5 Healthy Foods I Love: Part 6

grapeseed oil

read part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1. Grapeseed Oil

I adore grapeseed oil and only discovered such love recently. I began using it when I realized that roasting was my favorite method of preparing vegetables. Having used olive oil for most of my cooking, I realized grapeseed to be better because it has a higher smoke point- meaning it stands up better to very high heat, whereas olive does not.

Grapeseed oil is fantastic, nutritionally speaking, and it lends the gentlest sweetness to roasted vegetables- broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots, you name it. Most nights I brush it onto a sheet pan full of broccoli florets, heavily shower them with salt, and roast them at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until their tips begin to caramelize.

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2. Ketchup.

I have not found a food that I don’t believe ketchup could befriend. It’s the perfect marriage of flavors- salty, sweet and sour, all at once. I’d even go so far as to say that if your children aren’t in love with the vegetables you’re pushing, a small dipping bowl of ketchup could change their minds. It’s great to find an organic brand you like, so that you can be sure you’re squeezing pure ingredients on your burger and fries, but I do believe nothing is quite as perfect as Heinz. 

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3. Avocado.

It’s the buttery texture. It’s the slippery, satiny, and satisfying fattiness of a few slices on my salad, my sandwich- that I love.

Avocado is fantastic for its nutritional benefits, but I’m sure I’d eat it regardless. Yes, it’s as calorie dense as all the best fats are, but it is undoubtedly worth every one.

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4. Canned Solid White Tuna Fish.

Flaked and mixed with sour cream, glommed on darkly toasted pumpernickel, smeared with sweet pickle relish and maybe a melting slice of provolone, I’ll always love the nostalgia of a tuna sandwich.

millet

5. Millet.

This grain falls somewhere between couscous and quinoa. The small beads puff with hot water but they retain that chewy heft that all the best whole grains hold. One of my favorite activities is choosing a new whole grain to experiment with in the bulk bins of Whole Foods. Amaranth, farro, quinoa, millet…oh the spices, the sauces, I’d like to smother them with.

Pick a new grain each Sunday while you’re food shopping and I assure you your dinners will never grow stale.

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27 thoughts on “5 Healthy Foods I Love: Part 6

  1. suki

    I’m with you on the grapeseed oil and avocado! :) We use the grapeseed oil in the deep fryer, so it’s a little less unhealthy when it comes to our fried foods.

    Reply
  2. evan

    Ohhh, you and grapeseed oil are friends, too! It’s my favorite cooking oil. Drizzling the stuff into a screaming-hot cast iron pan and searing a steak is one of life’s simple pleasures.

    Reply
  3. Bethany @ More Fruit Please

    I love your Healthy Foods I Love series! I’ve never tried grapeseed oil or millet – but they sound really great. I’ve also never tried mixing canned tuna with sour cream – I’ve always used mayo. But I can imagine how the sour cream would add a nice tang while tasting lighter. I’ll definitely be giving that a try!

    Reply
  4. Stephanie @cookinfanatic

    I’ve never tried grapeseed oil before? Love love love roasted broccoli tho, maybe I’ll give it a whirl and see how it fares vs. olive oil per your recommendation! I also just picked up some millet last week, looking forward to trying it soon.

    Reply
  5. Adrianne

    Hmm I’ve never tried grapeseed oil! I’m a huge fan of dousing my food in olive oil, but sometimes use safflower oil for high-heat cooking. I’ll definitely try grapeseed though! The slight sweetness it offers sounds like it would be perfect with a nice sprinkling of salt :)

    Also it warms my heart to know someone else is as in love with the bulk bins at Whole Foods as I am! When I lived in London I would spend a good 20 minutes in the bulk section (which was, mind you, larger than my flat at the time) trying to decide which grains I would try that day. That’s also where I discovered my love for all beans dry. I’ll never go back!

    And of course, there are never enough words to aptly describe my love for avocados.

    Reply
  6. The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh

    I’ve always been curious about grapeseed oil and since I’ve gotten into roasting veggies more lately, this is the perfect tip! Thanks! Same goes for millet, I’ve always seen it in bulk at Whole Foods but didn’t know what to do with it or what to expect. I’m going to pick some up! Woo hoo!

    Reply
  7. Megan (Braise The Roof)

    I think this is my favorite of your healthy foods I love posts. I didn’t know that TJ’s sold grapeseed oil- I’ll have to go buy some! And ps, I read “avocado…on my salad” as “on my hand”. But there’s nothing wrong with that in my book. ;)

    Reply
  8. Carol @ Lucky Zucca

    Avacado… it is quite possibly my favorite food. So delicious! I’m glad it made you list (which I’m loving by the way!). I love your idea about getting a new grain every Sunday. I’m going to have to start trying that! Thanks for the idea. :D

    Reply
  9. Emma @ La Vie en Ginger

    Loving this series! And especially loving your point about picking a new grain to experiment with every time you grocery shop. I try to pick up SOMETHING new – be it an exotic fruit or vegetable, a freaky “health food” like nutritional yeast or, ya know, the newest offering in the Whole Foods bakery – every week. It goes back to one of my favorite ideas from French Women Don’t Get Fat: boredom, not food, is the enemy. There’s something to be said for knowing your favorite fallback healthy staples, but you can’t become so distrustful of every other food that you eat the same thing every day or you’re bound to fall off the wagon. That was one of the hardest lessons of maintenance for me.

    Reply
  10. Linda K

    I just started using grapeseed oil in cooking – glad to hear that you’re liking it so much. Also, let me give you a tip on the avocado and tuna….sandwich! Avocado (slices or guac) is a great way to add creaminess to a tuna sandwich in lieu of olive oil or mayo. Haven’t done much with millet – I’ll give it a go!

    Reply
  11. Sarah

    I could not live without my grapeseed oil. It makes cooking so much easier. I also love avocado as a spread on my sandwiches now.

    Reply
  12. M.J. Jacobsen

    I haven’t tried grapeseed oil yet, I will give it a whirl! I love avocados, they are so awesome on sandwiches! I’m really liking this series!! :)

    Reply
  13. Colleen

    Ketchup is not healthy.
    Maybe if you make your own, but otherwise it is just sugar and salt. My mom’s dietitian said it was a no no.

    Reply
    1. admin

      I love it all the same :) Same with sugar in general, and salt- they’re two of my favorite things.

      Thanks for the info, though!

      Reply
  14. Kimberly

    This is too funny because I was just drafting up a similar post on Grapeseed oil as one of my pantry staples. I really love subbing it in for dressings and for sauces that call for Canola oil. I will try using it when roasting vegetables as well. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply

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