The Simple Six
Healthy oils
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Choosing cooking fats & oils
Deciding which oil to use can be hard and choosing which brand can be overwhelming. To make things even more complicated not all brands are created equal as many "good choices" can still be laced with cheap toxic oils. Here are the best uses for the Simple Six along with some of our favorite brands that we trust and recommend.
Beef Tallow (top choice!)
Use for low to med/high heat or frying with a smoke point of 400 degrees. Choose grass-fed if possible. A few recommended brands that we love are Fatworks, Epic, Ancestral supplements or make your own! Local farms are a great place to purchase healthy bones to create our simple recipe.
Butter (top choice!)
Use for low heat cooking with a smoke point of 302 degrees. Great for baking as well. While any pure source of butter will do (be careful of the blends!) choosing grass fed will be the best choice, especially locally sourced from your favorite rancher.
Ghee (top choice!)
Use for low to high heat or even frying with a smoke point of 482 degrees. Great for baking too! While any pure form of ghee will be a good option, choosing grass-fed will be the best option. A few recommended brands are 4th and heart, Ancient Organics, Carrington Farms, Bulletproof, Fatworks & Thrive Market brand.
Olive oil
Great for room temperature uses or low to medium heat with a smoke point of 320 degrees. Extra virgin olive oil (unrefined) is the best option. Choose wisely as many are contaminated and mislabeled. A few recommended brands are Mary Ruth's Organics, Mis Raices Organic roots, Tassos Organic, Braggs Organic, Lucini Organic, Threpsi Organic, Kirkland extra virgin italian, Kirkland signature extra virgin, California Olive Ranch extra virgin & Primal Kitchen.
Coconut oil
Use for low to medium heat with a smoke point of 350 degrees. Extra virgin/unrefined is the best
option. Great for baking/natural skincare too! A few recommended brands are Nutiva organic, Dr. Bronner's organic, Carrington farms organic & Vita Coco organic.
Avocado oil
Great at room temperature in salad dressings and condiments or low to high heat cooking with a smoke point
of 480 degrees. Unrefined extra virgin is the best option. Choose wisely as many are contaminated and mislabeled. A few trusted brands are CalPure extra virgin, Primal Kitchen extra virgin, Chosen Foods & Marianne's.
The Evil Eight
Toxic oils to avoid
All other oils not listed in the simple six or
evil eight is a gray area...for full disrespect we recommend avoiding the evil eight in addition to peanut, rapeseed, sesame, anything labeled as a "vegetable oil" etc.
What is the gray area?
The gray area of this spectrum refers to all other oils that are not listed in the evil eight or simple six. We recommend staying away from any fat/oil outside of the simple six the best you can with a few exceptions.
We do support macadamia nut oil, cocoa butter, sustainably sourced palm oil (it will be labeled as such right on the food label) and unrefined red palm oil for cooking. We also support well-fed pasture-raised pork and duck fat.
Why should I decrease my consumption of chicken, pork, eggs, nuts & seeds?
Conventionally raised pigs and chickens are fed a diet high in omega-6 which is a major contributing factor to our diets since these animals are unable to process their feed in the same way a cow does, which results in their meat directly reflecting the feed they are eating. A cow (and other ruminants) on the other hand have four stomachs which means they have extra special digestion with the ability to break down the high omega-6 feed they are given and does not directly affect us in the same way. Farm raised fish and conventionally raised eggs can be problematic as well.
Our top recommendations for meat would be grass fed grass finished and secondly, conventionally raised beef. Chicken, pork, duck and eggs are best from a well-fed pasture-raised source. Fish recommended to be wild caught. And if you have to go with conventionally raised eggs, chicken and pork or farm raised fish, try to stick to the leanest cuts and add good fats.
Nuts and seeds (yes, nut butters too!) are also moderate to very high in omega-6 and should be eaten in small limited quantities. We do support macadamia nuts as a great quality fat source.