Healthful
Summer Cooking with Palm Oil
(ARA) – While popular thought holds that winter is the time when
Americans pack on the pounds, summer can be fraught with food dangers
as well. Chow down on one (or 10) too many ballpark hot dogs, burgers
or ice cream cones and all the water skiing in the world won’t burn the
calories you’ve consumed.
Summer can be a good time to adopt some wholesome culinary habits –
like incorporating fresh fruits and veggies into your daily diet, and
replacing trans-fat laden oils with more healthful alternatives. With
cities across the country requiring restaurants to eliminate trans fats
from their foods, American restaurateurs and consumers alike are
discovering an alternative oil widely used by the rest of the world –
red palm oil.
“Palm oil is great for summer cooking,” says Emily Mattison, president
of Jungle Products, which sells red palm oil and other natural products
both online and in specialty stores such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats.
“Palm oil is a ‘light’ oil – light in mouth feel but rich in flavor.
Grilled fish, chicken or veggies will have a unique, pleasant, earthy
and caramelized flavor.”
Palm oil is a healthful, flavorful enhancement to summer cooking,
providing:
* High nutrient content without the trans fats found in the
hydrogenated vegetable oils commonly used for frying, grilling and
marinades.
* Better cooking medium. Other healthful oils like olive and canola are
not good for deep frying or grilling because they smoke at high heat.
Palm oil is stable enough to stand up to the high heat of flash
grilling or searing without smoking.
* Rich in all the oil-soluble vitamins vital to health, palm oil also
provides the most vitamin E, beta-carotene and tocotrienols (a form of
vitamin E thought to prevent free radical damage) of any natural
source. According to the American Palm Oil Council, palm oil and its
solid form, palm olein, surpass other alternative oils for nutritional
value because they contain many potent antioxidants.
* Easily available at most health, organic and natural food stores,
many supermarkets and online at www.junglepi.com. Mattison discovered
palm oil and its numerous health benefits years ago while searching for
a way to help her sons, both afflicted with spinal muscular atrophy, to
meet their unique nutritional needs. At that time, palm oil could only
be purchased in the United States in 55-gallon drums.
Now the entire Mattison family enjoys incorporating palm oil into their
summer diet. Here are a few of their favorite summer recipes:
Ryan’s Grilled Yams
Ingredients:
Two large yams
Palm oil (enough to brush on yams)
Brown sugar (to taste)
Sea salt (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)
Preparation:
Peel the yams, cut off the tips and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch
thick spears. Brush with palm oil. Sprinkle with brown sugar, sea salt
and cinnamon. Grill on the low heat side of the grill for about 20
minutes until tender.
Chicken in Red Palm Oil
Ingredients:
1 chicken, cut up for frying
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/4 cup Red Palm Oil
Preparation:
In a large cast iron or frying skillet, melt the Red Palm Oil. Heat the
oil over high heat until you notice the typical “burn off” that is the
result of not filtering the oil. You will notice a small amount of
smoke followed by the oil darkening several shades. Reduce heat to
medium.
In a small bowl, mix the salt and spices. Dust the chicken with the
spice mixture. Place the chicken in the skillet and cover with a lid.
Cook each side of the chicken until it is well browned and thoroughly
cooked. Drain and serve with BBQ Red Palm Oil Veggies.
Serves four to six people.
BBQ Red Palm Oil Veggies
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus or 2 zucchini or other squash, sliced
1/2 cup Red Palm Oil
Sea salt to taste
Preparation:
Sprinkle the squash or asparagus with the sea salt and coat in Red Palm
Oil. Grill the vegetables on both sides until tender. Serves three to
four people.
To learn more about the benefits and uses of palm oil, visit
www.AmericanPalmOil.com. For more recipes, healthful products and palm
oil, go to www.junglepi.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
