We are all guilty of not always making the best choices when it comes to the ingredients in the dishes we cook, but since I’ve discovered that Mazola® Corn Oil is a better-for-you option than other oils with little taste difference, that is all about to change for us. Did you know that a recent study has found that adding Mazola Corn Oil to one’s diet resulted in lower cholesterol levels than Coconut Oil? A previous study found that corn oil can also help lower cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil! To learn more about the study, see Mazola.com.
One of my favorite on-the-fly dinner options is making lemon pepper chicken (or fish). The difference is that this time I used a little bit of Mazola® Corn Oil to sautee it in the pan, some olives and chicken stock instead . Using chicken tenderloins I generously seasoned them with a pre-mixed lemon pepper seasoning that’s easily found in the spice section of your favorite grocery store. Since Mazola® Corn Oil has a higher smoke point (450°F) it performs well when you sear chicken in a hot pan. Many other cooking oils have a smoke point that once you exceed it will not only affect your food’s flavor but also destroys nutritional value. Mazola® Corn Oil has a very neutral flavor as well, so it won’t add any strange tastes to your dish either!
So instead of using butter, I decided to use Mazola® Corn Oil as it’s a great all-purpose cooking oil that’s considered a smart heart-healthy choice for your family. You can use it in SO many ways besides sautéing as I did – you can also use it in baking, grilling, stir frying, or mixing up a marinade or dressing. I paired up this chicken with a mixed green salad and used Mazola® Corn Oil to create a lovely honey-dijon vinaigrette that was delicious! Best of all, Mazola® oils are cholesterol free and have become a healthful tradition in America.
It did not take very long to achieve a nice brown sear on each side..
Towards the end of the cooking process, I squeezed half a lemon just to add some extra flavor before removing it from the hot pan.
So no better-for-you dinner would be complete without a mixed greens salad, instead of something heavier like rice or pasta, with a honey-dijon vinaigrette made with Mazola® Corn Oil. I used a bag of prepared mixed greens that contained baby spinach with carrots and red/green lettuce.
I used:
- 2 tablespoons of Mazola® Corn Oil
- 2 tablespoon of stone ground dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Mix it all up in a small bowl and you have a delicious Mazola® Corn Oil based vinaigrette to top your salad with!
Some better-for-you swaps can be made with your salad too. Most people enjoy croutons and bacon bits as salad toppers – but we made some simple swaps that I believe are way better choices! Try making a swap with sliced black olives and blue cheese crumbles instead! I promise it’s a better choice and it’s surprisingly much tastier too!
How do you make your recipes better-for-you? Check out Mazola® on Facebook to learn more!
