TESTIMONY OF THE DAY
“Maria, I have to say this has been amazing, I have taken Zantac in the morning and night for 18 years and was thinking about switching to the purple pill as the Zantac was not working any longer. My wife and I read your book and took your assessment test and I started around mid-January, I am on my third week with NO antacids and NO heartburn at all! I also had 4-5 nights a week that could not sleep more than 4 hours, I’d wake up at 1am and not be able to go back to sleep. I am now sleeping 7-8 hours 6 or more nights a week! Thank you for your book. Feeling better at 59.” – Garth
What are your goals for today? Diet does NOT mean deprivation!
Click HERE to get started today!
CRISCO FACTS
A century ago, lard was in every American pantry and fryer. These days, lard is an insult.
The word lard has become this derogatory term associated with fat and cholesterol.
The story of Crisco begins pre-Civil War America when a German chemist E. C. Kayser developed the science of hydrogenation by adding hydrogen atoms to the fatty acid chain (with the aide of Nickel Oxide)…in other words, he took cottonseed oil (which is already a rancid oil and full of free-radicals) and added a metal to it.
This process transformed the liquid cottonseed oil into a solid that resembled lard (strong dyes are added to it to get rid of the ugly grey color…which is now removed by bleach!). This substance was purchased by Proctor and Gamble for the use of making soap and candles….it was NEVER meant to be consumed!
BUT times are tough and Proctor and Gamble wanted to make this product more “marketable” so since it looked like lard, why not sell it as a “healthy” alternative and the price of lard was getting expensive.
Crisco was introduced as a food substance in 1911. A time when wives stayed home and cooked with plenty of butter and lard. Crisco had to convince housewives about the merits of this so-called “food.” P&G’s first ad campaign introduced the shortening as “a healthier alternative to cooking with animal fats. . . and more economical than butter.” With one sentence, P&G had taken on its two closest competitors—lard and butter. Crisco was marketed as cleaner, healthier, easier to digest, more affordable, and more “modern” than lard. Magazines portrayed housewives who used Crisco were better wives and mothers, their houses are free of strong cooking odors and their children were better behaved.
To make their product more marketable, they published and gave away a cookbook. It had everything from breads and soups to desserts and every recipe included Crisco. Not only that, but they started to target the Jewish housewife because it was technically a “kosher” food, yet cooked like butter and could be used with meats. This grabbed the attention of Jews and they quickly jumped onto the advertising.
To give some compassion, no one knew the dangerous consequences of Crisco, partially hydrogenated oils…a.k.a…the trans fatty acids, were bad for us. P&G didn’t know this either, not at first. But when problems like increased cancer, heart disease, infertility, growth and learning problems, started to appear, P&G worked behind the scenes to cover them up. Dr. Fred Mattson worked for P&G and can be blamed for our false belief that animal fats caused heart disease. His influence was so strong that he persuaded the American Heart Association to preach the false gospel of the Lipid Hypothesis. Here is a short video to help explain things further: BIG FAT LIES!
I don’t know about you, but I think butter tastes way better anyway!
“HEALTHIFIED” Herb Filled SOUP
2 TBS coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
10 cups chopped kale (or Swiss Chard)
3 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
OPTIONAL GARNISHES:
5 oz. plain coconut kefir or sour cream
1/2 cup mixed chopped herbs (parsley, cilantro, and mint)
4 oz. feta, crumbled
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice (optional)
A drizzle of macadamia nut oil
In a large soup pot melt oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, stirring often and allow to soften, until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Stir in the kale, broth, parsley, cilantro, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Using a powerful blender, puree until smooth. If soup gets too thick, thin it out with leftover broth. This can be made one day in advance. Enjoy right away or cool and cover in the fridge.
If cold, reheat soup over medium heat and garnish as desired. Place 1/3 of the coconut kefir in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup warm soup and whisk until smooth. Repeat the process twice more, adding a total of 1 cup more of soup. Whisk kefir mixture into the entire batch of soup. Stir in 1/4 cup herbs and half of the feta into the soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more lemon juice, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with remaining mixed herbs and feta. Drizzle with macadamia nut oil. Makes 4 servings.
NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving)
Healthified” Soup (using Kale = 189 calories, 9.3g fat, 10.5g protein, 20 carbs, 3g fiber
“Healthified” Soup (using Swiss Chard) = 123 calories, 8.3g fat, 6.6g protein, 7g carbs, 2.2g fiber
Yoplait Yogurt = 175 calories, 35 carbs, 28 sugar, 0 fiber (more sugar than a KIT KAT!)
Plain Greek Yogurt = 120 calories, 17 carbs, 10 sugar, 1 fiber
Coconut Milk KEFIR = 70 calories, 6 carbs, 3 sugar, 3 fiber
While I am right on board with you that Crisco should NOT be used in food, I think it’s important to point out that hydrogen is NOT a metal.
Sorry, forgot to add the part where they use Nickel Oxide in the hydrogenation process. Updated above.
Thanks! That makes sense. 🙂
1. If Crisco was for making soap and candles, why did they care if it was a bit rancid?
2. Butter tastes much better than Crisco, but half Crisco and half butter makes better pie crusts than 100% butter. Half butter and half lard is also good.
1. They didn’t but when you start eating it, it is very important.
2. With all the negative effects that hydrogenated oils have on our bodies I don’t care how good it tasted in a crust, I would never use it. Use lard, butter, coconut oil. 🙂
I don’t use it either. In fact, I don’t eat pie crust at all. I was just explaining why it was popular. My mother grew up on it and lived to be 98. Of course, she might have lived to be 110 without the Crisco.
My Mom cooked with it all the time when I was growing up and she lived to be 90.
One off examples are meaningless. Would she have lived longer and felt better (less inflammation) and had a better quality of life without it? There are numerous studies showing all the negative health effect of trans fats that prove without a doubt just how detrimental it is to health.
I love the idea of creating a pureed soup with kale. I try to enjoy kale, but lightly steaming it is so boring. I can’t wait to try this soup! And the kefir/sour cream sounds like a delicious addition.
One of the reasons people keep consuming things with preservatives and additives and cooking with little understood ingredients like Crisco is because the truth of it all is kept hidden. They know we would stop buying them if we actually knew what was in them. But they all lie which is why I educate people NOT to get their info from ads and the media. It’s an uphill battle. Thanks for another great post.
Thanks!
So using kale will result in 20 carbs per serving but switching to swiss chard only 7 (before allowing for fiber)? I had no idea kale was so high in carbs, yikes! This sounds great, though, and I’m sure filling.
Yes, but it is a concentrated amount of kale. 2.5 cups in one serving. 🙂
Just stumbled across your blog today. Your intro about Crisco was interesting. In the UK Lard is rendered pork fat, I hadn’t realised that your ingredient of the same name was different.
eeeek I’m not fond of the taste of crisco! (except for when it’s in my mother in law’s cookies~they’re amazing then!) And lately I’ve been liking butter more and more…I thought it was giving me digestive issues, but I don’t think that’s the case now. And what a fresh lookin’ soup recipe! Great job~ 🙂
Any experience or comments on the coconut palm shortening, that is not hydrogenised. I’ve got the tropical traditions brand in mind, but I had read, that for cookies, they do not flatten out as much when this is used instead of coconut oil. Just curious. Thank you.
I would stick to the virgin oils. I don’t like the use of processing for any oil. 🙂
Thank you, I’ll stick to my organic coconut oil. I can handle a flatter cookie. 🙂
WOW – I never knew about Crisco — and when I think of how many pie crusts I USED to make — whew — I apologize to everyone I ever baked a pie for!!! I have not made a pie since starting WBWOE and am grateful to Dr. Davis for his book! I have been trying to read as much of your blog as possible and am so thankful to stumble across this — I still have a small can of unopened Crisco in my cabinet – guess where it is going – TRASH! I just had a 29 point allergy test – due to some issue before WB – the one thing I was allergic to–nickel! No wonder I had issues! Now thanks to you and Dr. D — I am healing on the outside and know that I must be healing on the inside. Oh how I hope I get into your class in November!!!! Thank you again for your information! Terry Duncan
Thanks! Hope to talk to you in November. 🙂
Maria,
I’ve made this soup several times (with Swiss Chard for the lower carb amount) and I have to say that I absolutely love it. I was nervous at first because it was so green! Haha, but what a wonderful way for a salad hater to get a bunch of greens in her system. My husband loves it too! This will definitely be a staple in our house.
Jocelynn
Awesome! That’s great! 🙂
So if I wanted to change this up a little, could I leave out the kale & add in cauliflower or broccoli? (Hubby is not a fan of kale)
Hmm, kale is really the base here so not sure. You could try broccoli but not sure how much you’ll need. 🙂