The Good Fat Cookbook by McCullough, Fran (2007) Paperback

by Fran McCullough

Good news. The good fats -- butter, chocolate, eggs, coconut, olive oil, avocado, fish and shellfish, among many other favorites -- are not only delicious, they're good for your brain, heart, immune system, hormones, skin, memory, and emotional well-being. Whatever you think you know about fat, forget it. After two decades of the low-fat diet trend, Americans are fatter -- and less healthy -- than ever before. For many, those torturous no-fat, low-fat diets are outright health hazards, contributing to everything from premature wrinkling and depression to hormone dysfunction and even cancer. In The Good Fat Cookbook, best-selling author Fran McCullough delivers the delicious news. Here is powerful evidence that not only have we been sold a bill of low-fat goods, but the foods we love to eat -- real butter, chocolate, coconut, whole milk and cream, nuts, avocados, cold-water fish, red meat, olive oil, bacon and eggs -- are actually good for us. Not only does fat not make you fat, the good fats slow the effects of aging, improve mood and memory, boost the immune system, and protect against catastrophic disease such as stroke and cancer. And the most surprising news of the right fats are great tools for weight loss -- they make you fuller faster and for longer and jump-start your metabolism. McCullough debunks fat myths and demystifies cutting-edge science, while exploring all aspects of the fat phenomenon, fork in hand. More than a hundred simple recipes -- Salmon Chowder, Tuna with Rice, Deep-Fried Coconut Shrimp, Parsley Salad with Avocado, Chicken with Olives and Oranges, Grilled Cheese with Oregano, Crisp Coconut Waffles, Avocado Cheesecake, and Wall-to-Wall Walnut Brownies -- put the good fats back on your table, and McCullough offers spirited advice on everything from the best cooking oils and tastiest canned tuna to nutritional supplements and testing for your fatty-acid profile. Her hundreds of thousands of low-carb fans will be overjoyed to see that most of the recipes here are perfect for them as well. Fran McCullough is the author of the best-selling The Low-Carb Cookbook and Living Low-Carb. She won a James Beard Award for Great Food Without Fuss and, since 1999, has been the editor of the annual Best American Recipes anthology series. A graduate of Stanford University, McCullough began her career as an editor, discovering Sylvia Plath, Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday, and National Book Award winner Robert Bly as well as Richard Ford. She also edited and published a distinguished list of cookbook authors, including Diana Kennedy, Paula Wolfert, and Deborah Madison. Her website address is www.blackdirt.net/lowcarb

Genres: Cookbooks, Food

Paperback

First published July 2, 2002

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is more than a cookbook - fully one half of it is devoted to an accessible, understandable explanation of fat - what it is, how it works, what kind is good for you, what kind bad, and what foods are the best sources of good fats.

But we don't buy cookbooks primarily just to learn about health - we want them to consistently produce easy, delicious food. Therefore, I'm pleased to say that this is another of those cookbooks which has never failed me. Every recipe is absolutely delicious, probably because McCullough, having rounded up and summarized the large body of lipid research showing that fat is an extremely important part of a healthy diet, is not afraid to add lots of yummy fat to a dish. If you try nothing else from this book, be sure to try the recipe for red cabbage sauteed in butter (tons of butter) and gin. It has 5 ingredients, takes about 15 minutes to prepare if you're fast with a knife (or have a good food processor), and tastes like heaven.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire beginning of the book is about fats and why some are good and some are bad and why some have been thought or described as bad when actually they aren't. It was really interesting, backed up with facts and figures and verified what I thought about a lot of foods, such as butter and eggs. ( I haven't eaten margarine for about 25 years, nor canola or most processed foods.) Some of the recipes are amazing too- obviously I didn't try them all. The most I can say about this book is that I renewed it the maximum I could from the library and am now going to buy it. Highly recommended!

[Elizabeth Golding · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read about low carb high fat diets it makes me angry that so many in the food industry and government have been putting their pockets before the physical health of the people who believed their lies despite what science has been saying for so long - There are good fats that need to be at the bottom of the food pyramid not the top of it.

[CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dietary opinions and tastes have changed a lot since I initially read the book. There were some recipes in here that sounded appealing, that I meant to get around to trying (olive oil cake, for instance), but never did, and as my dietary restrictions made themselves known, this book didn't suit me well anymore, and I no longer agreed with a lot of her premise about the desirability of dietary fat, so I passed my copy on to someone else who would enjoy it.
I'd say this would be good for the current keto craze, but I think there was still a fair amount of carbs in her recipes (like the above mentioned cake). If you fancy oily/ fatty foods, though, and don't mind some carbs, this might be a good cookbook for you.

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Healthy fats=tasty food. and satisfying. Plus, she uses a lot of coconut milk, which is nice for dairy intolerant me. so many of the recipes look tasty that I'm going to have to return the book to the library, and just buy a copy. Besides, I want to read the first half, about diet and fat and health, thoroughly, not just skim it. anything that says bacon is good is okay with me. :D

[Brynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most exciting news I've read in years! Fats are back, baby! But be sure to read about which fats are good for you and which are not. Like Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, this book didn't make me stressed about food (like almost every other thing I've ever read about food has), but rather it got me pumped and excited to eat healthful foods. Try the red pepper soup recipe: it's amazing!

[Ahamed Nuzhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part one is dedicated to explaining what went wrong in the dietary recommendations regarding fats, and explains how every fat are not created equal.

Highly recommended to anyone still believing the low-fat nonsense.

[Pomomom]

New information on fats, like the real orgin of canola and the use of soybean, flax and canola oils.

[Loree · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone should read throught this at least once to "rethink" good fats vs. bad fats...

[Tina Krogdahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative about the science of food and health.