Whether you're on a road trip, or just jonesin for something crunchy, salty, and convenient consider reaching for a bag of pork rinds instead of the usual chips, pretzels, or peanuts.
A serving of pork rinds will usually run about 80-90 calories, but unlike the "low fat" starchy snacks, pork rinds (aka fried out pork fat) will not spike your insulin levels which will ultimately make you fatter, hungrier, and crankier. The fat content in pork rinds comes from mostly mono-unsaturated fats, which, is "heart healthy" and a far cry from the oxidized (rancid) polyunsaturated fats that you will find in snack foods processed with vegetable oils like corn, soy, peanut, and canola.
Because most port rinds are sourced from animals raised in conventional factory farms, they shouldn't be considered a dietary staple. Also, be sure to read the ingredient label when making your selection. Look for "fried out pork fat" and "salt" as the only two ingredients and avoid products with artificial flavors, MSG, and other nasty stuff.
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I spoke with a woman at a road side stand in Georgia who fries her own Pork rinds--the big fluffy kind. She mentioned that she fried them in corn oil. I would stick with the crackling "fried out" style you have pictured here over the crunchier type that is first dried and then later fried puffy in who-knows-what type of oil.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Good call Steve! Pumping pork rinds full of oxidized PUFA from corn oil defeat the purpose of eating them over a bag of chips, crackers, etc.
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