| Smart Cook |
| Smart Cook | My Recipes | Cooking Tips | Nutrition | Fun Stuff! |
|
On The Lighter Side · Fibre · Fats and Oils · Getting the Most Nutrition · Did You Know ?! · NEWSLETTERS |
 |
| Fats and Oils |
FlaxseedIf you keep up with nutrition and food news there is little chance that you haven't heard of flaxseed.
It contains the highest levels of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Among it's attributes,Flax is a great source of fibre, has the ability to lower blood pressure, remove the build up of plague from arteries and even retard the growth of overgrown cells, increases learning abilities, helps to heal skin disorders and nerve damage.
After doing a little research I discovered that the best kind, taste wise is Barlean's.
You can find this in health food stores or Nutrition sections of larger Grocery stores.
A couple of things to know about flaxseed oil is that it is very perishable. It must be refrigerated at all times, so don't buy it if it was sitting on a shelf, it must be in a cooler. This also means that you cannot expose flaxseed oil to heat, so it cannot be used like you would olive oil.
So what do you do with it, right? Use it to replace some of the oil in salad dressings, pour over pasta once it has been drained, to prevent it from sticking together, and you can drizzle it over steamed vegetables. I took a risk and included it as an ingredient in my Crispy Potato Croquettes recipe. It turned out fine only because they only need to be cooked lightly.
You can also just take a tbs. of flaxseed oil a day, to make sure that you get the benefits on a daily basis.
Olive oil is also another very good oil to use in cooking. To get the best quality choose extra virgin olive oil. When you are making salad dressings try using a combination of olive oil and flaxseed oil, in combination with your vinaigrette mixture.
