Friday Favorites: Healthy Fats

Hello Cupcakes! 

Today's blog post is a special one: Hug a Fat Post! I wanted to use my Friday Favorites post to feature my five favorite healthy fats in honor of Hug a Fat month. The idea came from Chocolate Covered Katie. Here is the link up to her post: Hug A Fat Month. Many people fear fats, but they should really love and appreciate them. The purpose of Hug a Fat Month is to break the myth in the media that eating fat makes you fat. In reality, fat can help make you lose fat. Our brains need fat to function properly. Fat protects our bones, muscles, organs, etc. Fats also help keep your skin, nails, and hair healthy. Including healthy fat at every meal will help keep you full longer. For example, having 1/4 an avocado with a chicken salad will help hold off hunger longer. 

Everyone knows of those low fat granola bars, yogurts, and other packaged foods.  Did you notice that with the increase in all the low fat products and artificial sweetener trends, obesity rates have also increases! Crazy right!? 

Keep in mind, I am talking about healthy fats here. Unhealthy fats such as trans fats are not included in the healthy fat category. Also, keep in mind that healthy fats should be consumed in large amounts. A little fat goes a long way. For example, one serving of almond butter is 2 Tablespoons. I try to include some form of healthy fat at every meal. I may use coconut oil to cook my eggs for breakfast, put almond butter in my smoothie, have part of an avocado with my salad, and have 2-4 Tablespoons of homemade guacamole with my chicken and veggies. This is an example of my daily fat intake. It may vary by person and some days I have more than other days. 

If you are interested, the Whole30 website has some great resources about healthy fat: Whole30 Website . 

Now time for me to share my 5 favorite healthy fats. 

#1: Almond Butter

I love almond butter! I like to make my own almond butter using my food processor. I get creative and add in different things such as unsweetened coconut or canned pumpkin. I also like to try out different kinds of almond butter. I really like Trader Joe's almond butter. There are no added ingredients (literally just almonds) which earns an A+ in my books. The one in this picture I picked up from Krogers. It's vanilla bean & espresso almond butter. 

#2: Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I love using this to marinate chicken or make salad dressings. I tend to not cook with it because it doesn't do well at higher temperatures. I also like to use light olive oil to make my homemade mayo for chicken salad: Whole30 Chicken Salad with Homemade Mayo . 

#3: Coconut Oil

This is my go to cooking oil! I love that coconut oil is so versatile. I literally use it in so many things. I use it to cook and bake! I use it to cook eggs, chicken, veggies, Paleo brownies, Paleo cookies, grease baking pans, and so many more things! The list goes on and on, so I won't bore you with it. If you are interested, Google "ways to use coconut oil." It can also be used to skin and hair. 

#4: Cashews

I really have to portion these little suckers out when I eat them or else I will eat a whole bag! I love them so much! I also make cashew butter using only cashews. I have a great recipe for pumpkin cashew butter as well: Homemade Pumpkin Cashew Butter Recipe . 

#5: Avocados 

Can we talk about my love for avocados for a second? I think I could eat these all dang day! I love eating them with eggs and sweet potatoes right now! I thought I would throw in a a funny picture at the end for you! 

Here are the link ups for today: Momfessionals , A Little Bit of Everything , Grace and Love , A. Liz Adventures ,  & September F A R M . If you get a chance, check out their blogs! 

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! My next posts will be from my Charlotte adventures and airplane travels.

Later taters! 

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."