes and making cookies too. - Raw Sugar-
I am slowly switching over to all raw sugar. I know for some sugar is the anti-Christ but I would argue that sugar in general has gotten a bad rap. Sugar cane is a whole food. Unfortunately the processed bleached sugar we see most often in the United States is “bad” stuff, but sugar in and of its self is not bad. It’s the bleaching; refining and processing that make it bad. However, recently it’s become possible to buy “raw” sugar in the United States. Raw sugar like most other “health” foods is more expensive than processed sugar but the health benefits are well worth the few extra dollars. I should note that the raw sugar we have access to in the Unites Stated is still processed some but when it has the label “raw” or “organic-raw” you can be sure it has no bleach or refining. Many of us think that brown sugar is better than white sugar (myself included until recently) but traditional brown sugar has been bleached and refined. Brown sugar has all the bleaching and refining as white sugar but it has syrup added back to give it color and flavor. I’ve used raw sugar in cookies, cupcakes, muffins, bread, and fresh squeezed lemonade. I’ve yet to bake a cake with raw sugar but I plan on trying soon. I still use refined sugar some and occasionally I use other sweeteners such as Agave and Stevia but I’m trying to use primarily raw sugar.
* Just a note…I read lots of articles on products before I use them and certainly before I recommend them here. However, you should always read up on products for yourself and decide what is best for your families’ health*
