Giving up frying EVERYTHING in oil has been one of the hardest changes to make in my journey back to Mother Nature. Let's face it, most Americans (and certainly Black folks) love anything that's covered in breading and deep fried. Hell, we even cover fat to fry it in MORE fat.
I think that's a little gross, and redundant, but hey I wouldn't turn down a deep fried Oreo.
It's not just the fact that we consume large amounts of food cooked in high-temperatured oils, it's also the choice in oils we use. Most news coverage continues the myth that all oil is bad and can lead to heart disease. I thought this too, though that didn't stop me from filling up my cast iron skillet.
Years ago I believed vegetable oils were best...I mean they came from vegetables so they HAVE to be good for you, right? WRONG! Oils extracted from seeds like rapeseed (canola oil) soybean (soybean oil), corn, sunflower, safflower,didn't even exist until about 100 years ago when they became chemically engineered.
Rapeseed oil contains high amounts of the toxic erucic acid, which is poisonous to the body. Canola oil is an altered version, also called Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed (LEAR) and it is commonly genetically modified and treated with high levels of pesticides.
Canola (modified rapeseed oil) is produced by heating the rapeseed and processing with a petroleum solvent to extract the oil. Then another process of heat and addition of acid is used to remove nasty solids (wax) that occur during the first processing.Unlike other oils that come from olives, almonds, butter, or coconut, canola oils and their counterparts can't be created by expellar pressing or naturally separating. Instead, the most widely used oils are created by utilizing GM crops which have the oil chemically removed, then deodorized (more chemicals) until it has become a only a shadow of the former vegetable.
If you want a first hand look at how theses oils are made check out this eye-opening video.
So now, when cooking I am far more conscious of the choices I make. One of my families favorite meals is Chicken Parmesean (except for Bryson who gets the non-dairy version). This was actually the first thing I ever made for my husband to lure him into my spell. Of course it worked!
I used to pan fry each heavily breaded chicken breast with 4C breadcrumbs in some sort of vegetable oil. Then placed it in a baking dish with a mountain of mozzarella cheese, jarred sauce (filled with an excessive amount of salt) and popped it in the oven until artery clogging and gooey.
After this meal we were all ready for bypass surgery.
Recently I came across a recipe that has changed the way I cook my most loved meal. I can't take credit for it, but I hope you all enjoy it and maybe inspire you to find new, and healthier ways to feast!
Ingredients
3 Large Chicken Breasts (preferably free-range without hormones or antibiotics)
2 cloves of fresh garlic
10 oz of homemade or Organic marinara (Newman's is great)
1 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil
4 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese
1tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 bag of garlic croutons or 4 cups homemade
Step One: Place oil , garlic and red pepper flakes (not pictured) evenly on the bottom of a 6x9 baking pan
Step Two: Cut chicken breasts into thirds and place on top.
Step Three: Chop basil into thin strips (I usually roll the pieces up like a cigar and then chop) Sprinkle over chicken. **This basil looks wet because it was picked fresh then frozen**
Step Four: Pour marinara sauce and half the cheese (2 cups) over the chicken.
Step Five: Add those delicious, buttery croutons, that will add crunch without frying
Step Six: Cover the whole dish with the rest of the cheese.
Step Seven: Cover the dish with tin foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr.
When you are done you will have a yummy, non-fried version of an Italian favorite the WHOLE family will love!
Getting Hungry in Granolaville,
5 comments:
Sounds dee-lish! Can't wait to try it out!
This is our family's new favorite recipe.. I found it last month on pintrest.. My family loved it!!! I also want to suggest using eggplant it came out just as good. Now I am wondering if you could do the same for meatballs... You have my head spinning trying to find no frying versions of our families favorites.
Oooh eggplant and meatballs would be good! I saw it on Pinterest too, I thought tge croutons were genious!
Chef John @ Foodwishes.com has a recipe for eggplant parmesan casserole. So much healthier than the original eggplant parm dish it's based upon. I've made it a few times for big gatherings, and it's always a hit.
Great recipe. I LoVe all the cheese in that...to bad the hubby only likes mozz cheese..
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