I recently pointed out in a forum, "… oil of any kind is so concentrated with calories and so devoid of nutrients that it has little place in a healthful diet." Someone took issue with that statement, reminding readers that fats are essential to life.

Quite so, but there's a difference between fats and oils. Oils are highly processed foods, especially these days with the chemical methods of extraction and the need to preserve them to keep them from going rancid, and add nothing but empty, fiber-less calories to your diet.

So how do you get by without oil? Here are some strategies: 

Sauteing: use water or broth instead. Chop onions and garlic, add to a pan with about 1/8 inch liquid boiling, stir until liquid disappears and the onions and garlic start browning.

Here's a case of marginal cost (the barely noticeable decrease in taste) being way offset by the marginal benefit (a food that isn't carrying hundreds of empty calories and delvering cancer-causing acrylomides to your body). Acrylomides are carcinogenic compounds produced when oils are heated at high temperatures, and their bad enough that the California legislature and the parliaments of Canada and Great Britain have debated putting health warnings on french fries.

Deep frying: bake instead.

French fries or yam fries: coat with a little apple juice, shake dry, sprinkle on garlic powder and thyme, bake on cookie sheet with a spray of olive oil on the bottom and top of the fries (about 1/2 teaspoon for 4 servings).

Salad dressings: use avocados, or whole nuts and seeds in a blender. PeaceWeavers chef Stef weaver gives away her coveted Seed Dressing recipe in this interview. Or create fat-free dressings like amazing blueberry dressing (click here for recipe).

As hair conditioner: now you're talking! Oils are perfect for many external uses, including cold process soapmaking (see Comfort Soap for some of Mia's finest), skin and hair care, and my personal favorite, massage.

Just do yourself a favor and keep the oils almost entirely on the outside.