Saturday, September 18, 2010

I love me some fats

 Why, why are people so afraid of yummy, nourishing, healthy (and the list goes on, people!) fats?  They're definitely not bad for you-- what's bad is refined, processed, fried fats (ahem, Burger King, donuts, hello people!).  I'm talking about my favorties: Coconut oil and butter (my long, lost love in a jar, that is), tahini, ALL nut butters (as there's not one I dislike), avocado, cheese (I buy full-fat, and yes there is saturated fat, but everything is good in moderation), olive oil,Why, why are people so afraid of yummy, nourishing, healthy (and the list goes on, people!) fats?
    
Not only does it make your meal taste 100 Xs better, it's good for your brain and body from head to toe :).  You'll also have more energy and be able to think A LOT better-- being as active as I am it helps me have sufficiant energy to do many things.  And if you deprive yourself of fats, your mind knows-- it's not stupid :)  Your body will crave fats and send you signals, and the more you restrict fats, the more likely you'll binge on MANY more later-- causing you to overeat and (for some) gain weight.  Not this is not true for everybody, but the "low fat" thing definitely doesn't work for me as it causes my body to feel very deprived.  I'm no doctor or anything, but I've managed to stay at a good weight-- I'm thin and trying to put on a few pounds-- and I can't even gain much from adding two- three fats a meal!  The thing I don't do, however, is processed sugar.  I don't even eat as much fruit as I used to, as it makes me bloated and gassy (sorry to be gross).  I'll go into the "sugar" post later, since this post is devoted soley to lovely fats, but I try to stay away from it in my diet as it doesn't do best in my body.

Now onto the eats...i've got some Tivo shows to catch up on :)

Here's a few pics from the last couple days-- not all i've eaten since I didn't catch pics while I was at work the last couple days.

   FRIDAY


    Before I went to my English lab, I whipped up a batch up blueberry oats-- it had been long since I had those.  I topped um' with wheat germ and almond butter (top of the list for my favorite MUSFA fat!) and I also had a fried egg on the side.  Yummy, it made for a delish bfast.
    When I came back from class and open swim at my college, I made a quick greek salad as I had work soon and I was hung-grah!  It consisted of greens (I was out of spinach, but that's no longer an issue-- thank you, Costco!), cucumber, carrots, *homegrown* tomato and avocado (up there, too).  I topped the salad with cottage cheese and Sabra hummus.  Excellent combo.  I had an ezekial pita and coconut butter (WAY up on the list of my fav fats, then again, it's my long, lost love) on the side, too.


         :)

No pics of dinner, as I was at work and didn't want to be the stranger who takes pics of their meals.  Some people just don't get it :)

SATURDAY
   Some pretty dang amazing vegan banana- strawberry pancakes.  They were so quick, yummy and nutritious.  Definitely recommend them.  It had been FAR too long since my last pancake- excursion--- it now has been fulfilled.  I made Caroline's vegan banana pancakes and made my own adjustments topping them with strawberries (local) and shredded coconut then I drizzled them with peanut butter sauce (PB, little bit of rice milk and cinnamon).  Yum.
   Not the best photo, agreed.  I was in a rush, cut me some slack ;)
    Dinner was pretty fab, too.  Using the brussel sprouts I picked up at WF (dun, dun, dun....), I made a huge veggie stir-fry (cooked in coconut oil and garlic) with brussel sprouts, spinach, carrots, broccoli tempeh bacon and then added a bit of dijon mustard at the end.  I had a bowl of bulgar (wow, alliteration here) with more coconut oil to accompany the stir-fry.  

Mmmmm, delicious-ness :-)

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, lovelies :)!  I'm off to attempt to study for a math exam and catch up on tv...oh, and eat some protein ice cream :)

xoxo, Em

3 comments:

  1. People are afraid of fats simply because of the word itself is the same word they associate with the flab on their thighs, haha.


    Even I used to be a little afraid of fats, until I educated myself in the area of nutrition and realized that fat doesn't make you fat, neither do carbs or any one thing in particular.

    You're right though, those people are certainly missing out on some good eats.

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  2. I was definitely scared to eat fats for a while. Then when I started eating enough for my body (after some disordered eating issues) I found that I HAVE to eat a larger amount of fat to meet my energy needs- otherwise my tummy is gonna bust and we can't have that, can we? ;) But let me tell you, my food is so interesting now!

    Anyway, your salad looks AMAZING :) I know what ya mean about the homegrown tomato. *So good* ditto for homegrown bell peppers. Ahhh.... good eats, good eats.

    Take care,
    VEGirl

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  3. VEGirl,
    Completely agreed. I used to have a "tweaked" vision that fat is bad, but in reality it's not. It's what people make of it. If it's processed and used in a non- whole way, then yes it's not good. I love the fat that undergoes NO processing, just the way it's supposed to be :)

    And yes, homegrown tomatoes are the BEST-- there's nothing quite like them :)

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