There’s one thing you should know about butter, margarine, and oils used in cooking, baking, and salad dressings. They’re fat. All of them. Fat, pure and simple. One tablespoon of any oil has 13.6 grams of fat and 120 calories.

This may come as a surprise since marketing campaigns have long promoted liquid vegetable oils as ‘heart healthy’. Yes, these oils are low in artery-clogging saturated fat, and don’t have cholesterol. But, as we mentioned, they’re also loaded with fat and calories.

What’s a health-conscious person to do when they need a little oil for cooking? Squeeze it from the nearest skinny looking carrot? No, silly. Don’t get all dramatic on me. What you need is merely some information about which oils are more useful for light and healthy cooking.

Canola Oil
With a mild, bland taste, canola should be one of your primary cooking oils when you don’t want a strong taste from your oil. Low in saturated fats and rich in monounsaturated fats, canola oil also contains alpha-linolenic acid, an essential omega-3 fatty acid that most people are deficient in.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil should be another of your primary cooking oils. Unlike canola, it does add its own delicious flavor to food. Rich in monounsaturated fat, olive oil also contains phytochemicals that lower blood cholesterol and fight against cancer Extra virgin is the least processed and has the best taste. How about ‘light’ olive oil? Not such a good choice. You have to use more oil for the same amount of flavor. Bad trade-off. Stick to the real deal.

Macadamia Nut oil
Found in health food and specialty stores, macadamia nut oil is great for cooking fish, chicken, vegetables, baked goods, and salad dressings. The high smoking point will make you and your smoke alarm happy when stir-frying or sautéing. Also highly monounsaturated.

Sesame Oil
Sesame oil has a rich, nutty flavor that enhances the taste of some foods. Small amounts will add a distinctive taste to recipes without racking up the fat grams and calories.

Soybean Oil
Most cooking oil simply labeled ‘vegetable oil’ come from soybean oil. This has a bland flavor when you don’t want oil interfering in the taste of your food. Soybean oil supplies some omega-3 fat but not nearly as much as canola or walnut oils.

Walnut Oil
The fun part about walnut oil is, due to minimal processing, it can turn rancid quickly once opened. Not good unless you’re into weird tastes. This oil has a delicate, nutty flavor and is great for cooking, baking, and salad-making. You should be able to find at least one brand in most grocery stores.

Nonstick Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray
Available in all sorts of flavors, the advantage is that the amount of fat that comes out during a one-second spray is so little. Little of it gets into the recipe. Quickens browning of food and keeps it from sticking to pots and pans quite so bad.

There you have it, cooking oil friends and enemies. The long and short, the fat and skinny, the good, the bad, and the nutty. Now go forth and choose your healthy cooking oil with the best weapon of all – information!

Welcome back! Get your Online Personal Training account for just $29.99 a year. Follow us on Twitter for diet and workout tips!