Healthiest oils and fats (for cooking)

With so much information out there about high fat, low fat, no fat products - it’s confusing. Which oils/fats are the healthiest to cook with, and why?!

Well my top 4 fats/oils that are always in my pantry and I choose to cook with are extra virgin olive oil, macadamia oil, ghee and coconut oil (in that order!). Always. Here’s why…

You see the smoke point of these oils, which is when the oil smokes and becomes unstable and releases toxic fumes, varies, which guides me with which oil to reach for, and when.

The smoke point for the oils are:

• Olive oil - 205℃

• Macadamia nut oil - 210℃

• Ghee - 250℃

• Coconut oil - 190℃

So I'd say that 80% of the time I cook with extra virgin cold pressed olive oil and that’s because 80% of the time, I’m not cooking over 205℃. I use macadamia nut oil and olive oil in salads, mayo and even cakes.

Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) are a key part of a Mediterranean diet and have been shown to reduce diabetes and cardiovascular disease and have been shown to lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels. MUFAs can be found in high amounts in olives, olive oil, macadamia nuts, macadamia oil, hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds and avocados and avocado oil.

For example, olive oil consists of 75% monounsaturated fats, making it a good choice of oil to cook with and add on to foods. The monounsaturated fat components of the oils are: olive oil - 75%, macadamia nut oil – 79%, ghee - 28%, coconut oil - 4%.

Plus olive oil is rich in immune supportive vitamins and antioxidants, including Vitamin E!

Psst… I absolutely love the burnt buttery caramel flavour of ghee (and ghee doesn’t contain casein or lactose making it a lot more easily digested) and tend to use it a couple of times a week. You can make your own ghee at home - it’s easy peasy. Here’s a ghee recipe! And I'd use coconut oil once a week.

Hope this helps with any cooking oil dilemma!