My rules for holiday cooking and baking.

lookingglass

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1. Everything is real. No "low cal" butter, milk, or anything else. Low fat cheese is an abomination to the culinary arts, so it will not find it's way into my cheese mashed potatoes.

2. My Rum Balls contain real rum. It's not rotgut rum either. I got to a nice store and buy the good stuff. Anytime I can include alcohol and baking together it's a good thing.

3. Yes, that is fresh baked bread in your stuffing. No mixes allowed here.

4. I buy organically and humanely killed chickens and turkeys. Just because the little guys are going to give up their life to be on my table doesn't mean that they have to live in horrible conditions before they get there. Trust me, it makes a difference.

5. Yes that is real cream in your hot chocolate. Tell Swiss Miss to take her Mini-marshmallows and find another apartment. She has no friends here.
 

catnip

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Can I come and live with you for the next few weeks?!
You're dead right, none of this low fat rubbish. I'm a purist like you!
 
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lookingglass

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Originally Posted by Catnip

Can I come and live with you for the next few weeks?!
You're dead right, none of this low fat rubbish. I'm a purist like you!
Sure! I love cooking around the holidays! Someone I knew once asked to have a low cal holiday meal. What's the point of that?
 

momofmany

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Remember when our grandmothers used real fat renderings to fry food? Now those were the days!


I guess I will go ahead and order the organic turkey from Whole Foods. Great idea!
I totally agree with your approach.
 
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lookingglass

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

Remember when our grandmothers used real fat renderings to fry food? Now those were the days!


I guess I will go ahead and order the organic turkey from Whole Foods. Great idea!
I totally agree with your approach.
Please do so, it really does make a difference.
 

jean-ji

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Over 15 years ago I belonged to an embroidery guild. It attracted a lot of people in high stress jobs.
Two were research scientists who worked together. They were doing a project on trans fats at the time and advised me to switch from margarine to butter. I thought they were the "nutty professors", but I started using butter. Who knew?

I use real foods now, with moderation in all things.

Some recipes are not the same with substitutions.
 
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lookingglass

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Originally Posted by jean-ji

Over 15 years ago I belonged to an embroidery guild. It attracted a lot of people in high stress jobs.
Two were research scientists who worked together. They were doing a project on trans fats at the time and advised me to switch from margarine to butter. I thought they were the "nutty professors", but I started using butter. Who knew?

I use real foods now, with moderation in all things.

Some recipes are not the same with substitutions.
What's weird is I've found I eat less of the stuff with the real fat in it.
 
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lookingglass

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Originally Posted by jean-ji

Let's not get going on high fructose corn syrup that used in low fat products.
Right.
We won't talk about that.

btw I stopped eating high fructose corn syrup three years ago and have lost near 100lbs. I hate the stuff.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by jean-ji

Let's not get going on high fructose corn syrup that used in low fat products.
Yup - one of the worst things you can eat and very prevalent in a lot of products. My diabetic friend dropped that out of his diet and lost 25 pounds almost immediately. I started reading labels and now avoid it myself. It is amazing how many products they put this stuff in.

Fructose - OK
Corn syrup - OK
High fructose corn syrup - terrible for you
 

arlyn

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I've always used real stuff in my cooking, it just tastes wrong otherwise.
You should see the huge bottles of real vanilla I have all over the house, and I'm lucky in that it's cheap and easy to get lots of raw honey in this state.
I'm also never without a bottle of my favorite dark rum, for cooking as well as drinking


My snacking on the other hand....
 

margecat

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I feel almost Un-American here!
I eat low-fat, because I'm a diabetic, and it's part of blood-sugar and weight (which helps lower the sugar) control.

You kinda get used to low-fat and healthy. Really. It's not bad, I swear. Really. Sorta. I mean it. Like you get used to the rain coming in, when your roof blows off. Once you get used to it, you don't miss the roof. Really.
 

luvmy2cats

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Originally Posted by MargeCat

I feel almost Un-American here!
I eat low-fat, because I'm a diabetic, and it's part of blood-sugar and weight (which helps lower the sugar) control.

You kinda get used to low-fat and healthy. Really. It's not bad, I swear. Really. Sorta. I mean it. Like you get used to the rain coming in, when your roof blows off. Once you get used to it, you don't miss the roof. Really.
Good for you for eating healthy.
I for one could stand to cut down on the sugar but I'm addicted. I'm not a fan of "low anything" food either.
 

carolpetunia

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Although being diabetic means I really can't use real sugar or corn syrup or honey, I have decided once and for all: a tablespoon of real, honest-to-goodness pure Canadian maple syrup is a thousand times better than a gallon of sugar-free Log Cabin!


And hydrogenation is evil. I use real Land O' Lakes butter for cooking... and of course, good ol' Smucker's organic natural peanut butter. And I don't even use "American singles" for grilled cheese anymore -- I get deli-sliced cheddar, the sharpest I can find.

If only I could get away from the fake sweeteners!
 

denice

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I do the same thing for the holidays. The only concession I make is for the stuffing. I make one that is half cornbread and half bread. I make the cornbread but I buy a nice heavy textured bread from the bakery. Since it isn't filled with preservatives I can get it the day before making the stuffing and it is perfect for stuffing. I also buy boxed chicken broth for the stuffing rather than making it from scratch. Everything else is from scratch with real butter, real vanilla not imitation extract and real cream.
 
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