Listen to the experts: eat less saturated fat

August 2015 | Issue Fourteen

Here are a few tips to eat less saturated fat:

» choose low fat dairy» trim the fat off of your meat» choose olive oil and other

plant oils for cooking

Unsaturated fats

There are many different types of unsaturated fats. You may have heard of “omega threes” and “polyunsaturated” fats. These are just two types of unsaturated fats.

Some of these, like the fat in olive oil, have been found to have beneficial effects on heart health when they replace saturated fats in the diet.

Here are a few tips to help you eat unsaturated fat, rather than saturated fat:

» choose olive oil as a salad dressing

» try to have a few fish meals every week

» use avocado or hummus as a butter alternative

Did you know?

It takes about 7 litres of

olives to make a single litre

of olive oil.Fish with lentil spinach saladThis is a quick and tasty way to get one of your recommended three serves a week of fish.

The good fat / bad fat debate is hotly contested in the media. This might make you think there’s a lot of disagreement in the scientific community too. But this isn’t really the case.

Most nutrition experts still agree that having a diet lower in saturated fat and higher in unsaturated fat gives the best outcomes for heart health.

A lot of the people who are encouraging a diet high in saturated fat don’t have recognised health qualifications and are trying to sell products. So be careful where you get your nutrition advice!

Saturated fats

These are mainly found in the fat from animal products. For example, butter, cream, meat fat, chicken skin etc. Coconut is one of the only plant foods that are high in saturated fat. Saturated fat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and high blood cholesterol.

What oil should I use?

Save the expensive extra virgin olive oil for salads;

it’s best raw.

For high heat cooking, vegetable oil, canola oil

and peanut oil are all good options. Regular (not extra

virgin) olive oil is also suitable.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook time: 20 min | Serves: 4

Ingredients Method

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1. Place unpeeled potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a knife.  Drain and set aside. 

2. While the potatoes are cooking, combine the brown lentils, spinach, tomatoes, spring onions and parsley in a large bowl. 

3. In a separate small bowl combine balsamic vinegar and mustard to make a dressing.  Mix dressing through the lentil salad. 

4. Lightly spray a large non-stick frypan with oil and heat over medium heat.  Add fish and cook each side for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 

Serve fish with potatoes, lentil salad and lemon wedges.

» 8 baby potatoes, unpeeled

» 400 g no-added-salt brown lentils, drained » 2 cups baby spinach leaves

» 250 g punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered » 3 spring onions (including green tops),

ends trimmed, chopped

» 1/3 cup parsley, chopped

» olive or canola oil spray

» 4 x 120 g fillets firm white fish fillets

» lemon wedges, to serve

» 1 tbs balsamic vinegar

» 1 tbs honey wholegrain mustard

Hint - Good types of firm white fish include barramundi, snapper, hake, ling, perch, mackerel, cod, seabass and coral trout.

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