Know your fats

You hear people say that you should be eating "good fats" and staying away from "bad fats" ...but do you actually know why or what...or how?

All fats have the same amount of calories, but they vary in their chemical compositions and effects on health.

The good:
Polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, omega 3 fatty acids.
These fats help to lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). These fats are found mainly in fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants. Examples of foods that contain these good fats: salmon, trout, herring, avocados, olives, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, almonds and liquid vegetables oils like soybean, corn, safflower, canola, olive, and sunflower.

The bad:
Saturated fats.
Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol; they raise the levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.

The ugly:
Trans-fats and hydrogenated fats.
Trans fats are invented as scientists began to "hydrogenate" liquid oils so that they can withstand better in food production process and provide a better shelf life. As a result of hydrogenation, trans fatty acids are formed. Trans fatty acids are found in many commercially packaged foods, commercially fried food such as french fries from some fast food chains, other packaged snacks such as microwaved popcorn, crackers, chips and as well as in vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine.

So the moral of the story is: eat all fat in moderation, but eat more of poly/mono unsaturated fats, eat less of saturated fats, try to stay away from trans/hydrogenated fats, and we'll all be ok. :)

Whole wheat pizza crust dough

I use this recipe in my bread maker, and it makes the BEST (and easiest) pizza crust ever! And as a plus it does not need to spend all day and night rising!

1 thick or 2 thin 12-inch crusts

1 cup lukewarm water
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

If using your bread maker; use the pizza dough selection.

If you are not using a bread maker then do the following:
Combine all ingredients in your mixer until it forms a ball-if it's too sticky add a little flour, to dry-at a little water. Knead dough for about 15-20 minutes (or let your mixer do it), and let it rise (covered) for about a half hour, then punch it down.

For both methods:
Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half (if making 2 crusts) and press into a 12-inch pizza pan. Generously prick dough with a fork.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to turn light brown. Remove, add desired toppings and return to oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Use any topping your heart desires! My favorites are ham and fresh pineapple, or tomatoes and fresh basil. Brandon's favorite: pepperoni.

*image via flickr: user gym