Partially unhealthy or totally healthy

Seraph

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 12:23 pm

Assuming you are making a food that uses an unhealthy ingredient, do you bother making the rest of that food healthy? Like if I am making challah with white flour, should I use honey instead of white sugar, or is that pointless already?
And if I'm making semolina cereal, is it silly to use honey instead of white sugar, because as it is, I'm using refined grains, etc...
I kind of feel sometimes like who am I trying to kid, as it is the food is unhealthy, might as well make it all the way, that switching the types of sweetener is just silly...

Yea, I know 100% healthy is best, but if the base of what you're serving is already unhealthy, do you bother trying to make the rest of it healthier?

Shopmiami49

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 12:34 pm

I feel the same way you do...but if the majority of the food is NOT unhealthy, then I would try to add healthy things whenever I can. Like, if I am making challah that is 40% whole wheat, then I will use honey instead of sugar. If I am making cookies with white and brown sugar, regular chocolate chips, etc., I won't bother with whole wheat.

jelly belly

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 12:58 pm

I think it depends whether you are talking about something truly unhealthy in all forms- like artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners, or something that is simply not AS healthy as alternatives or in large quantities, like refined grains and oil. But anyway, if you feel that you are truly putting something unhealthy into your body, I don't see why you would throw in some extra unhealthy stuff for the ride. Either way, your body is breaking things down and ultimately each ingredient is on its own.

seeker

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 1:01 pm

I like to go as healthy as possible even while splurging. Exception: when it will make a big, noticeable difference in taste or quality - then, I just try to keep it to rare special occasions but when I do indulge, I go all the way. If we're going to make something sinful, it may as well be fully enjoyable, satisfy the urge, and then get back to business.

tikva18

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 1:29 pm

nylon wrote:

I reject the premise that foods can be divided into "healthy" and "unhealthy". it's all about quantities and overall balance.

Agreed.

I tend to switch out ingredients all the time. Wait. I don't tend to.. I DO switch ingredients all the time. If I'm making a white challah recipe with white sugar - I switch it to 50/50 or 60/40 whole wheat or whole spelt and I'll use honey instead of sugar.
I hardly ever use margarine, that's an automatic switch to oil - except in pie crusts because that doesn't work so far- but I'm then using something that's nominally supposed to be healthier as opposed to regular margarine.

However, I think you are probably on a higher madreiga than I when it comes to healthy... I'm a work in progress.

AlwaysGrateful

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 2:56 pm

I agree with the poster who said it all gets broken up, so why add more unhealthy junk in for the ride?

Actually, I often view "unhealthy ingredients" like sugar as a way to get "healthy foods" into my kids. I don't feel guilty if I pour a sugary sauce on a vegetable that my kids don't usually like, since that's a good way to get that vegetable in! But if I'm making cookies with my kids, I figure they'll like them and eat them anyway, so why not make them the healthy kind? That's my attitude.

Britmummy

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 5:57 pm

Seraph wrote:

By that logic, you may as well say "I gained 5lb over Yom Tov, so I may as well just binge and gain another 20"!
It's not an all-or-nothing situation. If you're using an unhealthy ingredient, I would definitely try to compensate by making sure the others are as healthy as possible.

My aim is to make my family's diet as healthy as I can - not to ensure it's 100% perfect! Today I allowed them to eat churros with nutella! It's not healthy by any means, but it's probably only the 2nd time in 12 months, so I don't see it as a problem. The rest of their diet is extremely well balanced, so it's OK to allow a few extras from time to time...

tikva18

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 6:29 pm

Seraph wrote:

Oh, there are certain things I'll never add, like food coloring, fake sugar, margarine, etc. I mean more like refined sugars and flours, etc...

Well, why would add things to food that aren't food? lol

I switched this past year to raw sugar - the body metabolizes it better, bu refined flours? I can't do everything. I use gf flours the majority of the time. If I bake with gluten then 1. my twins aren't around and 2. I use whole wheat or whole spelt and unbleached of the same.

Britmummy

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 6:56 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

I think a balance is key. Moderation.

Yes!

I'm in med school and currently working on an endocrinology/metabolism module. Last week the (Jewish) Professor of Nutrition ended his lecture by saying "just because I've mentioned how bad all these things are doesn't mean I never eat them. It's just a question of moderation and balance!" I found that extremely reassuring :-)

Babka

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 7:54 pm

tikva18 wrote:

nylon wrote:

I reject the premise that foods can be divided into "healthy" and "unhealthy". it's all about quantities and overall balance.

I use coconut oil in pareve pie crusts instead of margarine. As long as you keep the pie in the fridge, the crust stays crunchy. Although I've recently heard that some people say that when you heat up coconut oil (cooking or baking) it becomes a toxin...

tikva18

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 9:50 pm

Babka wrote:

tikva18 wrote:

nylon wrote:

I reject the premise that foods can be divided into "healthy" and "unhealthy". it's all about quantities and overall balance.

Now why didn't I think of that? I think coconut oil is okay heated - it can deal with quite high heat without issues.

shnitzel

Sun, Nov 27 2011, 9:59 pm

I don't try to make dessert healthy. My logic is that if I am eating enough chocolate chip cookies that replacing the refined grains with unrefined will make a nutritional dent in my diet than I am eating too many cookies. Although that is sometimes true of DH's diet so maybe adding whole grains would help...
To me desserts are there to taste good and not be nutritionally relevant. I won't use transfats or food colouring but I don't try to make them "healthy".