FRIDAY FOOD MYTHS

HAPPY FRIDAY ALL! With this post I have officially finished 2 of my 12 months of The Year of the Cook!!!!

Here is some good news about food that you might not know.

1. EGGS RAISE YOUR CHOLESTEROL - not so fast. Dietary cholesterol found in eggs has little to do with the amount of cholesterol in your body. Your body makes its own cholesterol so it doesn't need much of what you eat. Saturated and trans fats fuel the cholesterol-making in your body and eggs contain just a small amount of saturated fat. One egg about 1.5 grams which is a fraction of the amount of fat in the butter used to cook your egg....so EAT EGGS!!

2. ADDING SALT TO THE POT ADDS SODIUM TO YOUR FOOD. Salt added to boiling water may actually make your vegetables more nutrient-rich. While watching your intake of salt is very important, when you boil vegetables in salted water two things happen: first the salt helps the vegetables retain more of their nutrients and also helps the vegetables cook faster so they lose less of their nutrients.

3. FRIED FOODS ARE ALWAYS TOO FATTY. Healthy deep frying is not an oxymoron!!!! The most important thing when frying foods is to make sure your oil is hot enough. When you fry at lower temperature oil, the oil tends to get absorbed into the food. When foods are exposed to the right temperature oil moisture from the food leaves and creates a barrier which makes oil absorption much smaller. Overcooked fried foods will also start absorbing oil...so keep it hot and only cook until done.

4, THE ONLY HEART-FRIENDLY ALCOHOL IS RED WINE. Of course this is my personal favorite. Beer, wine and liquors all have the same health benefits!!! The lovely French

made us all believe that the antioxidants in red wine protected the foie-gras cheese-loving French from heart disease. Most recent research has shown that antioxidants aren't the answer at all. Alcohol, the ethanol itself, raises levels of good cholesterol which helps protect against plaque buildup in arteries helping prevent heart attacks. Any kind of beverage consumed in moderation (what????) helps reduce heart risk!!!

So I am off to deep fry some eggs in salted water with hot oil and DRINK!!!

Maybe I should have called the blog Two Months with the Cook...I am getting weird!! Happy weekend

ENJOY!