Erik in the comments box at the Culinary Ennui post said:
Also, I really don't recommend trying to cook lean. You will end up consuming more calories in the form of carbohydrates and sugars. Rather, vary the fats. I use butter, goose fat, pancetta, olive oil, and peanut oil. Probably the number one is olive oil, followed by pancetta/goose fat, followed by butter. Peanut oil is for special cases (Chinese food, for instance). Food satisfies more, tastes better, and is better for you when it is full of real ingredients and not modified food starch (the non-dairy whipped topping).
I think the very worst thing you can do is worry about the amount of fat, rather than the quality of fat.
Posted by Erik Keilholtz at September 25, 2003 06:12 PM
I agree. I did the "fat free" thing for years. I used this weird fat free psuedo margarine stuff, egg substitutes, cooked only with cooking spray, you get the idea. It was in my last pregnancy while I was nursing an pregnant at the same time that I started to use real butter, olive oil and whole eggs again. My family looks on to my cooking in disgust, but I am much more satisfied and I find it easier to maintain a decent weight eating like this. For centuries people ate whole foods and did not have the obesity problems we have now. What's the deal?
Oh by the way, my family will go through a one pound container of Light Margarine Spread every six days or so just using it as a spread (not cooking) and I may not even use a half a stick of butter in that period of time.
People didn't sit around as much, though. Exercise wasn't confined to special times for exercise. Now of course some people are a lot more active throughout the day than others, but on the whole I would have to think lowered activity levels are a major contributor.
Sometimes I talk about us eating "lumberjack meals" when we live tech geek lives.
If things taste good, one needs to eat less to be satisfied.
If you want an easy to spread bread topping, whip butter half and half with olive oil and pack into tubs. Yum.
Actually it does sound good, but I rarely eat anything like toast or crackers or things toppe with butter. My corn on the cob an popcorn I eat plain. My parents since going low fat eat this stuff constantly an I think it is to make up for the lost fat...
Get yourself some lardo, and you will never want anything else on your bread again. It really is magnificent stuff.