Eating made Simple – Fats
Fats are like the ugly step sister of the food family. You know you should respect them and not overlook them but you do. They are misunderstood and not given credit for all they can do for you.
Fats are your friend though. Some fats are any way. As with the article I wrote on carbs, you want to stay away from processed foods. This is the same for fats. With this in mind you want to be avoiding anything that contains Trans Fats. Read your food labels, in fact, if the food you are buying has a label think twice about eating it. Chances are it is already too processed.
Read the list below, each food has a serving amount beside it. It might be handy to have a copy with you when you are preparing your meals, so go ahead and print a copy. With fats you want to be getting between 10 and 15 serves per day. That’s 2-3 serves per meal spread throughout the day.
WHAT? ‘Why so much’ I hear you ask, ‘won’t that make me fat? I’m trying to lose fat here’.
Here’s the thing. If you don’t give your body sufficient dietary fat, then your body will hold onto the fat it already has. If you are giving your body enough fat through the foods you eat, and you are eating the right carbs, your body will start to use fat as fuel. Pretty cool huh?
Whole Foods
- Almonds ~6 nuts
- Butter 1 Tsp
- Cashews ~7 nuts
- Cheddar Cheese 15 grams
- Coconut Milk 2 Tbsp
- Feta Cheese 2 Tbsp
- Flax Meal 2 Tbsp
- Macadamias ~3 nuts
- Parmesan Cheese 3 Tbsp
- Peanuts 1 Tbsp
- Peanut Butter 1 Tsp
- Pecans ~5 nuts
- Pistachios ~15 nuts
- Walnuts ~2 nuts
- Whole Egg
Oils – All are 1 Tsp per serve
- Avocado Oil
- Canola Oil
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Flaxseed/Linseed Oil
- Macadamia Oil
- Peanut Oil
- Sesame Seed Oil
If you look through the list above you will see lot of potential for wonderful, exciting flavours. In fact you can’t have any real flavour without some fat.
Main meals will be the easiest meals to incorporate these good fats into. For instance you can have a salad with your favourite veggies, and then top it with a dash of salt, and some extra virgin olive oil. In the summer time you might want to add some lime juice, in the winter you might want to warm it lightly.
Snacks are a breeze. Simply grab some of your favourite nuts, an egg or two or try my (now famous) chocolate pudding.
