Choosing A Heart-Healthy Cooking Oil

A growing number of families are finding that mealtime together offers a number of benefits. In addition to satisfying meals, experts say families who eat together "are more likely to enjoy a healthy diet and be more well adjusted," according to an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Essential components for family-pleasing meals include great taste, convenience and nutrition. For many, that starts with finding a cooking oil that fits all three categories.

Often, many think of olive oil first when it comes to healthy oils. However, many people don't realize that canola oil provides lower cholesterol-raising saturated fats and the same health benefits as olive oil without the strong olive taste.

Canola oil, in moderation, recently earned a qualified health claim from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its potential ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease because of its unsaturated fat content.

Additionally, canola oil offers a number of other health benefits:

• It is lowest in cholesterol-raising saturated fats-even lower than olive oil.

• Canola oil may promote heart health by decreasing LDL or "bad" cholesterol.

• Canola oil provides essential fatty acids that may promote healthy skin, hair and nails.

• Canola oil contains phyto-sterols that help lower cholesterol.

Florence Henderson, long-time Wesson Oil spokes-person and television mom, has again partnered with the company to help educate families about the uses of cooking oils in the kitchen. Here are some of her tips on cooking with canola oil:

• Create zesty, homemade salad dressing with canola oil because it doesn't separate from other ingredients and has a light color and taste.

• Healthier breakfast and snack options for kids are now easier than ever. Add a twist to one of kids' favorite foods by making peanut butter and jelly muffins with heart-healthy canola oil.

• Use Wesson Canola Oil when baking chicken or French fries. Simply pat the chicken with oil and roll in cracker crumbs before baking to seal in the meat's juices. Chicken doesn't need to be fried to get that tasty, crispy texture.

• Use canola oil in place of other oils (not shortening) when baking, as it has a clean taste, 0 grams of trans fat and little saturated fat.

• When stir-frying vegetables, add canola oil to the wok as it heats. Next, add the denser vegetables that take the longest to cook, so they are on the bottom and closest to the heat source. Vegetables should come out soft, yet crunchy.

To meet any array of needs in the kitchen, Wesson Oil offers additional varieties for cooking:

• Vegetable Oil: The most common cooking oil, it is a soybean-based product with a light taste that lets spices and other flavors shine through.

• Best Blend: A combination of canola and vegetable oils that offers the familiar cooking and frying performance of soybean oil with some of the health benefits of canola oil.

• Corn Oil: This is often the best oil to ensure a crispy coating while retaining moisture on the inside, bringing out a natural, rich flavor and texture in fried and ethnic dishes.

To serve as a resource to home cooks, the Wesson Web site has been redesigned to offer tips and recipes in an easy-to-use format, including a special section dedicated to educating home cooks about the health benefits of oils.