30 Days, 30 Ways: Try New Oils

All throughout January we’re bringing you 30 Days, 30 Ways to Good Health, a series of easy strategies for overall wellness (and because we love food, it’s focuses on the foods and cooking techniques to add into your life instead of what to take away.)  Read on for our latest eat well strategy: try new oils.

 

Unsaturated fats are a key element of healthy cooking. Mix up your cooking routine by going beyond olive oil and experimenting with other natural oils that add unexpected flavors to foods. A few of our favorites are below.

 

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil has an exceptionally high smoke point of 520°F, so it’s a great choice for grilling, sautéing and any other high-heat cooking methods. The oil’s lustrous green color and delicate, grassy flavor also make it a versatile pantry ingredient for stellar salad dressings and cold soups like gazpacho and for drizzling over pizza, pasta and crisp bread.

 

Grapeseed Oil

With its high smoke point of 450°F, grapeseed oil is perfect for sautéing, searing and frying. Its neutral flavor makes it very versatile; use the oil when you want the flavor of foods to shine through, or blend with more strongly flavored oils. Try it as a substitute for butter in baked goods, too.

 

Pumpkin Seed Oil

Pumpkin seed oil imparts a hearty, nutty flavor wherever it’s added and has a beautiful green-gold color.  Drizzle a little over soups, salads, potatoes — or for an unexpected treat, try it on vanilla ice cream.

 

Walnut Oil

Fragrant walnut oil is versatile ingredient for the cooks’ pantry, adding an intoxicating rich, nutty flavor and aroma to a wide range of dishes. Try mixing it with your favorite vinegar and Dijon mustard in delicious salad dressings and marinades or drizzle as a finishing oil on pasta, soups, or grilled fish or meat. It also accentuates the nutty flavor of many baked desserts.

 

Coconut Oil

With its light aroma, mild flavor and rich in fatty acids, coconut oil is a wonderful complement to baking and cooking. Rich, creamy and free of trans fats and cholesterol, it performs beautifully in place of butter and shortening, and adds distinctive taste to stir-fries and sautés. Our organic, raw oil is prepared from fresh organic coconut meat, cold pressed and bottled in its pure, unrefined state—the result is a flavorful, creamy oil with its natural nutrients intact.