One of the things you may discover after eating healthier foods is a lack of fat in your diet. Many foods that are good for you are low in fat or contain no fat at all. This can make it difficult to get the fat you need. Instead of using this as an excuse to chow down on a cheeseburger, rethink your diet plan. There are easy ways to get fat into your diet. Best of all, they all include healthy food choices.
Snack on Nuts
Many people think that nuts are bad for them due to their high fat content. The truth is though, nuts actually contain healthy fat. For example, although a ¼ cup serving of walnuts has 20 grams of fat, they only contain 1.9 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat. The fat in a serving of walnuts is mostly comprised of what are known as healthy fats: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These are the fats you should be looking for when trying to add healthy fat to your diet.
Use Olive Oil
A tablespoon of olive oil contains 13.5 grams of fat, but almost 10 grams of that fat is monounsaturated fat. This makes olive oil one of the best choices when it comes to cooking. Olive oil can be used to saute vegetables and meat. Olive oil is even a great substitute when shallow frying foods. Of course, you don't have to cook with it. Olive oil is also a great base for many salad dressings and tastes great on top of sandwiches with a bit of vinegar.
Enjoy an Avocado
Avocados aren't just for guacamole. Avocados add a rich flavor to sandwiches, salads and just about anything else you put them on. While half an avocado contains roughly 13 grams of fat, 8.5 grams of that fat is monounsaturated fat. If you've never tried avocados before, trying slicing up half an avocado and adding it to a grilled chicken sandwich at lunch or simply eat it plain as a snack.
Visit Your Local Fish Market
People think that salmon should be avoided due to it's fat content, but salmon actually contains good fats. More importantly, it contains Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for the heart and a wonderful way to add healthy fat to your diet. Salmon tastes great grilled, baked or even sauteed. You can use it as a substitute for chicken when making Caesar salads or make a salmon salad instead of using tuna. Either way, this is one fish worthy of your shopping list.
Save Those Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds make a great snack once they're roasted, but they have other uses as well. You can add them to breads for a crunchy texture. You can add pumpkin seeds to trail mix or chop up roasted pumpkin seeds to dredge chicken tenders in. Regardless of how you enjoy pumpkin seeds, they are a great source of healthy fat. One cup of pumpkin seeds contains 12.4 grams of fat, but 5.7 grams is polyunsaturated fat and 3.9 grams is monounsaturated fat. To make pumpkin seeds more interesting, toss them in a tablespoon of olive oil and add sea salt and whatever spices you enjoy before rotating. This will add great flavor and an extra does of healthy fat.
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