Olive Oil

stacygee · 02-17-2011, 10:11 PM

Okay- I eat at least one salad a day and today I had two... for lunch and dinner. I actually love my salads... but I am afraid they actually could be hindering my weight loss... this is why...

I do not like salad dressing. I use one Tablespoon of Olive Oil b/c I like it to be a bit moist but not add a lot of taste. I like the taste of the salad. But, the calories and the fat are adding up so quickly from the olive oil. 120 calories per Tablesoon. I know there are some benefits to olive oil- but I have so many questions about this...

1. Is that adding too many calories to my diet? Today my salad was 519 calories (120 of which would be the olive oil).

2. Does the fat I am adding with the olive oil make me fat?

3. Is there anything I could substitute that is less calories and not balsalmic vinegar or salad dressing that could save me some calories.

4. Is this good or bad. I just don't know.

I've lost 72 pounds- but every pound is now getting harder to lose and I need to make adjustments where I can.

astrophe · 02-17-2011, 10:59 PM

I don't think it's a big deal if you are staying in your calorie budget overall.

But if you want to try tweaking, you could make it half olive oil and lemon juice if you do not like half olive oil and half vinegar (balsamic, red, white, rice, or other vinegars)

Or even water, I suppose.

I go the other way to save calories -- skip the olive oil and enjoy the vinegar!
But I like my salad tangy sharp, so I enjoy the vinegar in there.

A.

katy trail · 02-17-2011, 11:29 PM

i often use honey mustard instead of dressing. or if there's fruit in the salad, like an orange. it doesn't need dressing. i agree, if you are in budget, then it's fine. healthy fat is good for you.

instead of salad persay, i often make greens. some type of leafy green cooked. fresh or frozen. saute' in some garlic and olive oil. possibly other veggies. really yummy with peppers. and whatever spices you like. i love curry.

sometimes i just cook it (the frozen leafy greens) in the microwave. it's faster, and there's no fat. add in the seasonings and such and tastes almost the same.

josey · 02-18-2011, 11:19 AM

You are actually supposed to eat veggies/salad with some oil since it helps the body to break down the food into the nutritional components. Helps digesting and absorbing the vitamins, iron etc.

Extra virgin olive oil is very good and other veggie oils I guess are very good for your skin, hair etc. too.

Don't stop!

reptogirl · 02-19-2011, 01:27 AM

i use salsa for my salads

when i use olive oil for anything, i try using only a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon, cuts the calories down to 40

stacygee · 02-19-2011, 10:25 PM

astrophe- thank you for the suggestion of lemon juice. I have settled to half a Tablespoon Olive oil and half lemon juice. It provides enough moisture and is yummy and refreshing and I feel better saving 60 calories!

MoniqueDiet · 05-31-2011, 04:00 PM

I love using olive oil and vinegar (or lemon juice) for my salad. I think as long as you are in your calorie budget, you are doing fine. :-)

MacAndEase · 09-01-2011, 08:03 PM

When i eat salads i make a very simple vinaigrette.
-2 tblsp Olive oil
-2 Tblsp lemon juice
- Pinch of pepper
-Pinch of salt
MmmMmm!

PhatBeth · 09-07-2011, 01:01 PM

Olive oil is the best solution for you, you still need the calories as much as you need to lose weight. The passe of weight loss that you call slow is the most recommended since that drastic chance in body weight comes with some side effects too.
Taking olive oil have no problem.

LAgreeneyes · 01-20-2012, 11:42 AM

I just purchased some olive oil and cooked with it last night and I noticed the high calories. I was shocked. I didn't realize how many calories are in olive oil. I tablespoon was 240 calories. I added it in with the meal. I don't think that I will be using it too much.

carter · 01-20-2012, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAgreeneyes

I just purchased some olive oil and cooked with it last night and I noticed the high calories. I was shocked. I didn't realize how many calories are in olive oil. I tablespoon was 240 calories. I added it in with the meal. I don't think that I will be using it too much.

You are mistaken - 1 tablespoon of olive is about 120 calories, same as any other near-pure fat. So it's not as calorie-dense as you think.

Olive oil is a great thing to use in salads and cooking. It tastes great, and it's got essential fats that your body needs to function normally. Moreover, a little goes a long way. Sure, 120 calories per tablespoon is calorie-dense - but you rarely need a whole tablespoon in a serving of anything. You can whisk it with lemon juice or vinegar to make a salad dressing, and use only about 1 tsp-worth of oil. You can coat a saute pan with half a tablespoon and cook up 1-2 servings of vegetables in that. I often toss an entire head of cauliflower in just 1 tbsp, roast it, and get 2-3 servings out of that. Or, I pan-sear 4 fish fillets in 2 tablespoons, and actually leave most of that fat in the pan when I serve it.

So don't be afraid of olive oil just because it has some calories. You don't have to drink the stuff!

LAgreeneyes · 01-20-2012, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carter

You are mistaken - 1 tablespoon of olive is about 120 calories, same as any other near-pure fat. So it's not as calorie-dense as you think.

Olive oil is a great thing to use in salads and cooking. It tastes great, and it's got essential fats that your body needs to function normally. Moreover, a little goes a long way. Sure, 120 calories per tablespoon is calorie-dense - but you rarely need a whole tablespoon in a serving of anything. You can whisk it with lemon juice or vinegar to make a salad dressing, and use only about 1 tsp-worth of oil. You can coat a saute pan with half a tablespoon and cook up 1-2 servings of vegetables in that. I often toss an entire head of cauliflower in just 1 tbsp, roast it, and get 2-3 servings out of that. Or, I pan-sear 4 fish fillets in 2 tablespoons, and actually leave most of that fat in the pan when I serve it.

So don't be afraid of olive oil just because it has some calories. You don't have to drink the stuff!

The company must have made a mistake on their printed label because it reads 240 calories for 1 tablespoon. I'm looking at the bottle right now.

graatsia · 01-20-2012, 12:34 PM

My favorite salad dressing is a mix of oil, soy sauce and apple juice. It still has oil in it, but much less - you get the juicyness with the juice

1tsp olive oil
1tsp soy sauce
3tsp apple juice

If you like, you can also mix in some dried herbs such as thyme or basile.

carter · 01-20-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAgreeneyes

The company must have made a mistake on their printed label because it reads 240 calories for 1 tablespoon. I'm looking at the bottle right now.

Yep, it's an error. Every food oil is about 120 calories per tablespoon. Canola, peanut, coconut, olive, you name it - 120 calories per tablespoon.

It isn't possible for one brand of olive oil to be twice as caloric as any other - food oils are nearly pure fat, and you just can't pack twice as much fat into a tablespoon of any kind of oil.

LAgreeneyes · 01-23-2012, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carter

Yep, it's an error. Every food oil is about 120 calories per tablespoon. Canola, peanut, coconut, olive, you name it - 120 calories per tablespoon.

It isn't possible for one brand of olive oil to be twice as caloric as any other - food oils are nearly pure fat, and you just can't pack twice as much fat into a tablespoon of any kind of oil.

Thank goodness! Now, I don't have to count all of those calories.

Thanks for pointing that out!!!