In this week's blog, we're going to begin discussing heart healthy fats. While many of these fats are indeed heart healthy, many people still shy away from them. The challenge lies in getting over the fact that many of these foods contain several grams of fat per serving. After you've become comfortable with this fact, which you will, you need to figure out how to incorporate more of these foods into your diet. Let's begin by discussing olive oil.

I avoided olive oil for several years. I knew that it lowered cholesterol, but one look at the nutrition label, and I just couldn't add it to my shopping cart. One tablespoon of olive oil contains 120 calories and almost 14 grams of fat. That doesn't sound healthy at all. Later on, I began to learn about heart healthy fats. Upon closer inspection of the nutrition label, you'll find that olive oil has 10 grams of monounsaturated fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat and no trans-fat. Olive oil does contain 2 grams of saturated fat, but the same amount of butter has over 7 grams of saturated fat. It's easy to see that olive oil is the clear winner. With so much heart healthy fats per tablespoon, you can't go one more day without adding olive oil to your diet.

Of course, knowing that olive oil is healthy doesn't make it any easier to incorporate into your diet. Over the years, I've played around with olive oil and found that it works well in place of other oils. For example, light olive oil works wonderfully in baked goods. I also love to sauté salmon and chicken in olive oil. I've even seen Mario Batali use olive oil for deep frying, which can be healthy when done properly. One of my favorite uses for olive oil though is to mix it with vinegar as a topping for sandwiches. It's more refreshing than mayo and definitely healthier. Also, don't forget that olive oil can be tossed in your bag and enjoyed on the go on top of salads and as a dip for bread.