The Cooking Oils & Fats I’m Choosing for Our Healthy Kitchen
- Aug 18
- 4 min read
How the UC Davis avocado oil findings changed the way I shop for cooking oils
When we started designing our forever home, I knew I wanted the kitchen to be more than just a beautiful space.
I wanted it to be a place that supported the way we actually live.
For me, that meant thinking beyond cabinets, countertops, and appliances. It meant looking deeper into the everyday things we use without thinking twice — including the ingredients we cook with every single day.
One of those things was cooking oil.
I originally switched to avocado oil because I thought I was making a healthier choice. It had become one of those “healthy kitchen staples” that seemed to be everywhere.
Then I started seeing more conversations around avocado oil quality and purity, including research from UC Davis that raised concerns about whether some products labeled as avocado oil were actually pure avocado oil.
The biggest takeaway for me wasn’t that avocado oil was automatically “bad.”
It was that I wanted to be more intentional.
I wanted to know:
Where does this product come from?
How is it processed?
Are the ingredients simple?
Is the company transparent?
And honestly, that question started changing the way I looked at everything in my kitchen.
My Kitchen Philosophy: Quality Over Perfection
One thing I have learned throughout our home build is that there is no such thing as a perfect decision.
There are always trade-offs.
The goal isn’t to create a home where every single item is the most expensive or the “best” according to the internet.
The goal is to create a home filled with thoughtful choices that make sense for our family.
That same philosophy applies to our kitchen.
I’m not trying to eliminate every imperfect ingredient or chase every trend.
I’m simply trying to prioritize:
transparent sourcing
simple ingredients
minimally processed options
traditional cooking methods
products that feel worth the investment
The Oils & Fats I’m Choosing in Our Kitchen
After researching different options, these are the fats I currently reach for most often.
Little Gypsy Farms Olive Oil
Two olive oils, two different purposes
One thing I learned while researching olive oil is that the “best” olive oil really depends on how you are using it.
Instead of buying one bottle and using it for everything, I decided to choose oils based on how I actually cook.
Little Gypsy Farms stood out to me because of their focus on traceability, single-origin sourcing, and traditional olive oil production.
Their oils are made from Koroneiki olives, a Greek olive variety known for its bold flavor and high polyphenol content. They focus on early harvest, cold-pressed olive oil produced from their own family estate in Southern Peloponnese, Greece.
Here are the two I chose:
For roasting, sautéing & everyday cooking
This is the olive oil I reach for when I’m actually cooking.
I chose this bottle for:
roasting vegetables
sautéing
everyday stovetop cooking
recipes where I want the flavor of olive oil but need something more versatile
I love that it allows me to use a high-quality olive oil beyond just finishing dishes.
For dressings, drizzling & finishing
This is the bottle I save for when the olive oil itself is part of the experience.
I use it for:
salad dressings
drizzling over vegetables
finishing meals
dipping with fresh bread
For these moments, freshness and flavor matter even more because the oil is the star of the dish.
Why I chose both
Instead of looking for one “perfect” oil, I wanted to be more intentional about how I use different ingredients in my kitchen.
The same way I’m approaching our home build — choosing quality where it matters and making decisions based on how we actually live.
For high heat cooking
As I started looking more into traditional cooking fats, beef tallow became something I wanted to experiment with.
Before modern processed cooking oils became common, animal fats like tallow were traditional kitchen staples.
I chose Lineage Beef Tallow because of their focus on sourcing and simplicity.
What stood out:
100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef
simple ingredient list
small batch rendering
no unnecessary additives
I love the idea of using more traditional fats that have been part of cooking for generations.
For me, this is a great option for things like searing, roasting, and higher-heat cooking.
For baking and certain cooking applications
Coconut oil has always been a staple I keep in my kitchen.
I chose Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil because it checked many of the boxes I look for:
USDA Organic
one simple ingredient
cold pressed
unrefined
no bleaching or deodorizing
I love using this for baking, recipes where coconut flavor works well, and certain sautéing applications.
For cooking and finishing
Ghee is one of those traditional foods that has been used across cultures for generations.
Ancient Organics stood out to me because of their traditional approach to making ghee.
Their ghee is made from organic butter using a slow kettle-cooked process.
What I love:
simple ingredient list
organic butter
traditional preparation
rich buttery flavor
I use ghee for things like eggs, vegetables, sautéing, and anywhere I want that deep buttery flavor without using regular butter.
The Goal Isn’t a Perfect Kitchen
It’s an intentional one.
Just like our forever home build, every choice comes down to asking:
“Is this worth it for our family?”
Sometimes the answer will be yes.
Sometimes the answer will be no.
Sometimes we will splurge on something because it matters to us, and sometimes we will choose a simpler option because it makes more sense.
That balance is what I love about creating a home from the ground up.
Every decision tells a story.
The kitchen is no different.
I’m excited to continue sharing the products we choose, the research behind those choices, and what is actually worth the investment as we create a healthier, more intentional home for our family.
