A Guide to a Healthier Lifestyle With Cooking Oil

There is a lot of controversy over the good, bad and ugly side of oil consumption.

The thing to remember is that oil is a fat, and it is necessary for the proper development of the body, e.g they are needed for hormone production, building healthy cells, improved skin quality, energy, and help us to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

However, moderation is required when consuming oil, because oils contain calories, and not all oils are health friendly to the body.

To attain optimum health and weight, we must be able to upgrade to healthier cooking oils and improve the overall quality of our diet.

Research has shown and revealed that when it comes to Nigerian dishes, the kind of oil we use in cooking is the biggest culprit in making our naturally healthy food becoming unhealthy.

Cooking oils are divided into Saturated and Unsaturated fats. They all have different effects on the body and health:

• Saturated fat found in oil is solid d at room temperature.  It is mostly in animal foods, such as milk, cheese, and meat and also in tropical oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter. Too much consumption of this oil can lead to increase in weight gain, development of diabetes, high blood pressure and complications with the heart, i.e, clogging of the heart arteries.
• Unsaturated fat found in oil is liquid at room temperature. It is mostly in oils from plants and it helps to reduce the risk of cancer and breast cancer, fight against diabetes, reduces stroke by 80%, reduces belly fat and is said to keep the heart healthy.. It is further broken down into Monosaturated fats ( this fat is in avocado, nuts, and vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils.) and Polyunstaurated fats ( this type of fat is mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils.

It is quite impossible however, to eliminate saturated fats from your meals entirely, because they are present in other food sources that you tend to consume.

Below is a list of some cooking oils and what type of fat they have.  Please note however that some of the oils listed below are not ruled out to be bad for consumption. There are just healthier alternatives and it is strongly advised to consume them in small portions especially if you  want to attain a healthier lifestyle or reach weight loss goals.

Unsaturated Fat Induced Oil

• Canola oil
• Olive oil
• Soybean oil
• Avocado oil
• Groundnut oil
• Fish oil

Saturated Fat Induced Oils

• Coconut Oil ( coconut oil unarguably has a lot of health, hair and skin benefits, if you are working towards weight loss or trimming down, one would do well to minimize or stay away from consuming it)
• Palm Kernel Oil

The table below, shows you the percentage of saturated fats, monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats that each of these oils contain.

NOTE: The percentage of oils in this table is measured per grams.

The key is to gradually use less oils that have saturated fat in the preparation of dishes or if it is affordable, switch to any of the monosaturated fat induced oils. Below is an example of how to prepare typical Nigerian dishes, Ugwu soup and Chicken stew. It is as simple as just skipping the oil.

Ugwu Soup

Medium chicken/Beef (cut into sizes)
1 medium onion
7 Tomatoes
2 Bell pepper (Tatashe)
1 – 3 Pepper Little Salt/Maggi

PREPARATION

STEP 1 – Season & Boil your chicken/beef as desired until tender.

STEP 2 – Remove the cooked chicken/Beef from the stock (Chicken/beef water)

STEP 3 – Blend your tomatoes & Pepper & put it in the pot. Heat until the water is dry.

STEP 4 – Pour in the chicken/free stock and cook for 15 minutes.

STEP 5 – Add the chicken/beef and leave to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

STEP 6 – Serve with swallow or rice

Chicken Stew

This is the regular way you make your normal Nigerian chicken stew but this particular recipe is oil-free:

1) Boil your chicken with spices as you usually do.
2) Cook your tomato blend till almost all the water has dried. 
3) Leave the pot of boiled chicken to cool then drain the fat / oil that comes to the surface
4) Pour your boiled chicken with the stock into the reduced tomato blend add your spices as you do

Cook at low heat and stir at short intervals. Taste the mix to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. Cooking ends when you are satisfied with the taste and happy with the stew’s consistency. (You can replace the meat stock with water, if you so please)

Photo Credit: Dobbyssignature & Sisijemimah