Do you ever think back to your unhealthy self and all the terrible things you used to eat?
Last week I opened up the kitchen pantry and their it was… The white and blue lettering on a package of lard. Hello Crisco old friend. What was Crisco doing in our pantry amid the almond butter, coconut milk, almond flour and coconut oil you may ask? My boyfriends daughter and friend had a sleep over last week and spent an entire night destroying the kitchen.
I mean baking gingerbread men.
Now this half empty tub of Crisco sat on the bottom shelf of the pantry mocking me. My mind flashed back to the gooey Tollhouse cookies I spent my entire child hood baking from Nestle chocolate chips, white flour and good old-fashioned Crisco. Yes, they were diabetes, in cookie form. They were delicious.
So a week ago, I will admit it. I gave in to Crisco.
I was planning on making myself a Turkey burger for lunch. (Okay, if I’m being honest here, it was 10:30 in the morning and it was less like lunch and more like second breakfast.)
I had not made onion rings in a long time and I thought how great would Crisco fried onion rings be on my turkey burger? Hell, I was still slapping it on a whole wheat bun with spinach. Trans fat fried onion rings would be great and not totally destroy the healthiness of second breakfast.. I mean lunch!
So I soaked the sweet onions in buttermilk and tabasco for an hour than dredged them in flour and a mixture of spices and fried them in an ocean of trans fats.. I mean Crisco.
Last time I made onion rings I fried them in coconut oil. I don’t fry things very often (Unless I’m on a home-made Tempura kick, like the month of December… hangs head in shame) but when I do I use coconut oil these days and it makes fried foods taste amazing, and yea! Coconut oil! Much better for you than just about any other oil on the market.
So guess what? When I finished my burger creation the onion rings didn’t even taste that good! I actually removed them and threw them away! I guess I have moved past Crisco in my healthy life style.
But we will always have Tollhouse Cookies.
Comments
I remember Crisco – I grew with my grandmothers/mother frying almost everything in Crisco and using that instead of butter (it was cheaper than butter). I don’t use Crisco anymore, not because it has trans fats, but because I prefer to use butter now – butter for frying things like eggs, some meats (if I don’t have to cook them on a high heat), for sauteing veggies, in my cookies/cakes/pie crusts. There are generations of people who grew up using lard/Crisco and lived long and healthy lives. Demonizing a food doesn’t make that food inherently bad – look how eggs were demonized for so long, but now they’re okay to eat (in moderation). And that’s the key – moderation. Sure, anything can be *bad* for you if you eat that exclusively, but food itself isn’t *good* or *bad*, it’s food, and it’s fuel for our bodies. I’m tired of the moralizing everyone does around food – what we eat shouldn’t have anything to do with morals, and health is NOT a moral imperative. We’re all going to die one day – I prefer to enjoy my food and not worry about the *morality* of it.
Hi Amber,
It amazing how what we used to be told and thought was healthy turned out to be the such a fraud. I remember Crisco very well but sure wouldn’t even think about buying it now. I also love coconut & use it in baking, frying or almost any recipe that calls for some type of salad oil or shortening. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. tweeted!
Wow! What a flash back!I grew up with a mother who loved to cook with Crisco, although I prefer to use coconut oil now. I am so delighted that you shared your experience using Crisco at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party!Thank you so much for sharing your gems and for your support! I’m pinning and sharing! All the best, Deborah