What replaces oil?

[ibuzzard]

Thanks for the idea. I have balsamic vinegar but I'll see if they have it as a reduction.

The store bought versions I’ve tried are not a real reduction, and have always tasted off to me, so we make our own. But reducin* the vinegar down is a very pungent task,best done outdoors in my opinion.

 

[jacqueg]

This is what I eat. Lettuce is in the fridge. I am not a vegetarian but I eat very litttle meat. Never had Spam. I've heard of it but not sure what it is. I eat lettuce salads with oil and vinegar. I would like to eliminate the oil. My question is whether there is something that would replace oil and yet result in about the same taste as an oil and vinegar dressing.

Why not just vinegar? There are lots of deliciously favored vinegars. If you miss the mouth feel of oil, experiment with dissolving chia seeds in the vinegar. Chia seeds are very good for you. Commercial fat-free dressings use various gums to thicken their dressings.

Modest amounts of olive oil is absolutely good for you. I think the standard ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar. You could try changing that to half and half or even reverse the ratio to one part oil and 3 parts vinegar.

The main role of the fat in salad dressings is to allow the dressing to cling to the leaves. The flavor is a secondary concern. If you remove the fat, you will have a change in mouth feel, and your dressing won't cling to the leaves, but will make its way to the bottom of your bowl. If you are eating mostly fat-free, I fail to see how the small amount of olive oil in the dressing would be a huge problem. Especially since you are eating cream soups from Campbell's. Because I can guarantee you there is more fat in a one or two cup serving of a cream soup than there is in a tablespoon or so of oil and vinegar dressing. And probably processed fats that are worse for you than those in extra virgin olive oil.

But it's your food, so you could look up Dean Ornish recipes or Pritikin recipes for salad dressing. They are the main proponents of a totally fat-free diet.

 

[egilbe]

Can try chia seeds soaked in water for half an hour or so. They're used as an egg substitute in baking. When soaked, they get jelly like.

 

[USNvet]

Fat free diets are very bad for you. People end up replacing those missing calories with processed sugars, which is why America is so damn fat. Processed food is normally loaded with preservatives to make it last longer, increase shelf life. I love a can of Spam as much as the next person, but it's loaded with salts. Keep your food simple. Oils on salads aren't a bad thing, depends on the oils. It's recommended to eat oily fish, for example, or walnuts, or grass fed beef or free range chickens.

The original research stating that fats were bad for you was based on junk science and scientists have been parroting the same badly done study ever since.

Right on! As one who was given the "pre-diabetic" label during an annual physical a couple of years ago, that triggered me to go into research mode.

Thanks to heart disease research done decades ago cholesterol was determined to be our enemy, and the US government created the Food Pyramid to fight it. Eggs, butter and other dairy products, along with red meats and fats were to be eaten in moderation. People ended up replacing these "bad" foods with sugar and carbs. Now, five decades later, the world is on the verge of a world wide epidemic of diabetes! Untreated diabetes can result in heart disease and other terrible things like loss of body parts and eye sight, so even worse than plain old heart disease alone.

I think Dr. Keys can be blamed for some of the "junk science" that led us down the high sugar and carbohydrate path as replacements for red meat and dairy products as apparently his research was biased, as discovered years later.

This Time Magazine article, published a few years ago, should clue you in with the details of how it all came about: https://time.com/magazine/us/2863200/june-23rd-2014-vol-183-no-24-u-s/

 

[USNvet]

Edible Oils, good or bad for you? Want a very detailed explanation of which oils are good, and why to avoid the bad ones? Check out this YouTube video by Dr. Sten Ekberg:

 

[Conundrum]

Why not just vinegar? There are lots of deliciously favored vinegars. If you miss the mouth feel of oil, experiment with dissolving chia seeds in the vinegar. Chia seeds are very good for you. Commercial fat-free dressings use various gums to thicken their dressings.

Modest amounts of olive oil is absolutely good for you. I think the standard ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar. You could try changing that to half and half or even reverse the ratio to one part oil and 3 parts vinegar.

The main role of the fat in salad dressings is to allow the dressing to cling to the leaves. The flavor is a secondary concern. If you remove the fat, you will have a change in mouth feel, and your dressing won't cling to the leaves, but will make its way to the bottom of your bowl. If you are eating mostly fat-free, I fail to see how the small amount of olive oil in the dressing would be a huge problem. Especially since you are eating cream soups from Campbell's. Because I can guarantee you there is more fat in a one or two cup serving of a cream soup than there is in a tablespoon or so of oil and vinegar dressing. And probably processed fats that are worse for you than those in extra virgin olive oil.

But it's your food, so you could look up Dean Ornish recipes or Pritikin recipes for salad dressing. They are the main proponents of a totally fat-free diet.

I have had vinegar as a green salad dressing many times and it is horrible regardless of the type of vinegar including fancy Aged Sherry wine vinegar imported from Spain, Champagne vinegar, British Pub malt vinegar, etc. I am not fond of the Balsamic that has become so popular.

If I can't find a replacement for oil I am just going to give up on eating lettuce, romaine, endive, watercress, scarole and iceberg which unfortunately are among the food I like most.

Salad dressing is the last remaining spot of oil resistance in my food. I have long eliminated frying or using oil in any way. I mostly eat cold, ready to eat food.

You bring up a painful point with soups. I have to get a daily intake of tomatos and once in a while some veggies I cannot eat raw. Canned soups come to the rescue but all of them are flawed and processed to some degree.

 

[Conundrum]

Can try chia seeds soaked in water for half an hour or so. They're used as an egg substitute in baking. When soaked, they get jelly like.

I don't like the jelly look or feel. Unappealing to me. but thanks for suggesting.

 

[user 22017]

If I can't find a replacement for oil I am just going to give up on eating lettuce, romaine, endive, watercress, scarole and iceberg which unfortunately are among the food I like most.

Salad dressing is the last remaining spot of oil resistance in my food. I have long eliminated frying or using oil in any way. I mostly eat cold, ready to eat food.

I had a friend from France who kept her salad dressing on the side. She dipped the greens in it as she ate. She said she didn't use as much oil eating it that way.

 

[Conundrum]

I had a friend from France who kept her salad dressing on the side. She dipped the greens in it as she ate. She said she didn't use as much oil eating it that way.

Thanks for the tip but I am sold on eliminating oil completely. There is half an inch left in the last bottle and I don't want to buy another one.

 

[Happy Camper]

Not judging at all, as there are certain things I won't eat, period. But why the oil deletion from your diet?

 

[Conundrum]

Not judging at all, as there are certain things I won't eat, period. But why the oil deletion from your diet?

A few years ago I read the Campbell and Campbell China study and started moving in that direction. Progressively I eliminated food types as per their recommendations. One of them is oil. I'm trying now to cut this one out completely. Coincidentally, their study ties in nicely with the Calorie Reduction findings as well as with the eating habits in several of the Blue Zones. There is a documentary about the China Study. Probably available on Amazon or Netflix. The title is Forks Over Knives.

 

[LargeMarge]

Particularly interested in what I could use instead of oil for lettuce salad dressing.

Thanks. I keep reading oil is unhealthy.

.
a)
Premise is flawed.
.
Oils and fats are essential for health.
Dietary oils lubricate joints such as knees and hips... and a few hundred other joints inside our body.
.
Our human brain is mostly fat... and most of that fat is cholesterol.
An aside:
* what happens to your brain on statin (cholesterol-destroying) drugs such as Lipitor®?
.
Fats from animal protein are our preferred fuel.
Our body can burn carbohydrates, but this analogy is striking:
* burning sugars (carbohydrates) is shoving twigs in the wood-stove all night
* burning fats and oils is the equivalent of a slow-burning log.
.
As we now know, carbohydrates -- the 'foundation' of the 'food-pyramid' pimped by the government agents -- contributes to all kinds of suffering:
* fatty liver
* mental health issues
* obesity
* sugar diabetes
* leaky gut
* 'allergies'
* auto-immune diseases such as arthritis
... and tooth decay.
.
My physical body thrives on plenty of fats and oils:
* I chug a slug of organic olive oil a couple times a day
* I cook with organic coconut oil
* each evening, after flossing and brushing, I take a spoonful of organic coconut oil with a hit of zero-glycemic birch-sugar -- xylitol -- and swish the combination vigorously through my teeth as I hit the sack.
And I swallow.
.
I would ignore anything else anybody might say if they suggest eliminating oils from my diet.
.
Keyword:
* BACON
.
b)
[edited to get off my soap-box]
.
I despise salads.
I loathe salads.
I would rather fast than face a life of salads.
.
Accordingly, I add greens to smoothies in the blender.
This accomplishes two essential procedures:
* mixing with other components hides the gruesome truth of my evil arch-enemy -- salads
* and the whirling blades break the cell walls of the plant material.
.
Why is that second part so important?
Cell walls are tough, and require lots of chewing.
For comparison, animal cells are contained in membrane, and are much easier to chew and break-down during digestion.
.
Chew?
Yep!
For example:
I participate in cooking classes, and I often see students sampling our completed product.
I watch -- in amazement -- as a forkful goes into a mouth, followed by one quick chew, then a quick swallow.
.
Meanwhile, I counted my chews.
One forkful of elk stew, and I chewed it 55 (fifty-five) chews before I:
* a -- extracted all the flavor, and
* b -- got it soft enough and wet enough to pass down to my tummy.
.
OK.
Off that other soapbox.
Back to our subject.
.
Suggestion:
Instead of looking at a lettuce leaf, and thinking 'how can I disguise it so it could be marginally palatable', chuck it into the blender.
Or as a final finish, add a handful to your stew.
.
I aim for twelve (12) servings of vegetables daily.
My favorite breakfast:
* simmer bone broth in a cast-iron skillet
* add left-over veggies
* add three eggs to poach.
.
Why 'left-over' veggies instead of fresh chopped?
Apparently, although the picked plant is long out of the garden, its anti-oxident properties are still active.
Chopping and slicing activates these anti-oxidents, and the longer they linger, the better for us.
Accordingly, yesterday's supper left-over veggies go in my breakfast.
.
Show of hands.
How many people think I am unable to stick to one subject without going sideways?
Again.

 

[Conundrum]

.
Premise is flawed.
.
Oils and fats are essential for health.
Dietary oils lubricate joints such as knees and hips... and a few hundred other joints inside our body.
.
Our human brain is mostly fat... and most of that fat is cholesterol.
An aside:
* what happens to your brain on statin (cholesterol-destroying) drugs such as Lipitor®?
.
Fats from animal protein are our preferred fuel.
Our body can burn carbohydrates, but this analogy is striking:
* burning sugars (carbohydrates) is shoving twigs in the wood-stove all night
* burning fats and oils is the equivalent of a slow-burning log.
.
As we now know, carbohydrates -- the 'foundation' of the 'food-pyramid' pimped by the government agents -- contributes to all kinds of suffering:
* fatty liver
* mental health issues
* obesity
* sugar diabetes
* leaky gut
* 'allergies'
* auto-immune diseases such as arthritis
... and tooth decay.
.
My physical body thrives on plenty of fats and oils:
* I chug a slug of organic olive oil a couple times a day
* I cook with organic coconut oil
* each evening, after flossing and brushing, I take a spoonful of organic coconut oil with a hit of zero-glycemic birch-sugar -- xylitol -- and swish the combination vigorously through my teeth as I hit the sack.
And I swallow.
.
I would ignore anything else anybody might say if they suggest eliminating oils from my diet.
.
Keyword:
* BACON

Here is a link to a summary of the China Study that was presented to the Australian parliament. It's not too long to read, 20 pages.

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/13973/Ms Jackie Norman - The China Study Summary.pdf
On page 17 are the main conclusions and the first one says this:

"Use little or no added fats or oils."

This is what I am trying to do. Eat as little oil as possible.

 

[LargeMarge]

...China Study... Australian Parliament...

.
a)
Premise is on very shaky ground.
.
While I appreciate your enthusiasm, any time I hear of any study of any kind by anybody, my initial response is:
* Who paid for the study?
* What are their motives?
* How do the 'research' 'conclusions' support the motives of the buyers?
.
b)
Perhaps my distrust of the government agents ['sheer', 'utter', 'complete', 'unceasing', etcetera] colors my ability to understand their press-release(s) without judgement... judging it/them to be sheer utter complete unceasing hogwash.
.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I will look at that.
.
And I acknowledge I responded hastily without reading the study.
[stands in corner for 'time-out']
.
c)
Are they demanding:
* no nuts?
* no seeds?
* no bugs?
* no grains?
* no avocado, no anything else with a squidgen of oil, no oily fumes from a passing trolley?
TYRANTS!

 

[jacqueg]

You bring up a painful point with soups. I have to get a daily intake of tomatos and once in a while some veggies I cannot eat raw. Canned soups come to the rescue but all of them are flawed and processed to some degree.

Try Amy's brand soups? I've also liked the soups that come in aseptic packaging, such as Pacific and Imagine. Still processed, but made with ingredients that your great-grandmother would recognize.

But to answer your original question - NOTHING replaces fat and/or oil in cooking. You certainly can find tasty work-arounds, but you are not going to replace fat’s mouth feel, nor it’s ability to emulsify, nor its ability to carry flavor. So just drop that idea.

IMO, your decision to just not eat fresh greens because you have decided that oil in small quantities is poison is just throwing a very large baby out with a very small amount of bath water. Meanwhile consuming commercial soups! Your time and energy would be better spent in learning how to make your own soup. You can make pretty good soup with canned veggies such as tomatoes and pumpkin, with no added fat.

Look, this is not rocket science. Ibread my first Pritikin book in 1975 or thereabouts. Get yourself a good fat-free cookbook. Names that come to mind are Ornish, Pritikin, Esselstyn, and yes, Campbell. Ornish in particular might be a good place to start, because in his later books, he espouses a more graduated approach, differentiating between those who must be very strict because they are already pretty sick, and those who are not sick but are in prevention mode.

Please DON’T give up on eating fresh greens!

 

[LargeMarge]

Can try chia seeds soaked in water for half an hour or so. They're used as an egg substitute in baking. When soaked, they get jelly like.

.
Thank you for the reminder...
Okra!
I use both okra and soaked chia for my no-grain 'bagels'.
.
Although, I bet a nickel both contain oils and fats.
Is there any hope for our oilless seeker!

 

[Conundrum]

.
a)
Premise is on very shaky ground.
.
While I appreciate your enthusiasm, any time I hear of any study of any kind by anybody, my initial response is:
* Who paid for the study?
* What are their motives?
* How do the 'research' 'conclusions' support the motives of the buyers?
.
b)
Perhaps my distrust of the government agents ['sheer', 'utter', 'complete', 'unceasing', etcetera] colors my ability to understand their press-release(s) without judgement... judging it/them to be sheer utter complete unceasing hogwash.
.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I will look at that.
.
And I acknowledge I responded hastily without reading the study.
[stands in corner for 'time-out']
.
c)
Are they demanding:
* no nuts?
* no seeds?
* no bugs?
* no grains?
* no avocado, no anything else with a squidgen of oil, no oily fumes from a passing trolley?
TYRANTS!

I don't remember the details as it was 3-4 years ago I read it. The essential points are that nutrition and health are strongly related and that people who eat very differently from the way we do in contemporary America, don't have many of the worst diseases we have in abundance. Heart related and cancers in particular but also old age diseases. Some of the worst foods have been identified and one of them is oils.

 

[Conundrum]

Try Amy's brand soups? I've also liked the soups that come in aseptic packaging, such as Pacific and Imagine. Still processed, but made with ingredients that your great-grandmother would recognize.

But to answer your original question - NOTHING replaces fat and/or oil in cooking. You certainly can find tasty work-arounds, but you are not going to replace fat’s mouth feel, nor it’s ability to emulsify, nor its ability to carry flavor. So just drop that idea.

IMO, your decision to just not eat fresh greens because you have decided that oil in small quantities is poison is just throwing a very large baby out with a very small amount of bath water. Meanwhile consuming commercial soups! Your time and energy would be better spent in learning how to make your own soup. You can make pretty good soup with canned veggies such as tomatoes and pumpkin, with no added fat.

Look, this is not rocket science. Ibread my first Pritikin book in 1975 or thereabouts. Get yourself a good fat-free cookbook. Names that come to mind are Ornish, Pritikin, Esselstyn, and yes, Campbell. Ornish in particular might be a good place to start, because in his later books, he espouses a more graduated approach, differentiating between those who must be very strict because they are already pretty sick, and those who are not sick but are in prevention mode.

Please DON’T give up on eating fresh greens!

The Amy's are quite similar to the Campbell "Health" series. Still far from what would be a fully healthy soup. It is only a matter of time before 100% heathy soups hit the market. Maybe some exist that I don't know about. I also checked the Wolfgang Puke soups. No different. I don't cook at all. So I can't make my own soups or cook vegetables. This is why I resort to canned soups to try to get some vegetables.

Thank you for the authors and book suggestions, I will look into them although the China Study statistics came from so many decades and such a gigantic sampling that one cannot argue or find fault with it.

 

[jacqueg]

The Amy's are quite similar to the Campbell "Health" series. Still far from what would be a fully healthy soup. It is only a matter of time before 100% heathy soups hit the market. Maybe some exist that I don't know about. I also checked the Wolfgang Puke soups. No different. I don't cook at all. So I can't make my own soups or cook vegetables. This is why I resort to canned soups to try to get some vegetables.

Thank you for the authors and book suggestions, I will look into them although the China Study statistics came from so many decades and such a gigantic sampling that one cannot argue or find fault with it.

Another brand of soup to try is McDougall. He is also a book writer that I’d trust.

I don’t argue with the China study, in fact I recommend it myself!

And why don’t you cook? I don’t cook a lot myself, but it isn’t that hard. Some veggies are more nutritious when cooked than they are raw. There is pretty good evidence that cooking was a major factor in human evolution. https://www.scientificamerican.com/...s-cooking-a-pivotal-step-in-human-evolution/#

 

[LargeMarge]

View attachment 33444

This is what I eat. Lettuce is in the fridge. I am not a vegetarian but I eat very litttle meat. Never had Spam. I've heard of it but not sure what it is. I eat lettuce salads with oil and vinegar. I would like to eliminate the oil. My question is whether there is something that would replace oil and yet result in about the same taste as an oil and vinegar dressing.

.
re -- kitchen portrait
Thank you for your transparency.
.
How are you preparing your plantains?
I slice them lengthwise, and fry them face-down in the cast-iron skillet.
Coconut oil is my lube [cue Bevis&B**thead snarking].
I suppose I could bake them, but I think they need an oil to complete the 'mouth-feel'.
.
re -- nightshade family
I cannot eat nightshades -- tomato potato peppers eggplant -- so I have no suggestions for you there.
.
re -- canned soup
I thrive through the creative process.
Opening a can of OPS (Other People's Soup) goes against my better nature.
.
Contemplating this, I remember the Campbell Tomato Soup factory in Sacramento, California...
Wrapping around the block, vast trains of semi trucks idling in the summer sun, waiting their turn to dump their loads of hot smoldering summer tomatoes, tubs atop crushing those underneath, the fetid and festering juices squished out onto the pavement to dessicate into a tire-grabbing ooze.
Yum... not.
But you go right ahead.
.
re -- 'vegantarianist'
Blindered cult, or just plain old run-of-the-mill masochists?
.
re -- green bowl of black stuff
Cocoa powder?
Mole!
Carnitas!
I add weird stuff to weird stuff, and I don't care about the nay-sayers.
If it works...
.
But cocoa has oils.
Bummer.