Aversion to fat... *gasp!* page

[MissJecka]

Before you come charging at me with pitchforks, please rest assured that I do love me some bacon, cook my eggs in bacon fat, and always stir in the fat that floats to the top of my home-made beef stew. However...

I hate fat and skin when I can see it, and I always have. It has to do with being able to visibly see it and being able to feel the texture of it in my mouth.

I'm the worst person to get chicken wings with because I will peel off the skin and use a fork to get the little bits of meat off of the bone. When I ate SAD, I would do the same with fried chicken -- peel off the crispy breaded skin and only eat the meat underneath. I cut every bit of visible fat off of my steak, pork chop, and chicken. If my bacon isn't 100% crispy (like, 30 seconds away from being black and burned) I will actually remove the fat from the bacon and only eat the pink-colored meaty bits. Being Puerto Rican, when we'd have a pig roast and my grandma would broil the pig skin (chicharrones) I would gag at the thought of eating that.

I've been like this since I started eating solid food, and for my entire childhood my mother would yell at me for "dissecting my food" as I would actually take so much time to seek out the fat to cut it off of my meat.

I decided after a few weeks of abstaining from logging my food intake online, to go and put in a few days worth of meals into a log. I found that I'm not eating enough Calories overall (usually around 1100-1300/day; I don't want to lose weight...) and although I stay under 100g of carbs and eat lots of protein (usually in the form of eggs, chicken, and bacon), I am significantly low in fat.

I have been going through about 2-3 cans of coconut milk per week on average, I cook with coconut oil and olive oil (or bacon fat), and recently finished off a jar of almond butter that I opened about 2 weeks ago. I see so many folks on the thread talking about pork belly and chicken skin... but the thought of eating these things totally and completely disgusts me.

Is there any way you fat-lovers out there can suggest for me to prepare things like chicken (with the skin on), pork belly, and other fatty cuts of meat so I can eat more? I don't think I can squeeze in any more coconut products without getting the shits. (Sorry if TMI!)

[JoanieL]

I'm not particularly fond of the extraneous meat fat either. Until recently, I hadn't even eaten butter in so long, I couldn't tell you even what year it was. So...

Avocados - yummy on their own, nice amount of fat that doesn't have that gummy feel.

If you drink coffee, start with a tiny bit of (sweet) butter. This sounded thoroughly disgusting to me, but it really doesn't affect the taste much and seems to give the coffee a bit of body.

Salmon - if you like it, get fattier types. You can't really see the fat, but it's there and the salmon has a nice rich taste. (It also tastes great with a little bit of butter melted on it.)

So, I didn't really give you an answer on things like chicken skin because I don't know, but the above can painlessly add some fat to your daily eating. When I bake a whole chicken, there's about three square inches of skin that is crispy enough to me so it's edible, so I do understand your aversion.

[Leida]

I am exactly the same way, but this recipe for baked chicken made me eat skin:

My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken Recipe at Epicurious.com

However, don't stress it. If you feel good on higher protein, lower fat, you are doing Paleo.
Do you like roast vegetables? Try something like zucchini in brown butter or roast a pan in drippings. I don't like things to greasy...

Sbhikes is doing a lot of pestos.

I just discovered baking brie thing, and it is a pretty easy way for me to increase the fat intake, because I like dipping fresh crunchies into it.

Guacamole is nice as well, I make it with fresh onions, cilantro, garlic and lime juice, and just mush everything with a hand-held blender.

That Paleobird's liver pate is a winner, if you like liver sausage.

[MissJecka]

I'm not particularly fond of the extraneous meat fat either. Until recently, I hadn't even eaten butter in so long, I couldn't tell you even what year it was. So...

Avocados - yummy on their own, nice amount of fat that doesn't have that gummy feel.

If you drink coffee, start with a tiny bit of (sweet) butter. This sounded thoroughly disgusting to me, but it really doesn't affect the taste much and seems to give the coffee a bit of body.

Salmon - if you like it, get fattier types. You can't really see the fat, but it's there and the salmon has a nice rich taste. (It also tastes great with a little bit of butter melted on it.)

So, I didn't really give you an answer on things like chicken skin because I don't know, but the above can painlessly add some fat to your daily eating. When I bake a whole chicken, there's about three square inches of skin that is crispy enough to me so it's edible, so I do understand your aversion.

I eat avocados like no one's business; I forgot to mention that! I usually go through 3 haas avocados per week, however my grandmother sent me huge Florida avocados and I have slowly been eating those this week, probably about 3/4 cup (cubed) per day since they arrived on Wednesday.

I do need to invest in more seafood since I adore it, especially salmon. Thanks for the reminder.

I drink coffee daily and have thought about doing the butter thing... but it sounds too strange. Maybe someday.

How did you make sure your baked chicken skin was crisp? Just high heat? Skin is probably the thing that is most disgusting to me... but I always hear how good it tastes!

[MissJecka]

I am exactly the same way, but this recipe for baked chicken made me eat skin:

My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken Recipe at Epicurious.com

However, don't stress it. If you feel good on higher protein, lower fat, you are doing Paleo.
Do you like roast vegetables? Try something like zucchini in brown butter or roast a pan in drippings. I don't like things to greasy...

Sbhikes is doing a lot of pestos.

I just discovered baking brie thing, and it is a pretty easy way for me to increase the fat intake, because I like dipping fresh crunchies into it.

Guacamole is nice as well, I make it with fresh onions, cilantro, garlic and lime juice, and just mush everything with a hand-held blender.

That Paleobird's liver pate is a winner, if you like liver sausage.

I adore avocados and make guac whenever I can (though I prefer the fruit alone, honestly!) I like roasted veggies and use butter with them frequently; in fact, I think I'll be roasting my remaining eggplant tonight with rosemary and butter.

I may need to try roasting a chicken following that recipe. I keep being told how good chicken skin tastes... so I'm curious!

[qqemokitty]

I'm the same way you're definitely not alone. I have to pick the fat off ribs or the chunks of it in my pot roast that freak me out.

I love bacon fat though, for some reason. :3 But the ones where its like a gooey glob in your mouth? Hell to the no!

[MissJecka]

I'm the same way you're definitely not alone. I have to pick the fat off ribs or the chunks of it in my pot roast that freak me out.

I love bacon fat though, for some reason. :3 But the ones where its like a gooey glob in your mouth? Hell to the no!

I'm glad (and surprised!) that I'm not alone in this. The only way for bacon fat to be okay with me is if it's the same cripsiness/texture as the meaty part, so I always have to cook my bacon super crispy... again, about 30 seconds away from being burned. I'd much rather have burned bacon than limp bacon, certainly!

[Damiana]

Why force yourself to eat something if you don't like it? It's fine if you don't like chicken skin, pork belly, etc. I can't really see the point in butter, myself, having been raised in a country where it wasn't available for most of my childhood; I just never really got the point of smearing the stuff or eating it. If you don't like the taste of fat, you could, like others have suggested, try fatty foods that do not taste so overtly greasy, like egg yolks, avocados, nuts...I'd mention nomming on a handful of shredded coconuts, but you're sick of that....

[sbhikes]

Dairy fat is a good addition to things. Labne kefir cheese is a lot like cream cheese except not as high in fat. There's always cream cheese for more fat. Real sour cream (Wallaby brand is just cream and culture) and real creme fraiche (also should be just cream and culture) have a consistency and taste similar to yogurt but more fat. You could just put a blob of any of these things on top of whatever you are having, whether it's avocados, vegetables, potatoes, meat, salad or fruit.

You could also experiment with fancy oils, such as walnut oil or pistachio oil. Pour that over veggies or potatoes or even over cheese.

Another thing I've made besides pesto is olive tapenade.

[solstice]

whipping cream?

I'm a lover of fat...but do prefer chicken skin that is crunchy!