I have to say putting this series together has been awesome for me simply for the fact that I have had the chance to become reacquainted with the food that I recommend daily.  I speak food the same way all of you speak English:  fluently.  That’s a good thing and a bad thing.  Good thing because I know so much about food and its benefits so I can help my clients be successful; bad thing because I can sometimes become numb to the same things that I espouse.  So sitting down and analyzing the different ways to characterize food has been a blessing in disguise for me.

After going through light to dark for protein, dark to light for fruits and veggies, rough and ragged to smooth for starches, we have arrived at fats:  thin to thick consistency.  The thinner the fat, the better it is for you.

I am really loving how many people are tuning in to my blog every day getting to know a little bit about me as you learn “a lot bit” about food/dieting/etc.  One thing you will find as you come visit me every day is that I am completely obsessed with good fats.  No, I don’t think you heard me.  Completely obsessed with good fats.  If I could marry them, I would.  The only thing I love more than Omega 3 is butter.  And that’s saying something because I tried trading my 3 year old on the black market for a pound of butter.  Too bad they said he was only worth a tub of Country Crock.  Just know I’m holding out for more!

Fat heals.  Plain and simple, it heals.  It makes what’s wrong, right.  It makes wrinkles disappear and periods resurface.  It calms aching joints and soothes a craving palette.  Fat is beautiful.  From long chain to short chain I just cannot get enough and am blown away when I find someone who won’t eat it.  Is it an Omega 3, 6 or 9?  Do you want it as an oil or as a solid?  Would you like to cure psoriasis or just fix a metabolism?   Whatever you want to do you can do it with fat.  And then if that fat is butter?  Awww sookie sookie now!  Where do I sign up?

So as I sat down to go through fats, I almost had to get up and bake a pound cake, slap a little sumthin’ sumthin’ on my dry elbows and down a fish oil cap…but I held out long enough to at least tell you how to work fats into your menu.

You should have a good fat every day.  Unless you have something going on in your life or you are preparing for something, there should never be a time when you do not eat a good fat.  They are just that important. 

A typical serving of good fat is 14 to 16g.  This is a tablespoon of oil, 2 T of nuts and seeds, ½ avocado, 1c soy beans or 3oz. of wild Alaskan salmon.  When we talk about “ordering” our food, I will address the fat mixed with starch question that I am asked quite frequently.  For now, we’ll just talk about fats and how great they are in your diet.

Thin is in:

Fish oil, flaxseed oil, Udo’s oil, hemp oil, pumpkin oil and walnut oil.  Why these?  Because they are Omega 3 rich.  Next, olive oil, avocado oil, peanut oil and almond oil.  Why these? Because they are rich in Omega 9.  Lastly, safflower, sunflower and sesame oils.  They are rich in Omega 6.

Meaty Thick:

Salmon and Avocado

Pasty Thick:

Peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, soybeans, nuts and seeds, coconut oil.

Here are the rules:

1)        Your ratio here is 3, 2, 2.  I would do 321 but that’s only 6 days.  Sorry for that extra day.;)  You may choose one from every type of oil to make 3, or you may choose 1 type.  You know I am going to recommend you vary it as much as possible.  But they are listed in order of benefit so keep that in mind.

2)       You must have a good fat everyday but are more than welcome to have more than one in a day.  If that is the case, start from the top with thin and add going down first.

3)       Do not cook your fats.  You may only cook with coconut oil on a regular basis.  You may use Pam to  grease a surface, but try not to cook with oil–even olive oil.  High heat damages the goodness of fat.

4)       Salmon must be Wild Alaskan and you may also have any fatty fish in its place. 

If you do not have fat in your diet and you add it in, you are in for a treat.  If you do have it in your diet, make sure you are mixing it up.  Nothing beats the shine of your hair or the softness of your skin when you are filled to the brim with good fat. 

I hear a mango coconut protein shake calling my name right now!  WOOHOO!!:o)

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