Monday, November 11, 2013

The transfat debacle

The FDA wants to get rid of transfats because they are bad for us Americans and cause all sorts of problems. I don't have a problem with that because they are in things that either I don't eat or can be easily made without them.

I used to use margarine but decided it had too many ingredients. Now I use unsalted butter. It has one ingredient - cream. I don't buy frozen pizza, microwave popcorn, coffee creamer and all sorts of lovely prefab foods including baked goods. It helps things retain their shape and improves shelf life. I prefer things that are fresh with few ingredients.

McDonalds has gotten rid of transfats so you can safely eat their fries. Dunkin Donuts seems to have removed transfats from their donuts. I am sure other chains have done the same.

Skip the frozen pizza - either order it delivered or make your own from scratch or use the premade crust available at the deli. Microwave popcorn - a/k/a chemical popcorn - can easily be replaced by a little brown paper bag that you used to use to bring lunch to school and 1/4 cup of kernels. Fold the bag sealed and put in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. Voila its chemical free. Melt some butter separately if you really want.

My absolute favorite, horrible for me meal that I eat rarely is fried clams and scallops with onion rings and fries - my husband and I split a plate - and we get it at a place which fries everything in lard. Lard doesn't have transfats either.

My gut (haha) tell me that the place that would take the biggest hit if transfats were removed would be the frozen prepared food section of the grocery, the premade baked goods in the grocery, microwave popcorn, and the fancy creamers that go into coffee. Could we live without these? Probably fairly easily.

I am with the FDA on this one.

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