It is extremely easy to add oil (or, fat) to a product without consumers even realizing it, especially packaged goods.
As you may know, at Wholesome we focus on eating WHOLE, natural foods as much as possible. When oil is added, we are actually adding a processed product. Plus, unnecessary added fat and calories.
In order to extract oil from something like soybeans, the soybean needs to go through a very particular process to extract the oil from the bean. The good nutrients and fiber (the good stuff) are left behind!
Want to learn more about why oil is not a health food? Check out our Facebook Live.
Here are three common foods with added oil you can easily swap.
Peanut Butter
The ingredients in peanut butter should be simple. Peanuts and salt (or, no salt!). But that’s not usually the case. Some companies add a certain type of oil that prevents natural separation so we don’t have to stir it.
In the long run, we think the health benefits of natural peanut butter are worth the time stirring. Plus, we use the gadget linked below to make stirring a little easier!
Grandpa Witmer’s Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer (Fits most 16 oz jars)
Grandpa Witmer’s Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer (Fits most 26 oz jars)
We recommend eating a brand like Smucker’s Natural peanut butter since it doesn’t have any added oil (or added sugar!)
When possible, STEER clear of peanut butter that has added oil like skippy (notice they add sugar too)!
Pasta Sauce
We aren’t going to lie, it is tough to find a pasta sauce that doesn’t have added oil. Most of the ‘Fat-Free’ pasta sauces will be your go-to’s. But watch out, they may sneak sugar in to make it taste better without the oil.
What makes this fat-free? No oil! As you may know, tomatoes are naturally fat-free. If there is fat in a pasta sauce, it’s mostly from cheese and/Or added oil.
To be candid, we Love Rao’s Marinara sauce and have eaten it a number of times. To limit our oil consumption, we only have it ‘once in a while’.
Refried Beans
We’ll admit it, we’ve added oil to our refried beans before. Nowadays, if we make refried beans we actually try to swap the oil for vegetable broth.
When you’re short on time and rather buy your refried beans, we recommend you purchase the fat-free version. Traditional refried beans have lard and sometimes partially hydrogenated lard! (Want to learn more about partially hydrogenated lard? Watch Lauren’s Facebook Live).
Fat-free refried beans contain no added oil or fat like it’s traditional counterpart.
Although lard isn’t necessarily oil, it is added fat. Plus, this one also has partially hydrogenated lard (= trans fats which increase bad cholesterol)
When it comes to down to it, check the ingredients before purchasing something. We aren’t 100% oil-free, but we try to be mindful with what we are eating and reduce added oils and fat when we can.
