This is the way to replace saturated fats in a rich and healthy way that science supports

2023-08-31 12:01:43

Spices have sparked wars in times past, and now that we have hundreds of them at our disposal, we don’t use them well. Unless you are a kitchen aficionado, we usually opt for prepared sauces and condiments that greatly shorten cooking times. However, it is possible to remove excess unhealthy fats, sugar and salt from some preparations and make them taste just as tasty or better. The trick is in the correct use of spices for recipes alternatives.

Recipes have more flavor with healthy spices than with fats, salt and sugar

In the 1990s, ‘grasaphobia’ began, pointing to fats, all of them, as the culprits of all diseases. The The food industry turned its products around by eliminating fats and sell them better under the “low fat” label.

From that stage emerged foods that are totally discouraged today, such as margarine, which replaced butter. The strategy to sell more products was to eliminate fats, which are what give that flavor and texture, and add sugars to make up for that deficit.

The problem came when the carbohydrates began to be the bad guys in the movie, and now that strategy was beginning to be invalid. Today we know that neither carbohydrates nor fats are the bad moviesbut the food that contains them.

The fat in an avocado has little to do with the trans fats in industrial pastries. A refined cereal does not even generate the same impact as a whole grain, both being rich in carbohydrates.

What can I do then to get my recipes right?

Choose healthy foods, not macronutrients like carbs or fat. To face the intense flavor that the industry has manufactured in its sauces and ultra-processed foods use something we have at our disposalbut that centuries ago even generated wars: the spices.

A publication of Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics highlighted the importance of the taste of food if we want to eat well. That is the main reason why we like chocolate (cocoa with sugar) more than pure cocoa, for example.

The main conclusion of the researchers is that the participants actually preferred some of the recipes in which much of the saturated fat and salt were they replaced with herbs and spices. To come to that conclusion, The people in the study worked with culinary experts in three different scenarios:

First stage: Typical amounts of saturated fat, sugar, and salt used in classic meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, and brownie recipes.
Second scenario: nutritionally improved recipes by removing excess saturated fat, sugar and salt, without adding anything extra.
Third scenario: Had the same nutrient profile as the second, but also contained added herbs and spices, such as garlic powder, ground mustard seeds, cayenne, cumin, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

The aim of the study was to reduce unhealthy ingredients due to their excessive sugar, unhealthy fat and salt content, and to put in their place spices that would improve the flavor of the recipe. The result is as surprising as it is understandable: to the participants liked some of the recipes in the third scenario more than the original ones from the first scenario.

Eating well and eating rich are compatible

The number of people who cook healthy recipes is increasing, as we are realizing that there are food groups and spices that further enhance the flavor than unhealthy options. The only problem is that it requires time to cook and some basic notions of cooking.

The take-home message of this article is that we have so many spices at our disposal that we don’t even know about them, and we would be surprised by the flavor that our dishes can achieve if we use them well. If you are looking to improve your diet, get a good assortment of spices and enjoy your healthy recipes.

In vitónica | 7 herbs and spices that have more calcium than a glass of milk

Images | Conscious Design (Unpslash), Like Heftiba (Unsplash), Tom Hermans (Unsplash), Farhad Ibrahimzad (Unsplash)